CD: The Age of Miracles by Mary Chapin Carpenter (Tracks 1-3)
What am I doing? The introduction’s here.
Track 1: We Traveled So Far
In addition to a great way to start off the album, this is also a great wedding first-dance song. There’s a comfortable swaying back and forth rhythm, which is perfect for a romantic slow dance. The words reflect the struggles of two people to reach this place. It’s I in the first verse, You in the second verse, and We in the third verse.
Favorite lines:
And you with the blue in your eyes
The storms of life leave a few lines
It’s worth it all learning at last
The future begins with the past
Track 2: Zephyr
And we move from something very grounded to something very free. This one is about wanting to fly. The speaker (singer?) compares him/herself to a zephyr and tries to explain the need to untether. The relationship is still there but locking down a person who flies is not the way to keep him/her.
The opening of this song is essentially the same as those of We Traveled So Far except We Traveled asked why “some go and some stay,” while Zephyr admits that
I don’t know nothing, nothing today
Whether to leave or to stay
I like that inclusion of oneself within the universal because isn’t that really the truth? If I knew why I did something, I would be closer to knowing why others do the same.
There is a really fine bridge in this song:
All of the wings I’ve ridden back home to you
All the things I’ve given I’ve wanted to
All that you see has always belonged to you
Except for the wind…
Yes, the wind is just a better way of saying me.
Mary Chapin Carpenter uses the word yar in this song. Ever since I first learned it in the movie High Society
Track 3: I Put My Ring Back On
I wasn’t that enamored with the somewhat sentimental subject matter at first, but this song has really grown on me. First, it is the catchiest song on the album, and I keep humming and humming it. Second, it’s always a pleasure to hear Vince Gill, who sings a beautiful harmony. Third, MCC has a way of making very simple ideas very adult (as in grown-up, see I Want To Be Your Girlfriend). And lastly, what great lines:
And love wounds with such simplicity
And your kiss remembers the mystery
Other posts in this series