Music Write-Ups
How do you know Chris Earley?
How many MP3s do you have on your hard drive?
This song made my seemingly long walk home from Bart tonight one of the best walks in memory.
Today, I took myself too seriously. I succumbed to that nasty little habit of second-guessing myself on all kinds of things, professional and personal. One thing that did make me pause, smile and reel it in, was noticing the clock above the door of Fog City Diner that spells out D-O-N-T-W-O-R-R-Y as its numbers. Even if the letter-to-number ratio doesn’t compute now that I think about it. Maybe it said something else. See? I told you, I’m too serious and prone to second guessing. Anyhow, back to the song of my day; the thing that made me let it all go.
Exit Rockridge BART. Wait for green light. Green light. Set out on walk home for what feels like the thousandth time (Groundhog’s Day anyone?). Strum of guitar. Paul’s voice: Oh! Darling, Please believe me… Turn up volume. And it’s as though I’m hearing this song for the first time. Start mouthing the words and rocking my head with the beat as I walk down College Ave. I am in this song. And it’s because Paul sings like someone is dangling his heart (and vocal cords) over a bridge.
Played it again and thought of my mom and her older sister when they first heard this off of the Abbey Road LP. It was the Fall of ‘69, they were Catholic school girls in until-death-do-us-part love with the Beatles. They must have lost their knee socks over this one and made out with the album cover. Paul was singing to them.
The third time I played it, I imagined it as a first song at a wedding and the bride and groom lip-synching it to each other and pantomiming the words. Then midway, the guests join the couple—parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all grinding to the beat and backing up the chorus of ooooooo’s that make this song one of the best love ballads ever.
-Annie Leuenberger