The View Askance

I have a new theme song! Don’t you love that moment, when you fall completely in love with a new song? Here’s how it happened for me: I’ve been into kind of a Indie Chick thing these days (evidenced by recent reviews, particularly). I have made a big ole’ playlist of all my current favorite artists in this genre… I must have downloaded this song in an effort to find some unreleased stuff… I honestly have no recollection of how it made it’s way onto my iPod. This isn’t actually as unusual as you might think – my music collection is so extensive that it requires constant attention and management – what a blessing.

So anyway, I was laying in the hammock at the Casa Pura Vida in Costa Rica last week, reading Wicked, listening to music. This song actually played almost halfway through before I realized I was singing along… and it took some conscious reflection to catch the memory. The artist is Sara Barelleis, and the song is a cover of the 1985 A-Ha hit, ‘Take On Me’. (You know the song… ‘Take on me; Take me on; I’ll be gone; In a day or two… with the cool real-life looking animation video). It’s a bluesy, live version, just the kind of song you want to sing along with.

Now, I was all of 10 years old in 1985, so although I remember most of the words to the song, I realize I’ve never really thought about the lyrics before. One line in particular caught my attention – like, made me sit up and spill beer on myself – and it is still reverberating through my consciousness.

Say after me: It is no better to be safe than sorry.

The song is about the end of a relationship, about the last ditch effort. My divorce has been final a short while now, and I feel like Janus – looking back and forward in equal measure. This is a great song for that – it is both a goodbye and a hello. These days, as I consciously shift my focus forward, and learn to let go, I must be brave. Featherheaded, even. I’ve got to remember that it is no better to be safe than sorry. I’m taking myself on these days, learning and growing and evolving just as much as I can. And the only people who are welcome in my life are the folks who are willing to take me on, to engage with me – and themselves – in full.

Take On Me

So needless to say/ I’m at odds and ends/ But that’s me stumbling away/ Finally learning that life is OK/ Say after me: It’s no better to be safe than sorry.

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