Turn On Some Music... Just like Music...

My first guitar wasn't hard to name

She's a Squire by Fender

I held her in my hand and felt she was meant to play the blues

Shiny, dark brown mahogany, pretty steel strings

She was a heartbreaker

And all I heard was

"Roxanne, Roxanne, I wanna be your man!"

Like she had already broken some poor man's

       heart before she had ever started playing her first note
She was Roxanne


But this one
       I didn't want to like him
He was a runt, small and insignificant, bought on a whim
       of missing Roxanne,
And disappointment folllowed when he didn't sound like her

An Encore, yellow faced, rich cherry wood body
       vinyl strings that didn't have that Roxanne twang
       and so easily lost their tune

But I picked him up yesterday, when there was no music in my life
Struck him hard and sure
       And without ever tuning him
He sounded perfect, the notes whole and pure

And I wrote my first real song without Roxanne
       and I loved him at last
Seven months past due, Icarus was born


I wrote this about my guitars... One's in America (Roxanne) and one just helped to keep me sane across the Pond here in London (Icarus).  I know they're not really people, but there's just something about an instrument... when you run your hands along it, you can almost feel the care that was taken to make it and hear the music it was meant to bring...   I get used to things and people I love, and when I'm not in the mood to, I don't want to embrace change... as was the case of my second guitar when I realized shortly after I bought it, that it was nothing like my first.  But as always, I learn and relearn this lesson, you can never judge a book by its cover... and I love him now... Icarus... like that silly boy who fell out of the sky... maybe he wasn't so silly.  Maybe he was just misunderstood, maybe he was too caught up in the beauty, intensity, and warmth of the Sun to even feel his wings melting...  Like I misunderstood the beauty of the Music that my second guitar could make, just because it didn't sound like my first...  I finally named him today... Icarus seemed fitting

It may sound a bit insane, talking about my guitars like they're people...  But sometimes, they can keep you company and cheer you up as sure as any person can, if not better... So I guess it's not so crazy when you think about it...  So, thank you for bringing Music to my Life, Icarus...  I'm sorry I judged you too hastily.

In closing, I'd like to share with you some words from the immortal Marvin Gaye, from his song "Turn On Some Music" from his Midnight Love and the Sexual Healing Sessions.  These words actually come from Erik Sermon's 2001 hit "Music" which sampled an outtake of Gaye's track.... These might be the words from an earlier verison of the song as I've found if you google "Turn on Some Music" lyrics, you don't get the same words...  In any case, this verse pretty much sums up how I felt today:


Music is the soul of the man
Music makes a happy day
And music makes the clouds go by baby
Your music keeps my tears inside my eyes
Your music makes me want to sing
Girl, music is a joy to bring
Music is my heart and soul
More precious than gold
Happiness today is just a song away
I love your music baby

-Turn on Some Music



~ LondonFoundGirl