Songs That Stalk
Saturday morning, I woke up with “Girl Disappearing” playing inside my head. Sunday, it was “Digital Ghost” and this cloudy Monday morning finds “Beauty of Speed” going round and round.
It’s not as harrowing as it seems. This is the normal course a Tori Amos album takes for me. First, I listen to it a few times to become familiar with the songs, next I analyze most or all of the songs by reading the lyrics as I listen to the songs, then I set them free to do what they will. Typically, I wake up with one or two songs stuck in my head sporadically and/or some of the songs attach themselves to past or present relationships or epiphanies in my life.
This is the first time that three different songs have echoed in my head on three consecutive days. What I’ve determined from this so far is that “Girl Disappearing” most likely has her roots in the Mary Magdalene story, of which Tori is so fond. There was recently another special on public television about who Magdalene really was and why she all but disappeared from our stories and knowledge. This may have prompted the connection.
“Digital Ghost” and “Beauty of Speed” are two of the songs that speak to me of the special relationship I mentioned in Reconciling the Feminine. Invariably, there will be at least one (usually more) song from the Tori Amos albums subsequent to our fall, that connects she and I. Reminds us that what we had was real and is still alive, however small a part it may play in our current lives. This is reassuring and also a little sad.
“Bouncing Off Clouds” and to some extent, “Roosterspur Bridge” also serve as this pipeline of sorts… the next time I talk to her, I’m sure I’ll find that she agrees.
Tori Amos, Beauty of Speed, Bouncing Off Clouds, Digital Ghost, Girl Disappearing, Roosterspur Bridge, American Doll Posse
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