Pax Plena

  • Song of the Week: This Side

    The Pax Plena song of the week comes to you from progressive blue grass trio Nickel Creek and is titled This Side.

    Written by violinist and background vocalist Sean Watkins the lyrics speak of transitioning from one phase of life to another and the uncomfortable uncertainties which accompany such segues. Despite its weighty subject matter, the song’s message is ultimately one of optimism culminating in the final verse as the bard once again becomes content and at home amid change.

    The song’s power comes from the unique way in which lyrics and music work together to create the final product. The melody itself is up-beat but it would lack its optimistic quality if not for the harmony of the combined instruments which meld to create a strong, light sound. Written in a series of alternating major chords with a dissonant strains sprinkled about, the score would be hard to improve. The dissonant sounds are uniformly combinations of major, sharp chords which create a high-pitched disharmony- as opposed to a more dour sound heard among smatterings of minor chords say in Johnny Cash’s Hurt, for example.

    Vocally, the lead voice of the song undergoes its own transition. The early lyrics wistfully recall memories past and evokes feelings of regret and fear. But as the song progresses, the voice gets stronger along with the music and ultimately becomes a voice of optimism as he embraces a new future. Not unlike all of us in life.


    This Side

    One day you’ll see her and you’ll know what I mean.
    Take her or leave her she will still be the same.
    She’ll not try to buy you with her time.
    But nothing’s the same, as you will see when she’s gone.

    It’s foreign on this side,
    And I’ll not leave my home again.
    There’s no place to hide
    And I’m nothing but scared.

    You dream of colors that have never been made,
    You imagine songs that have never been played.
    They will try to buy you and your mind.
    Only the curious have something to find.

    It’s foreign on this side,
    And the truth is a bitter friend.
    But reasons few have I to go back again.

    Your first dawn blinded you, left you cursing the day.
    Entrance is crucial and it’s not without pain.
    There’s no path to follow, once you’re here.
    You’ll climb up the slide and then you’ll slide down the stairs.

    It’s foreign on this side,
    But it feels like I’m home again.
    There’s no place to hide
    But I don’t think I’m scared.
    (there’s no place to hide)
    (there’s no place to hide)
    But I don’t think I’m scared.
    (there’s no place to hide)
    But I don’t think I’m scared…

  • Song of the Week: Stand Back Up

    The Pax Plena song of the week comes from the country music group Sugarland and is titled Stand Back Up.

    There’s no need for deep analysis with this one, folks. The message of the song is simple and profound: sometimes life throws an unexpected punch or two and there’s nothing one can do to avoid the impact or pain.

    But the song reminds us that our inner temerity and determination are enough to get us through the darkness of any situation and indeed we can do all things through the Source of our strength. Whether you are dealing with a seasonal affective disorder (believe it or not, a real malady) or if you’re just going through a rough spot, Sugarland’s ballad is sure to inspire.

    Musically, the song is as simple as its message. It is played with a clear, lone acoustic guitar. The sound becomes haunting in places as the strumming drives home the melody at just the right points. The lyrics are superbly delivered and the singer’s voice couldn’t be better. It is almost a performance of necessity-any weakness in the singer’s voice would ultimately destroy the message of the song. Sugarland more than overcomes any such deficiency.



    Stand Back Up

    Go ahead and take your best shot
    Let ‘er rip, give it all you’ve got
    I’m laid out on the floor, but I’ve been here before
    I may stumble, yeah I might fall
    I’m only human but aren’t we all
    I might lose my way, but hear me when I say

    I will stand back up
    You’ll know just the moment when I’ve have enough
    Sometimes I’m afraid, and I dont feel that tough
    But I’ll stand back up

    I’ve been beaten up and bruised
    I’ve been kicked right off my shoes
    Been down on my knees more times than you’d believe
    When the darkness tries to get me
    There’s a light that just won’t let me
    It might take my pride, and my tears may fill my eyes
    But I’ll stand back up

