It is said that Joey Ramone was listening to U2's "In a Little While" when he died in 2001. Although the lyrics are clearly about being in love, I got to thinking about how parts of this song would resonate with me if I was in a place where I was about to cross over to the other side. My eyes were drawn to these lyrics as I dusted off my All That You Can't Leave Behind album:
...In a little while
This hurt will hurt no more
I'll be home...
When the night takes a deep breath and the daylight has no air
If I crawl, if I come crawling home
Will you be there?
After hearing about the death of Joey Ramone, Bono said that the song was initially about a lovestruck hangover, but that Joey turned it into a gospel song. It's kind of amazing the way things come full circle - back in the days of U2 as a garage band, their initial influences included a lot of punk, including the Ramones.
And now here we are approaching a time of year that is hard for many Xers: the holidays. While we try to keep up our spirits with new traditions that we have made with our own families, and while we are intentional about bringing back good things we remember - like the TV specials we held dear or good food we ate, there is the undertow of the memories of growing up among a lot of fracture in society - fractures that usually became even wider when the holidays came.
As the holidays approach, I'm thinking a lot this year about the brevity of life - it helps me to keep things in perspective when it all starts to get overwhelming. I'm thinking a lot these days about how, in a little while, this hurt will hurt no more.
No comments:
Post a Comment