It's Just Sand

Hey all!

Right now, I am listening to my new favourite song, "Wild at Heart," by Gloriana. It's amazing. It's a country song by a new band (they're touring with Taylor Swift on her Fearless tour), and the lyrics are beautiful ("That rebel moon is shinin' / Those stars burn like diamonds / Hell bent on chasin' down that crazy slide / I'll follow you where you're leading / To the first sweet taste of freedom" is part of the chorus) and the melody is one surprise after another. I love it.

A few weeks ago, I was in Montreal for a long weekend because it was my parents' 25th wedding anniversary (yay!!). It was cold, but lovely. We drove there and the first day was terribly cold, but we walked from our hotel to the Bell Centre (the place where the Montreal Canadiens play), which was at least 25 blocks in freezing temperatures and coat-cutting winds, so you have leave to be impressed. The next day was wonderful; we walked to the Vieux Port and Vieux Montreal (for you non-French speakers, Vieux means old) and we popped into stores on the way there and back (mostly to warm up, but also to immerse ourselves into the culture of the city). That evening, we went into a sports bar/restaurant and watched the New Jersey Devils versus the Montreal Canadiens game in a place that was clearly pro-Canadiens. It was the most intense game ever, because the Devils' goalie, Marty Brodeur, is from Montreal and if the Devils won that night (which they did, with a score of 3-1!) he would tie the all-time wins record by a goalie at 551 wins, tying Patrick Roy (also a Montrealer). Every time the Devils scored, we cheered like crazy, and at the end of the game, when Marty tied the record, everyone at the Bell Centre and everyone at the restaurant stood up and cheered for him. I get goosebumps whenever I think of it. The next day was also spectacular, as we went to the manmade islands surrounding the city, where the World Expo in 1967 was held. When we crossed the bridge, we stopped for a while to look at the ice breaking on the river below us. I've never seen anything like it. On one of the islands was the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Formula 1 race track where the Canadian Grand Prix had been held for years (it has been dropped for this season, sadly). We walked the length of the track, pointing out where certain events we remember happened (pit lane - "oh, this is where Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took out Kimi when the pit lane was closed last year." or "here at this hairpin was Robert Kubica's frightful crash in 2007."). I loved doing that track walk. And since I'm on the subject, I'll just mention that the first Formula 1 race of the 2009 season was yesterday, in Melbourne. It was intense, with the most dramatic crash happening in the last three laps and deciding the final podium as Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel took each other out unnecessarily; my favourite driver, Kimi Raikkonen, didn't finish in his Ferrari (and neither did his teammate, Felipe Massa) because he spun into the wall; and Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello, whose team went from panic when Honda pulled out of the sport in December to redemption when team principal Ross Brawn bought the team and renamed it Brawn GP just three weeks ago, finished first and second respectively, the first time a team went 1-2 in its first Grand Prix since Mercedes in 1954 (and that's cause that was the first year of the championship). It was phenomenal, and I can't wait until next week, when the circus moves to Malaysia! Going back to North America, however, the third day we again walked around the city and we left the next day. The day we came back was the day Marty broke Roy's record and I cried.

When we were in Montreal, I discovered this terrific band from Manitoba. It was the freezing day that we were walking to the Bell Centre, and I saw a music store on the way and suggested we warm up there for a while. I specifically looked for this band because I'd heard of them before (it's Travis Zajac's favourite band, he's from Winnepeg and he likes country and no I'm not obsessed because he told me so himself, personally), and to my absolute delight they had two albums there. The band is called Doc Walker, and I have their self-titled album and Beautiful Life. I haven't opened the latter because I'm waiting until my fervour over the first dies down (which tells me I'll be waiting for a long time to open the second one), but I absolutely love love love Doc Walker. My favourite songs are "My Life," because it is essentially my philosophy on life set to music, and "Driving with the Brakes On," because of the beautiful melody and the bridge (btw, the opening notes sound like Taylor Swift's "The Best Day"). So if you're interested, I highly recommend the band and the songs.

My song today is called "It's Just Sand," and I don't think it needs any explanation. I mean, aside from the obvious fact that it's not based on a true story. It's a happy song (my sister would be so proud), but it's not without its conflict.

It's Just Sand

you call me on the phone one afternoon
say "your mom won't let me see you sometime soon
you can't sneak out, I don't have a car
I don't see how we can make it far"
I take a deep breath and think hey
are we gonna let this get in our way
(you know that)

CHORUS:
it's just sand, it'll fall through the cracks
we've got each other so baby, just relax
we'll figure it out, we'll make this count
and somehow we will make them understand
all these obstacles are like sand

your friends are laughin' cause they don't think we'll last
they think we're gonna break up, and fast
do you still think that we can't make it
cause if you do I don't think I can take it
you look at me and whisper hey
are we gonna let this get in our way
(don't you know that)

CHORUS:
it's just sand, it'll fall through the cracks
we've got each other so baby, just relax
we'll figure it out, we'll make this count
and somehow we will make them understand
all these obstacles are like sand

BRIDGE:
there's you and I and between us the world
all the small things against this boy and girl
but just like you can't ruin a castle with the rain
you can't break us apart by throwin' grains
(don't you know that)

CHORUS:
it's just sand, it'll fall through the cracks
we've got each other so baby, just relax
we'll figure it out, we'll make this count
and somehow we will make them understand
that it's just sand, it'll fall through the cracks
and we've got each other so baby, just relax
we'll figure it out, we'll make this count
and now we hold the future in our hands
cause all these obstacles are like sand

What do you think? I like it. I've been cultivating it since last Friday and I started writing the chorus before I fell asleep last night (cause that's what I do instead of counting sheep, although sometimes I don't get drowsy because I'm so excited about the new song).

Much love, and thank you for the musik!

NBK

p.s. Be on the lookout for "I Should've Said Yes" and "Promises That You Don't Keep."