    I’ve weathered all these stroms,
    But I just turn them into wind, so I can fly
    What don’t kill you makes you stronger
    When I take my last breath
    Thats when I’ll just give up

    So, go ahead to take your best shot
    Let ‘er rip, give it all you’ve got
    You might win this round but you can’t keep me down

    ‘Cause I’ll stand back up
    And you’ll know just the moment when I’ve had enough
    Sometimes I’m afraid and I don’t feel that tough
    But I’ll stand back up

    You’ll know just the moment when I’ve had enough
    Sometimes I’m afraid and I don’t feel that tough
    But I’ll stand back up

  • Song of the Week: Opportunity of a Lifetime

    Bucking the recent trend in calling St. Valentine’s Day “Singles Awareness Day”, this single has opted to mark the occasion by posting a song for the amorously inclined. And looking through my library of music, nothing expresses romance quite like Darryl Worley’s Opportunity of a Lifetime.

    It’s by no means the most famous country love song. But there’s just something about it that captures the innocence of young love and the vitality and optimism it creates for the couple. Long before the personality conflicts and pessimism start to creep into a relationship, love offers folks an opportunity to willfully be optimistic for the future and the start of something new. The song brings these feelings of new love to mind.

    Musically, the song has just a hint of Western swing that actually reminds me of lazy summers fishing and driving along the back roads with someone you love. While the song is definitely more traditional than some contemporary artists it’s one that fits well in a country play list especially during the summer months.

    http://songza.com/e/listen

    Opportunity of a Lifetime
    Big brown eyes, soft red lips
    I’m thinkin’ I could get used to this
    This could be the opportunity of a lifetime

    My heart melts when you whisper my name
    I’ve got a feeling if you’re feeling the same
    This could be the opportunity of a lifetime

    I don’t need to travel the world
    Chase after rainbows, I’m telling you girl
    There’s so many things that I’d rather do
    Like wakin’ up each morning with you

    We’ve got a chance at a real true love
    We’d have to be crazy to pass it up
    This could be the opportunity of a lifetime

    I can just see us sittin’ there
    Front porch swing with gray in our hair
    I know it seems like a lifetime away
    But we could get started today

    We’ve got a chance at a real true love
    We’d have to be crazy to pass it up
    This could be the opportunity of a lifetime
    Oh yes-sir-ee, this could be
    The opportunity of a lifetime

  • Song of the Week: Lay It Down

    Having been back for a couple of weeks now, I’ve decided to take a cue from the venerable Joe Malchow over at Dartblog and introduce a song of the week series here at Pax Plena.

    Rather than being consistently from one artist or genre, the Pax Plena song of the week will come from the one song which has most set the tenor for my week.  This week’s selection comes from seven time Dove award winning artist Jaci Velasquez and is titled Lay It Down (Note: the series will not necessarily be religiously themed). 

    We joke around a lot here and poke fun at liberals in both debate and jest.  But Velasquez’s lyrics remind even the most ardent partisan that sometimes life becomes more than we would prefer to bear.  In those instances, the best course, as the song warmly commends, is to entrust the situation to the Author of life’s plan and lay the burden down.  A dear friend once remarked, “when we can’t, God can.” That is the song’s message in brief.  It has been a tremendous strength to me the past several weeks.

    Beneath the lyrics you will find a YouTube link to a performance by Velasquez on an American religious programming station.  Please, ignore the commentary at the beginning and enjoy her rendition of the song.

    Lay It Down
    By Jaci Velasquez
    I’ve been lookin’ till my eyes are tired of lookin’
    Listenin’ till my ears are numb from listenin’
    Prayin’ till my knees are sore from kneelin’ on the bedroom floor
    I know that you know that my heart is achin’
    I’m running out of tears and my will is breakin’
    I don’t think that I can carry the burden of it anymore
    All of my hopes and my dreams and my best laid plans,
    Are slowly slippin’ through my folded hands

    Chorus
    So I’m gonna lay it down
    I’m gonna learn to trust You now
    What else can I do?
    Cause everything I am depends on You
    And if the sun don’t come back up
    I know Your love will be enough
    I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
    I’m gonna lay it down.

