For 11/17/09 (sorry!)

Yesterday was about perfect. Slept in for the 2nd day in a row. Went to the beach with my 3 gal pals and sunned a bun. Ate at our now-regular vegetarian restaurant, and we all tried a new dish. Took a group nap. Watched a movie. Had pizza for dinner.

As I was lying on the beach, I realized how tired I was of my typical music. Beyonce, Makano, Black Eyed Peas, etc. I wanted some oldies. So, I started listening to Chicago, Elton John and other random 70s songs. When the SotD came on, I was taken back to, strangely enough, Quaker Lake Camp.

It's your typical Christian youth camp. I don't remember much from my 1st year except my parents shipping me Big Bird ("Caution! Live animal!" on the box, punctured with air holes). And Justin. He was one of the few blonds I've ever fallen for. I wasn't even 10, but I was in LOOOOVE. He had a sidekick who was cute, too, but not quite as pensive as Justin. (Why have I ALWAYS found that attractive?!) One fond memory involving Justin was when all the kids in my age group made paper rockets that shot up only about 20 ft into the sky when lit. He was in my group. I remember painting my little rocket with spiraling blues and purples, and watching his face when they set my rocket on the launch pad. The pressure was on. HE was watching. Amazingly, my rocket the highest. Justin came up to me afterwards and said, "Cool rocket." He could've said, "Will you be my girlfriend?" It was all the same to me.

Why am I going on about this little boy? Well, what I remember most about camp was actually coming home and feeling very melancholy. There was something missing...him. So, I pulled a chair up to our home stereo system, climbed up and found Chicago's Greatest Hits on the highest shelf. I then snuck off to my room for hours of sitting by my CD player and listening to this song and "Look Away" (veeery emo song) This song, since then, has always been a favorite...but a little less emo. Read, listen and enjoy!

Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away

“Everybody needs a little time away.”
I heard her say,
“From each other.”
“Even lovers need a holiday.
Far away, from each other”

Hold me now
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry
I just want you to stay
After all that we've been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to
And after all that's been said and done
You're just the part of me I can't let go (Ooo ooo)

Couldn't stand to be kept away
Just for the day
From your body
Wouldn't wanna be swept away
Far away, from the one that I love

Hold me now
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry
I just want you to know

Hold me now
I really want to tell you I'm sorry
I could never let you go
After all that we've been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to
And after all that's been said and done
You're just the part of me I can't let go

After all that we've been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to

You're gonna be the lucky one

When we get there gonna jump in the air
No one will see us 'cause there's nobody there
After all, you know we really don't care
Hold on, I'm gonna take you there

(this isn't the greatest version, but it's the best I could find)

A New Horizon

On my 10-hour bus ride yesterday, this song randomly came up on my iPod. Now it's stuck in my head. I love the words, so read them, and also watch the vid. It'll take you down memory lane to about ten years ago when this came out.

I'm gonna cross the road and lay out on the beach! :D (Ain't I a stinka?)

Strangers Like Me

Whatever you do, I'll do it too
Show me everything and tell me how
It all means something
And yet nothing to me

I can see there's so much to learn
It's all so close and yet so far
I see myself as people see me
Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there

I wanna know, can you show me
I wanna know about these
Strangers like me
Tell me more, please show me
Something's familiar about these strangers like me

Every gesture, every move that she makes
Makes me feel like never before
Why do I have
This growing need to be beside her?

Ooo, these emotions I never knew
Of some other world far beyond this place
Beyond the trees, above the clouds
I see before me a new horizon

Come with me now to see my world
Where there's beauty beyond your dreams
Can you feel the things I feel
Right now, with you?
Take my hand
There's a world I need to know

Headin North: Start of Beach Vacation (for yesterday)

Fio, my host sister, listened to Michael Jackson everyday. Every. Single. Day. Whooo, now THAT's devotion! Before my arrival, though, she did NOT own "Will You Be There", the song from Free Willy. I was quite surprised. Therefore, I made sure to play it on my laptop almost everyday so I could share the joy. Then, at the end of my stay, I burned her a CD with lots of popular songs from today. Track #1, however, was this song. She almost cried, she was so happy.

