Don't Wait Too Long

Madeleine Peyroux – Don’t Wait Too Long


I was just awakened from a midnight stupor by an interesting melody streaming into the Droid from Pandora. This woman’s voice is haunting and reminisces of an older time, but the melody of the song was spot on, and caught my attention. For those curious, this was the Norah Jones channel. It relaxes me, I can be intense. I paid heed to the lyrical content and her words found a place in my head. “Don’t wait too long”. This is a powerful concept, and so, so true. Here is the text in full:

You can cry a million tears
You can wait a million years
If you think that time will change your ways
Don't wait too long

When your morning turns to night
Who'll be loving you by candlelight
If you think that time will change your ways
Don't wait too long

Maybe I got a lot to learn
Time can slip away
Sometimes you got to lose it all
Before you find your way

Take a chance, play your part
Make romance, it might break your heart.
But if you think that time will change your ways
Don't wait too long

It may rain, it may shine
Love will age like fine red wine
But if you think that time will change your ways
Don't wait too long

Maybe you and I got a lot to learn
Don't waste another day
Maybe you got to lose it all
Before you find your way

Take a chance, play your part
Make romance, it might break your heart
But if you think that time will change your ways
Don't wait too long

Don't wait
Hmm... Don't wait

Maybe I’m reading more into the lyrics than is there.  Madeleine was quoted once as saying her “whole life is in this song”, which leads me to believe there’s some insight. Amazing that we can only see the truest principles in life after experiencing a loss, missed opportunity or tragedy. I suppose we all try to instill these types of values in our children, but do we really provide such an example? I heard an author on NPR once mention an exercise he did with his kids every year during some religious holiday. They used no electricity for 2 weeks in the home. Using a fireplace for heat, by candlelight they sat and read, talked, played games and connected as people did in a time when there was no choice but to live this way. I loved the idea, and contemplated doing the same (maybe only a week) with my family. We have a Wii, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC, Wi-Fi, laptop, HDTV, MP3 players, DVD-RW, CDRW, Digital Cams, Cell phones and Droid with unlimited text and data packages, and who knows what else is buried in the piles of electronics and cords all around the place. If only the white glow of an LCD monitor could tan my face, I’d be like a Ken doll. Thinking about all of this, now, maybe I get it. Lesson learned. Unlikely. Sometimes I think I’d like to just live in the woods with a guitar. Since I suck at playing it, likely the guitar becomes firewood. Then what? Without all the things we “need” to get through the day, what kind of person would we be? I think this may be the reason for such a high divorce rate. People don’t really ever spend time together, with all the gadgetry and digitizing we do constantly. Lora and I have literally texted each other from the next room. Sometimes from the same room if making rude comments behind the back of an unruly guest. Once they’ve been around one another long enough for some real personality to seep through the proverbial media shield, one can’t stand the person they’ve found on the other end and blamo, divorce. I say, you want to marry someone, spend a month with no TV, internet or phones. If you still want to marry, then you’ll likely succeed. Marriages of old lasted longer because they passed this test unbeknownst. Lora and I did this experiment by default because we were broke and couldn’t afford any technology. 15 years, theory proven. Don’t marry someone you can’t sit and stare at for 30 days. Don’t get me wrong, this revelation isn’t going to have me dumping my droid in the Merrimack, but I think we should all take some time more often than not and enjoy the people and things that make our lives worth something, whatever that is. And if there is something in life that may make you happy, don’t wait too long.

-BK