I flipped on the coffeemaker and popped in a mix cd that I found during the course of my cleaning. It's one that Darcie made me a couple of years ago. Every cd she's ever made for me is fucking epic. There's no other way to say it. She has a knack for making mix cds that take you to another place completely.
The second song on the cd is "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. I didn't realize how that song was made absolutely immortal in my mind the last time I saw Darcie. Howard had just made his exit from the world of the living a few days earlier. We were all in Portland mourning his loss. It was my last night there in Portland and the lot of us went out to sing Karaoke and throw back some drinks at a place called Yen Ha. Speaking of epic, that night definitely qualified.
While Kathleen navigated through the dark waters of a grief that still feels absolutely unreal, it all came to the surface while Darcie belted out the words and the tune to Bette Davis Eyes with a knowingness and confidence that we all love so much about her. Kathleen's tears fell deftly as the lyrics pierced her heart like tiny arrows filled with the sting of total loss. In particular, I recall the exact moment when Kathleen was hit by the weight of her sorrow, when Darcie sang the words: "She's got Greta Garbo stand off sighs." Kathleen's father was a big fan of Greta Garbo and he was a part of the era that the song is written about.
This morning, when that song played, I felt like I'd rubbed a magic lamp and instead of a genie emerging, it was a memory and a sadness that instantly consumed me. I felt transported. I tried to rationalize with myself that I was just feeling emotional because I'd just woken up, but that didn't stop the tears from pushing their way through. I stood in my kitchen pouring my coffee while my eyes poured out salty tears. With every verse I thought of that moment like it was yesterday. How Charles took Kathleen into his arms and held her tenderly in her moment of soul-shaking collapse. How Darcie continued to sing the song, oblivious to the moment playing out between Kathleen and Charles. How I sat there looking on. At Darcie. At Kathleen. At Charles. At the memory of a man whose time ran out.
Her hair is Harlowe gold
Her lips sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn her music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She got Bette Davis eyes
And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
She's got Greta Garbo stand off sighs
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll let you take her home
It whets her appetite
She'll lay you on her throne
She got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you
Off your feet with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes
And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please ya
She's precocious, and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll tease you
She'll unease you
Just to please ya
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you
She knows ya
She's got Bette Davis eyes
Okay. That made me cry.
You have such a way with words little missy, like the memories become even greater because you were there and you love to replay them for me to listen.
Posted by: geeekgirl at May 31, 2006 06:57 PM