Nightswimming

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse
Still, it's so much clearer
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge
The moon is low tonight

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday

Nightswimming, remembering that night
September's coming soon
I'm pining for the moon
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming

You, I thought I knew you
You, I cannot judge
You, I thought you knew me,
This one laughing quietly underneath my breath
Nightswimming

The photograph reflects,
Every streetlight a reminder
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night...

********
such a beautiful song. in a way, i call it perfect. the lyrics go so well with the music, and the music makes me feel the lyrics. and the mood is perfect.

every time i hear this song i think of someone.
almost 9 years ago we met.
i was new to the internet. and just healing after a bad breakup - the worst i had experienced, ever. i lost myself. but, i was finding myself again. i began doing things and going places again. taking chances. i had been going to a bunch of shows of my favorite band, the afghan whigs, as they just came out with their new (and last) cd. i drove to cleveland, d.c., nyc, chicago, cinncinnati, d.c. again, penn state...all to see this band. sometimes with friends, sometimes by myself. i met this guy during an aol search for people who had "afghan whigs" in their aol profile - because i was looking for someone who had been to that first d.c. show so i could get a set list. i e-mailed a bunch of people that i found in my search. and one person replied. he was witty, well spoken (ok, well typed) and i could tell he was educated. he had a great sense of humor - and he lived in my state! it was a quick friendship that happened through emails. lots of great banter - back and forth quoting favorite movies - and just getting to know each other - and finding that we had so much in common. so much. in a way, i felt like i hit the lottery, because he was single! and only a couple hours away. long story short...we met, we had fun. we had more fun. we had lots of fun. and i was hooked. i pushed...and it didn't work out. he wasn't ready, and maybe i wasn't all that i thought he was to me, to him. (plainly, i wasn't another person that he couldn't forget.) this happens in life. however...man. it hurt. through that, i learned a lot. i have lovely memories. and we both have moved on. to better places. we're both happy in those places. and i'm happy for him. he's a success as i knew he would be - he already was, but i sense in him a contentment i hadn't sensed in years. yet, he's still who he was. yes, we kept in touch. we e-mail every now and then about music, or movies or what have you.

so much music we had in common. (i hear jeff buckley's last goodbye and...well.) so much music we enjoyed together. so much music i learned from him. and now, when i hear that music, i think of him fondly. and that short (magical to me) time i hold dear. and i smile.

i hope sometimes he hears some song and thinks of me. how could he not?

Nightswimming...
Deserves a quiet night
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago...
...I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago...
...These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday...

...Nightswimming,
remembering that night...

...You, I thought I knew you
You, I cannot judge
You, I thought you knew me,
This one laughing quietly underneath my breath
Nightswimming

The photograph reflects,
Every streetlight a reminder
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night...

Nightswimming