Prudent ponderings
Over the past three years or so I have covered nearly every track released by Lisa Ritchie as well as a few unreleased tracks. My goal is discuss all the original tracks that have been released in some form or fashion. So this post adds a few more tracks to my list. I find myself so drawn to her tracks as her songwriting is so very honest and unadulterated; its so relatable. Lisa has become one of my all time favorite songwriters.
Nobody can promise
~
they’ll understand your conscience
~
Nobody can promise ~ they’ll understand your conscience ~
Home
“Run, run, run
I had it down down down
To leave this town while it was sleeping
I thought it wouldn′t need me”
Home in this context, it isn't just talking about your home town/city and the house you grew up in but also the people that make it what it is. “I thought it wouldn't need me” well I don't think that a town needs anyone specifically but the people who live there hopefully do. I understand the idea that you don't feel like you make a difference in people's lives. The fact is if you do leave somewhere you're living whether it's your hometown or not everyone will keep surviving without you; the world spins madly on or however the saying goes. That said it doesn't mean you haven't made an impact, certainly there are people that will miss you and there will be people you'll miss.
“I guess I′ll call you what you are
A city holding all the hearts I've fallen for
Home
I guess we knew it from the start
That we would never get too far, all on our own
So let this city go”
“A city holding all the hearts I've fallen for.” I thoroughly enjoy this line as it evokes such miraculous emotions. This one line so perfectly summarizes what a home is wherever you've decided to build one. So is this saying you must let go of anything that's pulling you down, put hold onto that which helps you live your dreams? Perhaps while letting go of the city you don't have to let go of everything in it.
“I'm still so immature
Cause I still passionately dream of possibilities
And all my friends
They still act like they′re ten
Cause we all have a mighty king
That told us we are free”
Immaturity is most often viewed in a negative light in my experience but I see it as a positive here. Showing that you are holding on to a childlike wonder and believe the best is yet to come; that is something that becomes increasingly harder to maintain as you get older at least for me. I wonder if “a mighty king” in this context refers to an inspirational figure or some sort of inspirational experience that all these friends share. I think it would be awesome to have a group of friends that were all inspired and motivated by the same mentor or experience that would forge a special bond that would be hard to replicate in any other way.
“Home, I guess we knew it from the start
That we'd never get too far all on our own
So let this city grow”
When this is first mentioned it ends with “so let this city go”, here go changes to “grow” which seems to signify a change in mindset. There is no longer this belief that you must let things go in order to move on; you can rely on this “city” you have grown to love and still allow yourself to move on and take the next steps in your life's journey.
To Go
“Stayed up, wrapped up
and my favorite way that I explain it
It's easy to portray it
Its paper thinly made
I promise I’m okay
I promise I’m just waiting for my turn
To go”
Transparency is how I would sum up this first part. You are trying to put on a brave face; striving to mask your true emotions but it's inadequate, unconvincing and you know it. You promise you’re okay but there’s a chance you don’t even have yourself convinced that is true. I wonder why you are “just waiting for (your) turn to go”? Why are you fleeing and from what? Are you talking with someone who you haven’t talked to in a while and it's awkward for some reason?
“Honest its lousy to be honest
Nobody can promise they’ll understand your conscience
Its better to be quiet
Seemingly so wise
Its haunting but provides a place for you
To go”
I may be going off track here but that is a regular occurrence here so here we go. It can be lousy to be honest as you don’t know if people will understand your meaning. It is easy to say something along the lines of “well they are choosing to be offended” that really isn’t a great way to make friends. A lesson I have learned the hard way is that “its better to be quiet, seemingly so wise” for multiple reasons. If you wait to speak you may end up thinking better of what you were going to say and come up with something far better to say. Or you may realize that the person is really just needing someone to listen to them; often people are not seeking advice as much as looking for someone to actively listen to them without giving any judgment or advice. It took me far too long to learn this lesson.
“So steady, So cavalier
So ready, To disappear entirely”
Someone being firm and inconsiderate in their desire to disappear. This initially seems like a bad thing but it doesn’t necessarily have to be; there are times when you could find yourself in a situation that you need to get out of so having such feelings would be a good thing.
”Steering from the backseat
Hearing of your new love
Trying to be happy
Feeling like im washed up
Feeling like I wasted
All my, all my time”
This part of the song is where you are given some sort of clue as to the narrative of the track. There is a good chance I am missing the mark. I see it as this meeting between two people that haven’t talked in a while or at least haven’t had a meaningful, real conversation for some time. For one or another they grew apart and while they may have kept in touch they weren’t really involved in each other's lives anymore, not how they used to be. Now they must reconcile the friendship they used to have with the fact that this person has someone new in their life that is higher up on their priority list. This wouldn’t be so hard to deal with but in this case it seems they have been essentially bumped off the list entirely. It can be arduous to deal with feeling as if other people are moving on especially if you feel like they are moving through life faster than you are and accomplishing things that you wish you had done. Getting to a point where you can be where you are when you’re there is not easy.
Slightly, ever so politely
Tell you that I might be
Drowning my own dreams
You listen but your beaming
Fidget with your new ring
So cut and clear
You're waiting for your turn
To talk
It is painfully magnificent how there is this stark contrast between what these two people are wanting to discuss here. The first is attempting to express this heartfelt sadness and as much as the other is trying to listen and relate the news they have to share is vastly different. So much so they are having trouble concentrating on the conversation they just want to share what has them so elated.
“So steady, So cavalier
So ready, To disappear entirely
Who would ask?”
We get an addition when this line appears this time “who would ask?” which gives me the impression that this person is willing to so cavalierly disappear because they don’t think anyone would notice. Maybe they are unaware of who they have impacted. This is often the case in my experience.
“Stayed up, wrapped up and my favorite
Way that I explain it
It's easy to portray it
Its paper thinly made
I promise im okay
I promise im just waiting for my turn
Waiting for my turn, waiting for my turn…
To go”
I love the way this track starts and ends essentially the same way like these brilliant lyrical bookends that tie the track together so brilliantly. “Waiting for my turn” is repeated a number of times here, giving me the impression that there is a struggle with how to stop waiting; like it’s a freeway with no off ramp and you find yourself just driving and driving endlessly. The way this track hits me is as this tale of the relationship between two people and how their relationship has waxed and waned throughout the years. Lisa has a number of tracks like this and I find them all quite intriguing. This is partly because I really don’t have much of an idea as to what they are about and trying to figure out any possibilities is fun for me.
This is such an outstanding track whether you have heard it before or not you really should listen to it.
