Songs for Spike, Part III

I've been listening to my compilation CD for Spike a lot over the past week. I really like it, but I'm discovering that many of these songs are on this CD for reasons that have nothing to do with the songs, but rather with the way they have been woven into my own life.

Here are songs 11-15. (For songs 1-10, see posts below.)

11. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You by Stevie Nicks. First of all, Spike, I put the version of this song that was recorded at a concert in 2001. I bought the bootleg on EBay and discovered that you can actually hear Mommy shout, "We love you Stevie!" at the top of my lungs at one point during this song. (After Mommy yelled that, Stevie looked at her and smiled.) Yes, it's true--Mommy's a little nuts.

Here's the story behind this song, as told by Stevie herself. (This song was inspired by and written for Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh.)

He seemed to be in a lot of pain, though he hid it well.

But finally, a few days later, (we were in Denver), he rented a jeep and drove me up into the snow covered hills of Colorado... for about two hours... He wouldn't tell me where we were going... but he did tell me a story of a little daughter that he had lost.

I guess I had been complaining about a lot of things going on on the road, and he decided to make me aware of how unimportant my problems were, if they were compared to worse sorrows. So he told me that he had taken his little girl to this magic park whenever he could, and the only thing she EVER complained about was that she was too little to reach up to the drinking fountain.

As we drove up to this beautiful park, (it was snowing a little bit), he came around to open my door and help me down, and when I looked up and saw the park... his baby's park, and I burst into tears saying, 'You built a drinking fountain here for her... didn't you?' I was right, under a huge beautiful hanging tree, was a tiny silver drinking fountain... I left Joe to get to it, and on it, it said, 'dedicated to HER and all others who were too small to get a drink.'

So he wrote a song for her [Emma's Song] and I wrote a song for him... 'This is your song...' I said... to the people... but it was Joe's song. Thank you, Joe, for the most committed song I ever wrote... But more than that, thank you for inspiring me in so many ways. Nothing in my life ever seems as dark anymore since we took that drive.

I guess I put this song on the CD because I hope you'll always be able to find perspective even when times are tough. And I want you to know that I'll ALWAYS help you reach the drinking fountain. Always.

12. Haven't Got Time for the Pain by Carly Simon. These lyrics speak to the difficult and triumphant journey that your daddy and I have been on for more than two years.

All those crazy nights when I cried myself to sleep
Now melodrama never makes me weep anymore
'Cause I haven't got time for the pain
I haven't got room for the pain
I haven't the need for the pain
Not since I've known you

13. I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross. Okay, this makes me laugh, but I have this vision of being in the delivery room, and they plop you on my stomach and say, "Meet your daughter," and we lock eyes and you burst into song:

I'm coming out
I want the world to know
Got to let it show

Maybe it's just funny to me. But hey, it's my CD. :-)

14. Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan. What a wonderful love song.

Your love is better than ice cream
Better than anything else that I've tried
And your love is better than ice cream
Everyone here know how to fight
And it's a long way down to the place where we started from

There's another verse about your love being better than chocolate. Now that's some SERIOUS love.

15. Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks. I talked about this song in an earlier post. I sing it to Spike most days. What a beautiful lullaby.

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up