The Arms Of Love

It's really quite amazing how some things occur in life which are seemingly unrelated but, at the right time and the right place, create a certain kind of harmony which is near impossible to recreate at any other time.

Christina over at Feisty Repartee has just lost her father to a long illness. As I read her post, I was listening to the Mr. Helpful Mega Jukebox (courtesy of Windows Media Player V. 10) and a song popped up as I wrote a comment to Christina's post about the death of her father.

That song immediately took me back to a time and place almost ten years ago. I had just told my kids that my mother had passed on. Mom died suddenly, out of the blue as it were, so the news was a punch in the gut for the then 13 year old pride and joy and 10 year old pride and joyette. Not to mention me, of course. So I collected the kids up and bundled them in my car because we had to drive an hour and a half where the family was gathering at my sister's house.

Of course there were initial tears as we all absorbed the shock. Once we were in the car and on the road, the tears seemed to dissipate into calm silence; the silence broken only by the ever present sound of music on my car's cassette deck. Then this particular song came on and I was lost in how eeriely appropriate it was, the lyrics and melody fit the situation perfectly and I found myself fighting back tears.

I snuck a glance over at the pride and joy, in the front seat. He was in a world of his own. Then I looked in the rear view mirror to see what the pride and joyette was doing as the song played and I very nearly lost all manner of self control.

She was slouched in the back seat, head leaning back against the seat, listening to the music, looking up up at the ceiling of the car, not really the ceiling, dontcha know, but beyond, to the heavens where her grandma was resting in the arms of love...and my little pride and joyette was waving her hand, oh so slightly, waving at her now departed grandmother, waving goodbye....

And the song? It was REM's cover of that great Robyn Hitchcock classic...."The Arms Of Love".

Here are the lyrics although the lyrics dont do the music justice...if any of you have never heard this version of the song, send me an email and I will shoot an mp3 post haste....

Maybe tonight you're achin'
For someone you're dreamin' of
Tomorrow you'll be wakin
Into the Arms, into the arms of Love

Maybe tonight you're cryin
Like a poor wounded dove
Tell me you'll soon be flying
Into the Arms, into the arms of love

Maybe tonight you're takin
You couldn't get enough
Honey you'll soon be wakin'
Into the Arms, into the arms of Love

Maybe the world is falling
It wasn't strong enough
Tell me you'll soon be crawling
Into the Arms, into the arms of Love

Posted by Mr. Helpful at December 27, 2004 08:40 PM