“A Horse With No Name”
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with its life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
The sound of White
2008 is when Missy Higgins finally showed up on my radar. Aussies seem to have a tough time finding success in the U.S., at least when it comes to debut albums.
"The Sound of White"
Like a freeze-dried rose, you will never be
What you were, what you were to me in memory
But if I listen to the dark, you'll embrace me like a star
Envelop me, envelop me
If things get real for me down here
Promise to take me to before you went away
If only for a day
If things get real for me down here
Peomise to take me back to the tune we played
Before you went away
And if I listen to the sound of white
Sometimes I hear your smile and breathe your light
If I listen to the sound of white
You're my mystery, one mystery, my mystery, one mystery...
Maybe a Bit After 2008...
But at that point I was young and fresh to notice music and everything it could create. At that point I was using a cheap black MP3 player from Electronics Express, with an equally cheap pair of headphones that cut out if you kinked them a certain way. I rode back and forth to town in my grandma's Ford Explorer with the headphones in and my seatbelt clinging to me. And I played Cave In, by Owl City, on repeat. Maybe it was the subtly sarcastic irony of the lyrics, or maybe it was the funky late-2000s electronic sound, but me and my newly discovered music taste couldn't get enough of Adam Young.