Musical Monday: je suis triste

So the Paris attacks shook a lot of us this past Friday. Waking up to news of the Beirut bombing just that morning, and watching the news about Paris unfold from the office and the number jumping to over 100 by the time I got home lent some moments of not quite despair but certainly some anger, uncertainty, sadness, compassion, and other complicated emotions. They're still roiling in my stomach somewhere and I haven't quite figured them out all the way yet.

Personally, I don't think I can write anything better than my immediate reaction on social media: "So many terrible things in the world. Be humble, do good. Spread love and kindness. Pray for one another. Be patient. Give joyfully of your time and self to others."

But somehow I feel like that's not enough to encompass it all.

Since music and poetry can help express feelings, and since there are some very talented songwriters out there, I discovered this song their weekend and it has stuck with me, resonating in my thoughts. The slow crescendo and build through each chorus, the lonely bellow in the background, the soft twinkling, the pauses between phrases to allow the words to sink in.... it's all so well done.

No Hell is the first single off of Cloud Cult's upcoming album, and I discovered it on KEXP's Music That Matters podcast.

Cloud Cult: No Hell

Lyrics:

Mama said the stars are the universe's eyes
I can feel them watching over me most of the time

We grew up believing we could learn how to fly
We came from the Earth, but we belong to the sky

I saw your soul without the skin attached
You've got the guts of a coyote pack

We've been kissed, we've been cut
But we do what needs the doing
We're just rainbows dreaming we're human
Please excuse the lights shooting out of my head
I keep 'em in a cage but they come out when they see a friend
You must be a friend

You're never really going to have control of it all
So you best get cool with where your chips are gonna fall

We are the sun
And mother's milk
And cusswords
And poetry

There's no use in running unless you run like heck
The best things we've learned, we learned from the wreck

Jesus coming back as a woman this time
Handing out hugs in the clinic line

And someone tell the devil we don't need no Hell
We're all pretty good at beating up ourselves

As kids we believed that the angels talked
Everything is magic until you think it's not

It's easy to be thankful for the things you've got
It takes guts to give thanks for the things you've lost

And we grew up believing good wins over bad
So you gave away your heart but the wolves attacked
But then a bigger heart grew back

Please excuse the words coming out of my mouth
I'm a happy man but there's some things that I need to get out
I need to get out...

There's no use in running unless you run like heck
The best things we've learned, we learned from the wreck

Jesus coming back as a woman this time
Handing out hugs in the clinic line

And someone tell the devil we don't need no Hell
We're all pretty good at beating up ourselves