This song sometimes sounds cheesy to me, depending on my mood. That's sad, actually, because I feel like MJ's being really REAL in this song. He's not holding back any emotion, and he's putting himself out there, asking, "Will you be there (for me)?" Personally, my favorite part of the song is the choir. Gives me chills every time. There's also several, epic key changes.

Here's to my little sister!

Will You Be There

Hold me
like the river Jordan,
and I will then say to thee
you are my friend.

Carry me
like you are my brother,
love me like a mother.
Will you be there?

Weary
tell me will you hold me?
When wrong,
will you scold me?
When lost,
will you find me?

But they told me
a man should be faithful
and walk when not able
and fight till the end,
but I'm only human.

Everyone's taking
control of me.
Seems that the world's
got a role for me.
I'm so confused.
Will you show to me?
You'll be there for me
and care enough to bear me.

(hold me)
show me
(lay your head lowly)
do me
(softly then boldly)
yeah
(carry me there)
I'm only human

(lead me)
hold me
(love me and feed me)
yea-ea-eah
(kiss me and free me)
yeah
(I will feel blessed)
I'm only human

(carry)
carry
(carry me boldly)
carry yeah
(lift me up slowly)
yeah
(carry me there)
I'm only human

(save me)
save meee
(heal me and bathe me)
lift me up, lift me up
(softly you say to me)
(I will be there)
I will be there

(lift me)
do me yea
(lift me up slowly)
(carry me boldly)
yea
(show me you care)show me you care

(hold me)
woah
(lay your head lowly)
get lonely sometimes
(softly then boldly) I get lonely
yeah
(carry me there)
carry me there

(need me)
wooh
(love me and feed me)
lift me up, hold me up
(kiss me and free me) pick me up sometime
oh sometime
(I will feel blessed

[spoken]
In our darkest hour
In my deepest despair
Will you still care?
Will you be there?
In my trials
and my tribulations
through our doubts
and frustrations
in my violence
in my turbulence
through my fear
and my confessions
in my anguish and my pain
through my joy
and my sorrow
in the promise of
another tomorrow
I'll never let you part
for you're always
in my heart.

Michael Jackson - New Music - More Music Videos

Why I Came This Way

Tomorrow morning, way too bright and early, I fly back to Lima. Saturday, I begin about a week of beaching it with some girl friends from the trip. Then the 21st, I'm comin' home!

It feels like forever now since the first time I saw the Southern Cross. At the time, I couldn't get this song out of my head. I remember tilting my head back in Lunahuana that first night and crying silently as I stared at those stars because it was all so new, beautiful and distant from everything I knew before.

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet. I enjoy Jimmy's version, but listen to the original, too, if you have the time! I better get to bed.

Southern Cross

Got out of town on a boat
Goin' to Southern islands.
Sailing a reach
Before a followin' sea.

She was makin' for the trades
On the outside,
And the downhill run
To Papeete.

Off the wind on this heading
Lie the Marquesas.
We got eighty feet of the waterline.
Nicely making way.

In a noisy bar in Avalon
I tried to call you.
But on a midnight watch I realized
Why twice you ran away.

Chorus:
Think about how many times
I have fallen
Spirits are using me,
larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me
Cannot be forgotten.

I have been around the world,
Lookin' for that woman/girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will.

When you see the Southern Cross
For the first time
You understand now
Why you came this way

'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from
Is so small.
But it's as big as the promise
The promise of a comin' day.

So I'm sailing for tomorrow
My dreams are a dyin'.
And my love is an anchor tied to you
Tied with a silver chain.

I have my ship
And all her flags are a flyin'
She is all that I have left
And music is her name.

(Chorus)

So we cheated and we lied
And we tested
And we never failed to fail
It was the easiest thing to do.

You will survive being bested.
Somebody fine
Will come along
Make me forget about loving you.
At the Southern Cross.

