Drive fast, take chances…
(Listen to this song while you read, listening inspired this post.)
On a quick listen you might think this is a breakup song, and it could be, but it could also be about that moment when you realize you’re alone. Alone in the most beautiful way.
I think this song may be about focusing on you. That is how this song managed to get its hooks into me. It reminded me of the many times I was faced with a choice and when I chose me, I did well. The many times I chose otherwise I was only left with memories…
Finding the beauty of being alone was a pivotal point in my life and I am richer today because of that. My partner and I are creeping up on twenty-five years of wandering around together and we both understand the value of alone. We have found a very happy wander when each of us is taking the time to bathe in the beauty of alone.
Kelsey Blackstone releases her debut EP, The Art of Falling, this November, and I was asked to write about Semi Truck, the third track on the EP. I came very close to using the excuse of being “busy”, but I decided to soak in it a while and see what it could tell me. It told me to write… I have listened to all of the music that I can find of Kelsey’s and I found power in her voice and magic in her keyboard. Her bluesy vocals will make you cry and then she’ll blew you away with a powerful rock ballad, just to show off her range. You get a glimpse of all those parts on Semi Truck, Thank you Kelsey, for putting this piece of you out into the ethers so we can find it and embrace the idea of being beautifully alone.
Kelsey is an incredible keyboardist who understands quiet and nuance. Just before she sings the line, “Head on Crash”, she takes a gorgeous walk down the keys that will ring in my mind forever. She also surrounds herself with great musicians, in particular, Ava Connaughton, a phenomenal bassist. As I went through Kelsey’s catalog I kept being smacked by this bass line or that one, and every time, when I looked at the credits it was Ava… I am really looking forward to more from all of them.
Epiphanies can feel very much like getting hit by a semi-truck. Especially if it is telling you to walk away from someone or something. But Kelsey has given us a blueprint to navigating the crashing feeling of failing and dying.
Just be mean.
I had to really ponder the lyric about being mean and honestly, I think it’s simple. This is about you, and the fact that you are the only one responsible for your wellbeing. Investing in you and pouring your soul into the places that have value. Embracing the knowledge that you are the perfect combination of stardust the universe expected. Do exactly what you are destined to do and yes, you have something to say about that. There are so many people in the world that will try to turn this into something about them. Walk away from them and be mean. You are the only one who gets to be in charge of your adventure.
You will have heartache and failures, they teach us beauty and joy. They also teach us, the value of me, and I think that this is the heart of this song. ‘Find what makes your own heart beat”. Use those moments that feel like they will bury you to see the depth of your character and just how strong you are. Listen to your gut screaming out even if you don’t want to hear it. There is joy and power as you reach the places these epiphanies are trying to steer you to. Reach out and make your own heart beat.
I am so grateful for the epiphanies I have had over my abundance of years, but there are some I hate. I hate them because they were so painful, but they were right, and I didn’t always listen…
Years ago, I had a wildfire of a friend who came roaring through my life and she never liked saying goodbye, so she would just say “ see ya friend, drive fast, take chances…” I think embracing alone is a bit like driving fast and taking chances, it takes some nerve to be ok with running into the storm alone. But there is nothing better than you to take chances on.
If you are feeling like music has sung its last song, you couldn’t be more wrong. Kelsey shows us that as long as there are humans willing to stare into the wild and give us the songs they find, we will be just fine. Now go drive very fast and take some wild chances.
Listening, learning and growing…
