Scalpel's Edge

A surgeon's notes

There’s only us, there’s only this

It may be related to my depressing last post, but I have been revisiting the unavoidable frictions in my life at the moment. It is frustrating to see conflict approaching like a thundercloud. Occasionally, I get mired in it and burst into tears during “romantic” grown breakfast dates.

Anyway, so I just wanted to share this lyric that resonated from my iPod.

There’s only us, There’s only this …

Forget regret or life is yours to miss

No other road, No other way

No day but today

Life Support (RENT)

The expected response is to say how much it moved me. Or how it re-inspired me. But I just burst out laughing. It would be helpful to be able to think that way, but it seems pretty absurd, doesn’t it? Need something more concrete.

4 responses to “There’s only us, there’s only this”

  1. enrico says:

    First time I comment. I am going through a variation of this now (with added caustic elements) as will be seen online shortly. I agree the lyrics are glib, almost meaningless in their impossibility. But they give a direction in which to strive; at some point, one does need to forget for the moment that which they are missing out on or nothing would get done.

    That said, there is a difference between choosing things because you are trying to ‘optimize’ your choices (“best” this, most “comfortable” that) as opposed to having to painfully choose by force between two impossibly cruel choices/scenarios, irreconcilable and unfulfilling without the other.

    I’d like some lyrics for that.

  2. Cris says:

    @enrico: I agree totally. Songs don’t really manage to encapsulate real world choices. But the surprising thing to me was that the lyric still bounced around in my head. I suppose it may be because the musical is actually not twee, and does deal with some difficult issues.

  3. alex says:

    It’s weird (beware: Embarassing personal admission to follow).

    Went thru a breakup recently, and what song was it that had me sobbing at the traffic lights one day?

    Leonard Cohen, perhaps? Jeff Buckley? Perhaps Roy Orbison?

    No, it was Fleetwood bloody Mac’s unerringly positive and glib ‘Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)’!

    Stuff like:

    “Why not think about times to come,
    And not about the things that you’ve done,
    If your life was bad to you,
    Just think what tomorrow will do.”

    Bill Clinton used it as his campaign theme, and I’m sure Christine McVie meant it to be uplifting, but it actually made me feel more despondent that ever at that moment.

    I was actually glad when it was it was followed by a dodgy floor tiles commercial 😉

  4. Cris says:

    @alex: Yep. Sounds like you can totally understand. My song was on my iPod, but I imagine an adbreak would completely change the mood!

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