It's Gonna Take a Lot to Take Me Away from You

Today's SotD takes me back to car rides and sing-alongs. To my 1st time hearing The Generals at Davidson. To learning that this was one of my mom's favorite bands. To making a playlist on my iPod while still at Davidson this past summer, entitled "Foreign on This Side".

This was one of the 1st songs that came to mind when I knew I was coming to Peru. I knew I would want to hear this on the plane ride there...and back. That last plane ride is only 10 days away now! Read, listen, sing along and look above and to Facebook to see what I've been up to lately.

Africa

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say,
"Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you!"

CHORUS:
It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside,
Frightened of this thing that I've become

CHORUS

(Instrumental break)

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

Songs About Sunshine

I tend to be a happy person. That's just my nature. But when you're hiking through a sticky jungle with tons of bugs, weirded out on all types of meds, can't breathe because of a cold, and there's NO sun shining, it's not very easy for even me to be cheerful. The reason I mention the sun is because a lot of my happiness comes from sunlight. I always pick the bed near a window for that reason. That's also why I decided not to apply to that lovely, teeny, artsy college (Bennington) even though I lusted after their awesome literature classes. Just not enough hours of sun up there.

So, back to the jungle (or should I say, "rain forest", because it's SO true.) Our second day in the rain forest, (after a sunny, gorgeous 1st day), was a little bit overcast. I kept thinking, "Come on, Sun, come out to play!" but no deal. I started cracking jokes to cheer myself and others up, but it ended up only helping those around me. After threatening to cut somebody (as I so often do), Elisabeth cracked up and said, "Devon, I love you so much!" When I asked why, she responded, "Because you are always so happy! And that makes other people happy." I guess she didn't realize I wasn't really feeling the joy right then. Until we hiked down to our river boat.

As we stood in line on steep, slippery steps, waiting to board our only means of transportation, a few beams pierced through the clouds. And then there it was. A rainbow, arching perfectly over the river. Each end touched down in the hidden depths of the jungle on either side. Instantly, I was smiling again.

The songs for the day(s) (sorry, but I mean really, I've been in the Amazon!) are all about sunshine and how it connects to happiness. They're both pretty well-known, but still, listen and read the lyrics over. You might discover something new...

Brighter Than Sunshine

I never understood before
I never knew what love was for
My heart was broke, my head was sore
What a feeling

Tied up in ancient history
I didn't believe in destiny
I look up, you're standing next to me
What a feeling

What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
Brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don't care
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine
Suddenly you're mine
And it's brighter than sunshine

I never saw it happening
I'd given up and given in
I just couldn't take the hurt again
What a feeling

I didn't have the strength to fight
Suddenly you seemed so right
Me and you
What a feeling

It's brighter than the sun
It's brighter than the sun
It's brighter than the sun, sun, shine.

Love will remain a mystery
But give me your hand and you will see
Your heart is keeping time with me



Ain't No Sunshine

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.
It's not warm when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's always gone too long anytime she goes away.

Wonder this time where she's gone,
Wonder if she's gone to stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

And I know, I know, I know, I know...

Hey, I ought to leave the young thing alone,
But ain't no sunshine when she's gone, only darkness everyday.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone,
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

Another Hotel Room, Another Song

I'm in Cuzco now. After driving all day from the Puno/Lake Titicaca area northwest through mountains, over the continental divide, and past MORE mountains, we finally arrived. I should've slept the whole ride, what with my cold and all, but I was glued to the window. For hours, I watched the scenery go by, and it never got old. As for Cuzco,the city's downtown is in a valley, but much of the city sprawls up the surrounding mountains, the uniform roof tiles coloring everything orange.

Yesterday, we had dinner at a cool restaurant called the Fallen Angel. Typical expensive, tiny portions place. After that, we couldn't help it...we went to McDonald's. All I wanted was a McFlurry and boy did I get it! An Oreo Duo McFlurry with chocolate ice cream AND hot fudge. Mickey D's...you don't know what you're doing to me.

