And So It Goes...

I grew up listening to the greats, thanks to Daddy Dearest: Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, etc etc etc. I was fascinated by lyrics and am still confused by people who listen to music without knowing what the singer is saying and/or having an opinion on it. If it were up to me, these people should be forced to listen to dead airwaves until I say so.

Anyway, there was this Billy Joel song that I obsessed over long before I should have. In other words, I was in about 5th grade and hadn't even had my first kiss. Yet, I heard these lyrics and I understood them probably better than I do today, after many first kisses and many last loves. I wrote the lyrics down on a hot pink index card and read them before bed, or when I was grounded and banished to my room. It was almost as if these words were my prayer. I can't say why. I can guess, but that would ruin it. To this day, sometimes when I'm bored, I find myself reciting them again, for reasons unknown. So HA, now you will read them too because...I said so.

In every heart there is a room A sanctuary safe and strong To heal the wounds from lovers past Until a new one comes along I spoke to you in cautious tones You answered me with no pretense And still I feel I said too much My silence is my self defense And every time I've held a rose It seems I only felt the thorns And so it goes, and so it goes And so will you soon I suppose But if my silence made you leave Then that would be my worst mistake So I will share this room with you And you can have this heart to break And this is why my eyes are closed It's just as well for all I've seen And so it goes, and so it goes And you're the only one who knows So I would choose to be with you That's if the choice were mine to make But you can make decisions too And you can have this heart to break And so it goes, and so it goes And you're the only one who knows. ~Billy Joel