"I woke up singingmy favorite song as a kid and I mean, really singing, catching myself all morning, asking myself what it means, a reminder perhapsthat we can be strange- we wake, we sing, we wonder why we're singing, we realize how seldom we have a song in us anymore, remember how we used to play/be Aretha and Anita or Earth, Wind and Fire - Maurice bringing it, sending us"
"silly,standing in the middle of the room giving our all to the olive-green sofaand wood paneling, mama at work- we even had his little laugh downand when's the last time we believed what we were saying so completely, all that 70's positivity, all that gospelpretending to be the devil's music- and is that what ruined us, why we're so bad at real life - practically screaming the last line, And if there ain't no beauty, you gotta make some beauty, deciding without"
A person wakes singing a childhood favorite and questions the meaning of that sudden song. The person notices how rarely a song wells up anymore and remembers pretending to be Aretha, Anita, or Earth, Wind & Fire, complete with Maurice's part and imitators' laughter. The memory centers on performing alone in a living room before an olive-green sofa and wood paneling while a mother works. The memory recalls 1970s gospel-tinged positivity, wonders whether that earnestness harmed adult ability, and keeps the line 'And if there ain't no beauty, you gotta make some beauty' as an unspoken dream.
Read at High Country News
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