Feeling quite American and satisfied, I ate my ice cream without pause until this song came on (see below). Being me, I had to put down my spoon, get my shoulders bouncing and sing along. I tried to throw the "Oh (oh!) Oh (oh!)" part back and forth with Linda, but nobody was getting into the music quite like me.

Today, I've been dragging. And my spectrum of meds and side-effects doesn't really help. I'm currently on an anti-parasitic meds, a pro-bacteria pill, cold/allergy meds AND preventive malaria stuff. Wonderful. So, this type of song really picks me up, for example, when I finally wake up from a 4 hour nap :D Read, listen and enjoy! (And say a little prayer for me...I'd love to feel better for the next 3 days in the jungle) This one goes out to my favorite.

No One

I just want you close
Where you can stay forever
You can be sure
That it will only get better

You and me together
Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like
But all i know is everything's going to be alright

No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

When the rain is pouring down
And my heart is hurting
You will always be around
This I know for certain

(repeat chorus)

I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have
I know people will try, try to divide something so real
So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one

Tonight's Songs...

So, I'm in a comfy hotel in Puno, sharing a room with the wonderful Linda. She had the great idea to take turns playing mellow songs from our iTunes. She did the 1st song (which I already loved!) and I did the 2nd. Listen to both and read the words! Tomorrow, Lake Titicaca!

The Scientist

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I've set you apart

Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh, let's go back to the start

Running in circles
Coming up tails
Heads on the science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart

Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Oh tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start

Running in circles
Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m going back to the start



I'm With You

Starlight and wonder
The universe seen through your eyes
The moon is a glorious halo
Hanging high over your head every night
Spinning and spinning
A flick of the wrist and a smile
And in the morning so early
Deep conversations are spoken
in tongues by sunlight

Tonight, you can dream you're a star
You can walk on the clouds
And float to the ground
And I'm with you

We stare out the window
And look to the sky every night
The stars are the beacons of heaven
And maybe one day you'll go up for a ride
Oh, you are the sunshine
You are the face that I dream of
You are your mother's religion
Down on her knees as she
Kisses your heartache away

Tonight, you can dream you're a star
You can walk on the clouds
And float to the ground
And I'm with you
Tonight, you can get very far
The calm and the storm
Are forever yours
And I'm with you

I've thrown coins in the fountain
I've been to the mountain
I've lived through the violence
I've seen what man can do to man
I can't promise you peace
I can't promise you money
But I promise to make you the best man I can
Hold on to something
Cause your life's about to begin

Chao Chao Arequipa

Mamí- tú eres mi otra mama, una de mis mejores amigas y one of the best women I know. No sé if we will meet again en esta vida, pero soy una persona diferente por causa de tu amor. Te amo muchísimo. Gracias por tu patience con mi mezcla de Spanish y ingles. Besitos con mucho carinito. :)

Fio- how lucky I´ve been to have another little sister! You are one of the most intelligent, radiant and loving people I know. Keep asking questions, loving Michael Jackson´s music and being ¨abnormal¨!

Lucy- you are what made this experience possible for me. I will never forget your generosity through the form of open doors, ears and arms. Thank you so much for your patience with my terrible Spanish! You are one of the best encouragers I know!

Arequipa- I will miss your forever-sunny climate. ...I´ll also miss drinking and clubbing for hardly any money, but this is supposed to be a SERIOUS blog post :) I will miss horseback riding through your mountains and villages. I will miss the friendly, laid-back atmosphere. But most of all, I will miss seeing your volcanoes from my window every sunrise and sunset.

Today´s SotD is perfect for this goodbye. I emo´d out to this song, I confess, every time I felt lonely 2 summers ago when I first stayed to work in Davidson. It was a confusing yet liberating time for me. And here I am with these emotions again. I´ll let Mr.A-Z take it from here...watch the video so you can read the lyrics!

Taking It Back to the Beginning

I've been terrible about keeping this Song of the Day a daily thing, but what can a sick girl do? So today, I'm gonna do a bunch of songs to make up for those I've missed and the ones I'm bound to in the future.

