#102 Car Song
I have been listening to new music again. The Clockworks, an Irish band from Galway, got their new album out. I listen to it when shopping in our usual supermarket. It’s probably one of the best debut albums I’ve heard even if I’m in the middle of another rough wave (Halloween all over again).
“Car Song” starts. Somewhere in the middle of the song, my eyes just break. I need to find a hiding place. I see an empty aisle where all the vitamins are (Janne was here, I bet).
My mind automatically went back to a trip Janne and I took while living in Dublin. On the spur of the moment, we rented a car and decided to drive to the West Coast, to the town of Sligo. We explored Strandhill and watched Knocknarea from far away. What a glorious long weekend it was. We felt free and we felt complete.
I had read Yeats’ poem about the Lake Isle of Innisfree, the one with the verse, “and I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow”. I wanted to see the place that had inspired it. Janne never said no to my crazy ideas. We took what were the smallest roads we ever drove in Ireland. We saw the Isle even if it wasn’t the impressive sight I thought. I found out just now that this poem is stamped in every Irish passport (page 22).
When we were on our way to Sligo, just past Carrick-On-Shannon, I saw a sculpture called The Gaelic Chieftain. I thought of making a photo, but we didn’t stop. On our way back to Dublin, we took a break there. For a trip that lasted three full days, this specific place has taken too much space in my memory. I made photos of the horse, of Janne and the car, of the way leading to this place.
When I hear “Car Song”, I can’t think of anything else but the road leading up here. I have no idea what connection this music is triggering. I can see her next to me holding my hand while we drive up this hill. I loved Janne so much every single day. I can’t believe this happened fifteen years and one month ago.
I hear the song and see us. It’s like having a music video in my head just waiting for this.
The album is called Exit Strategy telling the story of a transition from Galway to London. It’s about a different transition for me now.
