I’m a bit weird. Admittedly so. Especially when it comes to music. I’m not specific in the genres of music I listen to, per se, but I have to feel the music, or my mind simply rejects it. From the beat, to the vocals, etc. the person singing it has to be committed for it to be good, imo. For instance, I once saw a band up on stage singing a sad song, yet they were all smiles; and I thought, these people are just glad to be here; but I could hear it in the music, it was a sad song, the lyrics were sad, but they weren’t, and it came across in their music.

Total fail in my book. Either you’re moved by the lyrics, the music, and it grips you, or it doesn’t. There really is no in between. It’s true, I’ve found some songs that have grown on me, but for the most part, I’ll know right away if the artist is dialed in to what they’re singing. The emotion, the angst, etc. has got to be there. And it should be there, especially if they’re performing, to give the listener the true meaning of the music experience.

I recently came across a song I’ve heard long ago; one of the songs from the soundtrack of that movie Gladiator, remember that movie starring, Russell Crowe? Lisa Gerrard sings one of the songs titled, “Now we are free”. The scene in which it’s played in the movie is towards the end. “Maximus” has just defeated the Emperor, is bleeding out and dying. Cue the pre-death hallucination, the song starts, and Maximus is walking in a field of wheat alone, then sees his wife and son come to greet him. Powerful scene. Powerful moment in the movie. The song is epic. Perfect.

So I hear this song, recognize it, download it, hit repeat, and for three days I’ve listened to nothing but it straight. Over and over. Soft, loud, eyes closed, eyes open…listening to every pitch, every feeling, every emotion. I can see it, I can relate to it, I can feel it. The struggle, the angst, the triumph, the beauty of it all. So I decide to look up the lyrics. Cause that’s what I do. I’m a lyrics junky.

I look them up and discover the lyrics aren’t actually of any known language at all. They’re total gibberish. They come from no country, no dialect, no language at all. With a bit of online googling I find the artist, Lisa Gerrard, quoted as saying, “I sing in the language of the Heart. It’s an invented language that I’ve had for a very long time. I believe I started singing in it when I was about 12. Roughly that time. And I believed that I was speaking to God when I sang in that language.” (WTF!?)

Gotta admit, at first, I was a bit disappointed reading that. Then I thought about it. I didn’t know what was being said when I was listening to it originally. I had absolutely no clue what was being said. I knew nothing of the language. And yet…I could feel it. In the music, in her voice…everything you’d ever want in a song. Something to stir you inside. Something to wake you up. Put that invisible grip on your soul and lift you up. It was there. But instead of giving you clarity found in the lyrics, the artist interpretation of the dialect…it’s left open; open to your interpretation.

Suddenly I felt a bit better about listening to gibberish for three days. Because for those three days…I was free. Lost in the music.

 

© Jacob C. Larson 2020 All Rights Reserved

 

https://youtu.be/NBE-uBgtINg