I heard on the radio that it's suicide prevention week. I've never been suicidal (other than the Ican'ttakeitearthswallowmeup feeling when really upset) so I have no idea whether the song below would help someone out. But it's my favorite song about suicide... if that's not terribly inappropriate. (Billy Joel's "Second Wind" has a true concept at its heart, but that's some goofy music, yo.)
Whether it's suicide-preventee or not, Alanis Morissette's "Joining You" is just a great song, an original take on the "What the eff is it all for?"
The premise is that a friend has tried to commit suicide, and her mother is freaking and asks the song narrator to talk to the friend. The song is a letter to that friend.
The central message is: If all life consisted of was...
our bodies
our futures
our defenses
our culture
our leaders
our denials
our nametags
our rejections
our outcomes
our indignities
our successes
our emotions
their condemnations
their projections
our paranoias
our incomes
our obsession
our afflictions
...then the singer would kill herself too.
I like that Alanis doesn't spell out what life IS about, that's left for us to ponder/decide; she just says that it's More. More than the feelings that overwhelm us at times, more than the labels people put on us, more than these shells we inhabit.
dear dar(lin') your mom (my friend) left a message on my machine she was frantic
saying you were talking crazy that you wanted to do away with yourself
I guess she thought i'd be a perfect resort because we've had
this inexplicable connection since our youth and yes they're in shock
they are panicked you and your chronic them and their drama
you this embarrassment us in the middle of this delusion
if we were our bodies
if we were our futures
if we were our defenses i'd be joining you
if we were our culture
if we were our leaders
if we were our denials i'd be joining you
I remember vividly a day years ago we were camping you knew more than you thought you should know
you said "I don't want ever to be brainwashed" and you were mindboggling you were intense
you were uncomfortable in your own skin you were thirsty but mostly you were beautiful
if we were our nametags
if we were our rejections
if we were our outcomes i'd be joining you
if we were our indignities
if we were our successes
if we were our emotions i'd be joining you
you and I we're like 4 year olds we want to know why and how come about everything
we want to reveal ourselves at will and speak our minds and never talk small and be intuitive
and question mightily and find god my tortured beacon
we need to find like-minded companions
if we were their condemnations
if we were their projections
if we were our paranoias i'd be joining you
if we were our incomes
if we were our obsession
if we were our afflictions i'd be joining you
we need reflection we need a really good memory feel free to call me a little more often
4 comments:
Excellent song. Having been there (or, well, at the brink), I think that this is the kind of message that people who are contemplating or feeling or at the brink could actually hear and attend to, rather than some of the softer "it will be okay" messages, because just because someone says "it will be okay" doesn't mean it will be. Everyone's okay is different, after all. But this song, this song says so very much more than that. I like it. I will keep it on hand.
I've felt suicidal before but it was just a reaction to a situation and it passed pretty quickly.
Can't imagine losing someone to suicide.
I like that the song doesn't try to provide any cliches and easy answers. At life's deepest moments that kind of talk is just irritating.
In an obliquely connected thought .. I just started an interesting book that delves into the sacredness of our imperfections, mistakes, troubles and sufferings. I like this quote from the intro:
"There is much evidence on several levels that there are at least two major tasks to human life. The first task is to build a strong “container” or identity; the second is to find the contents that the container was meant to hold."
And: "Desmond Tutu told me on a recent trip to Cape Town, “We are only the light bulbs, ... and our job is just to remain screwed in!”
-- Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
@Skye - Skye Stamp of Approval! Yes, not only is everyone's ok different, but the reality of life is that a lot of bad things happen, and may not get "better."
@JJJ - Yes. And I'm very glad we didn't lose anyone this past year!
@dad - Ooh those are both great quotes!
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