IF THE PHONE DOESN'T RING, IT'S ME
Jimmy Buffett, Will Jennings, Michael Utley
There are oceans of feelings between us
Currents that take us and sweep us away
That's why we seldom have seen us
In the light of a cold hard day
Lots of new friends with the same old answers
Open your eyes, you might see
Of our lives were that simple
We'd live in the past
If the phone doesn't ring, it's me
If the phone doesn't ring
You'll know that it's me
I'll be out in the eye of the storm
If the phone doesn't ring
you'll know that I'll be
Where someone can make me feel warm
It's too bad we can't turn
and live in the past
If the phone doesn't ring, it's me
I've had good days and bad days
And going half mad days
I try to let go but you're still on my mind
I've lost all the old ways
I'm searching for new plays
Putting it all on the line
Lots of new friends with the same old problems
Open your eyes, you might see
If our lives were that simple
We'd live in the past
If the phone doesn't ring, it's me
If it takes all the future
We'll live through the past
If the phone doesn't ring, it's me
Thanks for your time with my indulgence of best intentions here. I don't know if your a fan of his or not. However, if you can get past the burgers, lime flavored drinks and anologies of bar flies to sharks, there is some really good stuff down in there. I hope that you can find a phrase or two that helps.
"And wrinkles only go where the smiles have been." J. Buffett
You and me we were the pretenders We let it all slip away In the end what you don't surrender Well the world just strips away
Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers Ain't gonna find no miracles here Well you can wait on your blessins my darlin' But I got a deal for you right here
I ain't lookin' for praise or pity I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch I just want someone to talk to And a little of that Human Touch Just a little of that Human Touch
Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town Ain't no bread from heavenly skies Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood It's just you and me tonight
Tell me, in a world without pity Do you think what I'm askin's too much I just want something to hold on to And a little of that Human Touch Just a little of that Human Touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize Well it comes at a hard hard price You can't shut off the risk and the pain Without losin' the love that remains We're all riders on this train
So you've been broken and you've been hurt Show me somebody who ain't Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain But, hell, a little touchup and a little paint...
You might need somethin' to hold on to When all the answers, they don't amount to much Somebody that you could just to talk to And a little of that Human Touch
Baby, in a world without pity Do you think what I'm askin's too much I just want to feel you in my arms Share a little of that Human Touch Feel a little of that Human Touch Give me a little of that Human Touch
You ask me if I love you And I choke on my reply I'd rather hurt you honestly Than mislead you with a lie And who am I to judge you On what you say or do? I'm only just beginning to see the real you And sometimes when we touch The honesty's too much And I have to close my eyes and hide I wanna hold you til I die Til we both break down and cry I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides Romance and all its strategy Leaves me battling with my pride But through the insecurity Some tenderness survives I'm just another writer Still trapped within my truth A hesitant prize fighter Still trapped within my youth And sometimes when we touch The honesty's too much And I have to close my eyes and hide I wanna hold you til I die Til we both break down and cry I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides At times I'd like to break you And drive you to your knees At times I'd like to break through And hold you endlessly At times I understand you And I see how hard you've tried I've watched while love commands you And I've watched love pass you by At times I think we're drifters Still searching for a friend A brother or a sister But then the passion flares again And sometimes when we touch The honesty's too much And I have to close my eyes and hide I wanna hold you til I die Til we both break down and cry I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Here's one for *my* XW... Come to think of it, now that I read it again, it's a poem for ALL of our X's... I'm sure many of you will recognize at least some of this...
When You Are Old - William Butler Yeats
WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true; But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.
And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead, And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Quote: But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.
To me this says that one person saw you for who you were, a seeker, a questioner, discontented, always moving toward something... and he loved that about you.
I've had people (men and women) tell me that "you're never satisfied." One of my bf's mantras (and I've heard it from people on this board, too, about their spouses) is "it's never good enough, is it?"
In this poem Yeats is saying (to me) "yes, this is good, but no, I'm not going to be satisfied... I'm a pilgrim, a seeker, searching, and that is a virtue, not a character flaw."
You're quite welcome (for the posting of the poem).
Gosh, I guess... I guess the best works of art endure because they leave themselves open to interpretation... and no one interpretation can be said to be "definitive". Why *is* the Mona Lisa smiling? Even Shakespeare - whom numerous scholars insist was explicit about his meanings and requires no interpretation - has an equal number of scholars only too ready to interpret his work...
For my part, I heard in those two famous lines the distinction drawn between a 'snapshot in time' and the entire parade of an individual's existence. "I did not love 'the you that was' at *this* moment or *this* moment or *that* moment, but the whole panorama from birth to death... the 'sorrows of your changing face'..."
"Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled..." he says. For whatever reason, she did not choose to stay with him, but it gives him comfort to think that perhaps, when she approaches the end of her journey, she'll have the perspective to look back and realize the uniqueness of his love...
