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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Another LK Day of Sharing ~ Song



I believe in love at first sight because it happened to me.
On a sweltering Sunday morning in August, my best friend Eileen and I attended mass at Our Lady of the Snows RC Church. It was a full house, so some of the parishioners spilled into the vestibule, standing and fanning themselves with the hymn cards during the service. The huge fans barely moved the humid air through the church.
As I stood there holding my missal, I felt an elbow jab my ribs. I looked at Eileen. She tilted her head toward the right side of the crowd as she smirked and kind of raised one eyebrow.
Following her direction I turned to look at the object of her attention. As I did I found myself looking into the most beautiful brown eyes. He smiled as I blushed bright pink. I dropped my gaze and turned the page in my missal, determined to look to the front of the church until mass ended. When it did I looked again in his direction, but he had disappeared into the crowd. Eileen and I diligently attended mass each Sunday for the rest of the summer, but he never reappeared.

School started right after Labor Day. My high school class had over 2000 students in attendance. The hallways reminded me of a subway platform at rush hour, packed with people hurrying to go somewhere, but unable to move faster than a crawl. I was peering into classrooms trying to find my bio class when I saw him sitting there. To say I was smitten is a gross understatement of fact. Cupid's arrow had pierced my heart. It was almost as though an electrical charge ran through me. I was lovestruck, paralyzed, momentarily unable to move.
As I walked into the classroom he looked up and waved. I was fourteen, he was sixteen~Romeo and Juliette. My dad and my brothers tried to discourage his attentions, but he wasn't easily deterred. By the time we graduated from high school I was going to nursing school and he had to go to war. Things were never the same after that. But this much is certain, I never felt that way again, no matter how many times I fell in and out of love. That experience was the gift of a lifetime.
This sweet song reminds me of him and of first love...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5t62TR0dss

SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE
(Charles Badger Clark, Jr., Revised Version)



Spanish is the loving tongue
Soft as music, light as spray;
'Twas a girl I learned it from
Living down Sonora way.
I don't look much like a lover,
Yet I say her soft words over.
Mostly when I'm all alone
"Mi amor, mi corazon"





Nights there were when I would ride
She would listen for my spurs,
Throw the big door open wide,
Raise them laughing eyes of hers.
How the night would soon go flyin!
All too soon I'd hear her sighin'
In her little sorry tone ---
"Adios, mi corazon."




Never seen her since that night,
I can't cross the line, you know.
Tney want me for a gamblin' fight
Like as not it's better so.
Yet I've always sort of missed her
Since that last sad night I kissed her;
Lost my heart and left alone
"Adios, mi corazon."










I shared a song for the first day of sharing, it just seemed natural to me
What a great opportunity to collectively celebrate life

Picture of cemetery known for unusually high bee population, Mitla, Oaxaca
http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/the_poetic_eye/2008/11/a-little-more-sharing.html

7 comments:

couragetocreatewriteandlove said...

i LOVE your song! and the video i find it exquisite. I am from Sonora so of course, that gets me too.
very very nice to meet you and thank you so much for sharing the story of those brown eyes ;-)

Anonymous said...

i'm generally not a dylan fan (i like his lyrics, just never could get past his voice), but that was a beautiful song and video. and your story! aaahhh...

Wrick said...

aloha ShrineOn Vickie

placing your writing with this song brings to light a depth of humanness beyond each. a place within each of us who remain connected to a deeper life than the surface we trudge through to merely survive.

bringing to light the heart. well done.

aloha - Wrick (who is not signed in... however i think... i hope... you will know how you know me. *smile* - with laughter... ...and fun too.)

oh! i see. i have to log in to leave my note! bwahahahahaha on me.

Vickie said...

Sharing stories and songs is one of the best ways to get to know one another. And Nancy, here's another short story. Many moons ago I lived with a railroad man who was obsessed with Dylan. When he would have a drink or four he would play his music non-stop. Our friends would all leave. I would eventually put my head under a pillow. I couldn't bear to listen to Dylan's music for a good decade after that.
Glad I finally came around.
I love Latin music, too. I've recently been listening to old tangos by Francisco Canaro. Heavenly!

Meri said...

Since I've been living in a place of no-one-special-to-share-love-with, I loved reading your nostalgic account. Love wherever, whenever, however we find it is such a rare and precious, impermanent, delightful and exasperating gift.

Susan Tuttle said...

I loved reading your story -- it is so amazing how we connect song to important moments in our lives -- especially falling in love.

Thank you so much for your very kind and heartwarming comment over at my blog.

I am having a giveaway contest for my new book over at my blog -- come see.

Susan

Unknown said...

I happily stumbled on to LK's blog and decided to join in on the music shareing. WOW! I am so surprised with the fantastic music and art work on the blogs I've been visitng! What a delightful treat!
But, I have to say yours got me teary..I too fell in love to a Bob Dylan song in the early 70's

Thank you, Becci