distributedlife

The air is cool but not so cold that ice forms on your breath. Clouds mottle the sky with greys filling every space until no blue can be found. The sun tries to force its way through but isn’t strong enough. Looking out through the window only the broadest trees have shadows, all others stick up out of the hushed tones that form the ground. Their own colours also subdued by the perfectly even light filling every crease in every leaf.

A gentle wind winds its way around each tree ruffling its leaves but not pushing it around. Had you been standing out there the wind would wrap your coat around your legs to make sure you’re warm but wouldn’t halt your progress. A faint scent appears on the tip of your nose. Pleasant and refreshing it builds as a soft rain starts to fall. Silently it falls from the clouds. Each drop is cool on your skin but not enough to make you run for cover.

Inside a fire has been started and it pops and cracks with beautiful irregularity that only dancing flames can create. The house is toasty and the heat makes you feel good. Your body warmed by the fire, your soul by the music coming from the lounge. The song has just begun and you know the words. You start to sing.

Tell me all the things you would change

I don’t pretend to know what you want

When you come around and spin my top

Time and again, time and again

Crowded House songs are something that many Australians and New Zealanders born around my time share. Our parents loved the Crowdies and while we may not know the names of the songs when one comes on we know all the words. Crowded House songs give us a chance to remove the shackles of introverted behaviour that may otherwise constrain us. We sing and dance with strangers we’ve only just met but know that we share a common part of our pasts.

Any one of the Crowded House songs could have been the focus of this story but in the end I picked Distant Sun for one reason. The lyrics in the song are wonderful. They talk about love, relationships and overcoming the mistakes and failures of the past. The best line is the last non-chorus line of the song:

I don’t pretend to know what you want
But I offer love

It is such a wonderful statement about being honest in love.

Listening to Crowded House with friends, to me, evokes the same emotions as cooler weather. Hot temperatures push us apart lest we overheat while open fires, jumpers and a chill in the air pull us together for that little bit of extra warmth. It’s something that I find great comfort in. It makes me feel like home.