…a good mix tape will put you in the right mood

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While trying to get motivated to work on an economics case study (or more accurately, trying to figure out if there was anything else I could do instead of research), I realized I haven’t contributed to this little blog of ours in a good, long time. Chalk it up to work getting increasingly busier (finally), and school kicking into full gear for, well forever; but still, I’m sure someone out there still enjoys reading what I have to say, so I’d hate to disappoint all two of you.

The wedding is now officially less than four months away (!) and wedding planning is in a bit of a lull, as there isn’t a whole lot to do since all the major stuff is out of the way and the details don’t need to be addressed quite yet. Bits and pieces still come up often in conversations Paul and I have, but they’re generally casual references.

“We need to figure out accompaniment for the processional”

“Does our DJ have sound equipment?”

“Does our officiant need a tie that matches the groomsmen?”

Generally, very enthralling and important topics. So, a couple weeks ago, the topic of recessional music was breached. We have processional music and the music performed during the ceremony figured out, but the recessional has been left hanging. It needs to be something peppy–with a celebratory feel to it. It would also be nice to have something with some significance behind it. Here was what we came up with, but we’re not sure if it’s quite right. And this is where you come in, we need an outside party opinion:

Here Comes My Baby by Cat Stevens

Sure, the song itself is about unrequited love (which is why it might be weird to have as a processional song). But we’re hoping the story behind it will rationalize our reasons behind picking it in the first place…

Back in our Orr Hall RA days, our boss made everyone on staff a mix CD for Christmas. We all listened to music during our, often-times tedious and long desk shifts, so we frequently passed around various albums and mixes to help further break up the monotony. Following our boss’s lead, Paul ended up making “RA Soundtracks” for the staff. The first mix had a variety of songs, some relating to other staffers and life as an RA (Long Haired Redneck by David Allen Coe was a shout-out to Paul’s Nebraska farm-boy floor-mate, Marcy Playground’s Sex and Candy was a reference to the potential dangers of hall rounds, etc) and others thrown in for the hell of it.

Paul eventually posted his picks and reasons for the picks on his then current blog. Here Comes My Baby made an appearance on this mix. The only thing mentioned about this particular song in Paul’s description was simply “Here for a reason.” I didn’t think anything of it, well nothing beyond thinking how much I liked Cat Stevens, anyway.

A second volume was released the following semester and the two soundtracks were on a fairly constant rotation at Jenn and Phil’s when I moved in with them that summer. They dug the selections, I dug the selections, it kept us entertained while we painted various rooms at the house. Phil once asked if any of the songs were a reference to me.

“Well, not everyone got a song dedicated to them…but I’m pretty sure Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen is for me.” I said, completely joking because I really didn’t think any of the songs referenced me in any way, shape or form.

Although, Punk Rock Girl is a great song…but I digress. Fast-forward 4 months or so. Paul and I had just started dating. While bored at work one day, I was perusing old blog posts of Paul’s. I came across the RA Soundtrack playlist explanations and wondered why I had never asked why he actually put the Cat Stevens song on the CD. So I emailed and asked him.

“Gee, Kathryn, what do YOU think the reason was? You’ve listened to the lyrics, I’m assuming…”

I had indeed, listened to the lyrics, but I have a tendency to learn all the lyrics to a song without actually comprehending the meaning of the song. I’m sure there’s some linguistic concept behind this–word comprehension without contextual comprehension, perhaps–but no matter, I knew all the words, but didn’t really know what the song was about. So imagine my surprise when I actually read the lyrics.

Well, crap. How did I miss that only-slightly-subtle message? Because I’m an idiot, apparently. Evidently, Paul had debated about whether or not to even include the song at all, for fear that I would figure it out and react poorly to it. There might have been some loss of sleep over the final decision to include it (from what I remember Paul telling me), and after all the stress, the whole thing just went completely over my head.

So now, every time we hear the song, we chuckle and I apologize for being so incredibly oblivious and thank Paul for not thinking I’m a complete flake and for toughing it out for 9 more months (he gave us the CD back in January of that year).

So, dearest readers, the song is upbeat, and has a significant meaning to us, but is it weird to have a song about unrequited love usher us out of our own wedding ceremony? I tend to think that (hopefully) there are other people like me out there who won’t necessarily pick up on the lyrics if they hear them. But then again, well, there very well may not be and we could end up leaving people very, very puzzled.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Please share.

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