    I’ve been walkin’ through this world like I’m barely livin’
    Buried in the doubt of this hole I’ve been diggin’
    But You’re pullin’ me out
    I’m finally breathin’ in the open air
    This room may be dark but I’m finally seein’
    There’s a new ray of hope, and now I’m believin’
    That the past is past, and the future’s beginning to look brighter now
    Oh, cause all of my hopes and my dreams and my best laid plans
    Are safe and secure when I place them in Your hands

    So I’m gonna lay it down
    I’m gonna learn to trust You now
    Oh what else can I do,
    Cause everything I am depends on You
    And if the sun don’t come back up
    I know Your love will be enough
    I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
    I’m gonna lay it down
    I’m gonna lay it down
    I’m gonna lay it down

  • Reflections on Taos

    I glanced out my window earlier just in time to see the gale strength winds blowing leaves and umbrellas alike down my tree-lined street. Most rainy Saturdays give one time for pause and reflection but on this Saturday in particular my thoughts are removed to a much drier, sunnier clime with wide-open spaces. Yesterday’s travel memoir of D.H. Lawrence’s stay in Taos, NM certainly prompts such reactions.

    The essay is titled D.H. Lawrence’s New Mexico: The Ghosts That Grip the Soul of Bohemian Taos. It is a surprise on many levels both for its descriptive narrative and for its intimate look at the rural New Mexico village of my mother’s youth.

    The essay was also compelling for its very close relation to my own thoughts on this day. The author writes:

    What was I doing here in dismal, rainy England, perennially late with my essays? There were other places, with mountains stretching their backs under a cloudless sky, and coyotes and pines and eagles no doubt, and moonshine to be drunk. One day, I told myself.

    [Link]

    While I do not reside in dismal, rainy England, if the New England iteration can be said to be both dismal and rainy, then perhaps I am living in the author’s complement in time. These similar feelings, however, hint at Lawrence’s perpetual state of malcontent. What would inevitably make Taos unique to Lawrence was that he felt most contented here despite the fact that he lived only 11 months total in New Mexico. On a greater level, Lawrence’s restlessness would give way to an entire generation of American authors who longed to break the confines of their routine and pursue adventure. It is this modern notion of choice which would most embed itself on the plain of American literature.

    What would ultimately make Taos unique in this emergent style was its role as a destination of international intrigue with the American west. Taos, NM is about as cowboy and as exotic by Western standards as one can safely get from the streets of foggy London or the subways of New York. What it lacks in the exotic, Taos more than compensates for in its charm. The town’s accessibility, history and romance have all made Taos a beacon for tourism since its settlement by the Pueblo Indians in the year 900. The essay’s description of Taos as “Bohemian” was especially apt though a bit curious given that the residents of Taos Pueblo have lived in such fashion for thousands of years. A quick glance at the definition of the word Bohemian, however, as used by the ultra-chic writers of the NYT reads any person who lives an unconventional artistic life, where self-expression is the highest value — that art (acting, poetry, writing, singing, dancing, painting etc) is a serious and main focus of their life.

    The real point of Taos is that it allows people a chance to escape and to express. It is as much a state of mind as it is an actual location. But the beauty of the place is that it affords the extra busy with an opportunity to reflect and be creative without any obligations or worries. For people interested in such a life, even as D.H. Lawrence was inspired by its slinking coyotes and moonlit mesa’s on a crisp night, there is no finer place in which to live than Taos, NM.

    Living now in Boston what I find most promising about Taos conceptually is its construct of time. Time in Taos runs by a different metric. Rarely is there any rush and with each passing hour the very notion of clock and schedule slowly recedes into the dense New Mexico underbrush, tucked away into a mysterious corner at the base of the Rockies. In turn, Taos becomes a notion of promise. Like the author, one day I too will find my own Taos.

    One day the restlessness will cease.