Today's songs are from my childhood. They're my first memories of music. When I was 3, I remember singing to these songs as the co-pilot in my mom's small red Saab on the way uptown, to preschool or to church. I remember cracking an imaginary whip to Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Busy Man" on his first album. (Of course, we had the tape.) I remember thinking one of my favorite Gaither Vocal Band songs "New Wine" said "Moo Wine". (I lived on a farm, surrounded my cows...are we surprised?) And it wasn't the "Gaither Vocal Band". It was the Loafer Gaifer Band or Vocal Gaifer Band, or however it managed to come out. Kinda like KFC was always Chicken Fried Chicken in my mind. It still is if I don't stop and think about it before I speak. ANYWAY, these are the first songs I ever knew. Therefore, they obviously shaped the person I became.

The first song was and is a favorite because (duh) it talks about horses and has a classical music prelude. But the older I get, the more I enjoy and can appreciate the words. I've always loved Steven Curtis Chapman...he just seems to get what it's all about. Love. Grace. An adventure and the thirst to know more about life along the way. When I get bogged down, like today in my final paper and parasites (yes, I've got 2 lil Peruvian friends that I'm currently zapping with some nasty medicine), I listen to a song like this. I'll be traveling for 3 weeks all around Peru, starting this weekend. That's another time to listen to this song. Read the lyrics...I especially love the part about "long-faced religion"! :D

The Great Adventure

Saddle up your horses

Started out this morning in the usual way
Chasing thoughts inside my head of all I had to do today
Another time around the circle, try to make it better than the last

I opened up the Bible, and I read about me
Said I'd been a prisoner, and God's grace had set me free
And somewhere between the pages, it hit me like a lightning bolt
I saw a big frontier in front of me, and I heard somebody say
"Let's go"!

Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace
Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown
This is a life like no other - this is The Great Adventure

Come on get ready for the ride of your life
Gonna leave long-faced religion in a cloud of dust behind
And discover all the new horizons just waiting to be explored
This is what we were created for

We'll travel over, over mountains so high
We'll go through valleys below
Still through it all, we'll find that
This is the greatest journey that the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us far beyond our wildest dreams



The second song is from an old tape we had by Michael Card. This, too, I appreciate the older I get. Sometimes, it's easy to feel like a fool because of having faith in something you can't prove. Espcially during this time in my life (college) when people typically question their beliefs, surroundings and raisings.

I will never think that there is anything wrong with questioning what you learn...if there's one thing I hate, it's a sheep (or clone, robot, whatever you want to call it!) I can't stand narrow-mindedness. It's why I'll never live again where I was raised. Many people, though, would probably think I am a fool, like this next song says. That doesn't bother me. I've wrestled with my faith day in and day out and found it to be what keeps me going. I've determined that I'd rather be foolishly in love than not.

God's Own Fool

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind

For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong

And so we follow God's own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
And come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam

So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see



Here's another wonderful S.C.C. song. It basically describes, well, my life.

Lord of the Dance [Col 1:15-20]

On the bank of the Tennessee River
In a small Kentucky town
I drew my first breath one cold November morning
And before my feet even touched the ground
With the doctors and the nurses gathered 'round
I started to dance

A little boy full of wide-eyed wonder
Footloose and fancy free
But it would happen, as it does for every dancer
That I'd stumble on a truth I couldn't see
And find a longing deep inside of me, it said...

I am the heart, I need the heartbeat
I am the eyes, I need the sight
I realize that I am just a body
I need the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But who'll give purpose to chance?
I am the dancer
I need the Lord of the dance

The world beneath us spins in circles
And this life makes us twist and turn and sway
But we were made for more than rhythm with no reason
By the one who moves with passion and with grace
As He dances over all that He has made

I am the heart, He is the heartbeat
I am the eyes, He is the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
He is the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But He gives purpose to chance
I am the dancer
He is the Lord of the dance

And while the music of His love and mercy plays
I will fall down on my knees and I will pray

I am the heart, You are the heartbeat
I am the eyes, You are the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
You are the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But You give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance