Fear and Love

For no particular reason, I present to you one of my favourite songs, Fear and Love by one of my most beloved bands- Morcheeba. It came on while playing a mix CD earlier today and I felt like sharing it. I discovered this band when I was living in Sydney, about a decade ago... Holy monkey, has it really been ten years?! Times flies when you're having fun... and when you are not paying attention:)

Anywho- it was my 21st birthday and a friend of mine came over to hang out before the evening birthday fun started. My birthday coincided with the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade/Bash Sydney has every year and the plan was to go and enjoy the parade and related festivities (it was an amazing night- highlights included dancing on the street with hundreds of other people, cheering on the GORGEOUS drag queens in the parade, spotting both Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor in the crowds, and the almost naked cowboys riding a huge penis float). It was a warm day (yay southern hemisphere) and we were hanging out in the backyard of my house in Glebe (a suburb of Sydney, right by University of Sydney. Great name, yes?).

My friend stated that I had to hear this band, and put on Morcheeba's album 'Big Calm'.

I then proceeded to fall in love. The lyrics, the bass, the rhythms, the voice(!!)- I was smitten. Still am. Over the years, every once in a while, I'll meet someone who knows and loves Morcheeba like I do. Immediately there is a connection, an understanding. I was at a Morcheeba concert a few years ago and started talking to people around me in the crowd and we shared our stories of discovery of the band. I wasn't the only one who experienced love at first listen.

The power music has in imprinting on our minds and souls depends on a number of factors. Generally, life context plays a fairly big role. Why a song will grab your heart at one time over another depends on what the song means to you at that particular time. Musical preference is another factor. Morcheeba blends a number of sounds that appeal to me. When I heard their song Fear and Love for the first time, I was in a place of self reflection and discovery. Having taken myself out of my comfort zone of family, familiarity of location and predictability, I was learning a lot about my self imposed limitations. The point of the song is to address the dynamic relationship between fear and love, and I was in place where I was realizing my fear of love/vulnerability and my love of...or really, addiction to fear.

At this point in my life, the song resonates as a landmark of a moment in my process of self discovery, and as a reminder of how far I've come. And, I still think it is a lovely song:)

For your listening pleasure, the song can be heard here.

And here are the lyrics-

We always have a choice
Or at least I think we do
We can always use our voice
I thought this to be true
We can live in fear
Extend our selves to love
We can fall below
Or lift our selves above

Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
But it's not always that clear

I always try so hard
To share my self around
But now I'm closing up again
Drilling through the ground

Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
But it's not always that clear

I'd love to give my self away
But I find it hard to trust
I've got no map to find my way
Amongst these clouds of dust

Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving

But it's not always that clear
But it's not always that clear
But it's not always that clear
But it's not always that clear