Paladin Strait

Initially, I never took a lot of notice of this song, it was just the last one on the album, with a bit of wordage at the end. However, one day, I happened to listen more intently to the lyrics and suddenly, the song took hold of me. It developed a deeply profound and emotional tone that at times, still leaves me moved and tearful, even after having listened to it now, many times. [Ignoring the words after the break, that ties the song with the Lore] The song, with its small beginnings and steady journey towards an impassioned climax, needs only to use a few verses to fashion an elaborate and beautiful allegory of two people, linked by a bond of hope.

In my mind, I imagine the singer as someone who has struggled for a long time against things that would ultimately destroy them. Perhaps they have been in that position for a long time. Maybe they have kidded themselves (and others?) that they will find their way out of that situation, and had mapped out such a route a thousand times but ultimately, had never found sufficient courage to do so. They have struggled on alone, without the situation changing. But there is change. Someone has affected the singer and at long last, they have admitted that they cannot be alone, that they need this other person. Who this person is, I don’t know. Perhaps a loved one or friend, a carer, a professional, or even just themselves – the person that in their own mind, they want to be – who they imagine they CAN be. In this other, the singer finds the courage to make the change, to take the journey they need to make to escape what keeps them there and may eventually take them. In the song, the singer names their journey as the “Paladin Strait”, an arduous and difficult passage, fraught with difficulties on all sides, threatening to submerge them at any time. Yet the singer recognizes that this is it. Their chance. They would take that journey and it would finish either at the other end with the other, somewhere new, or not at all. You can feel that they are scared, recognizing that now, they have fully committed to the unknown and are beyond the familiarity of their old situation. They are doing what they said they would do but never did, but at this point are uncertain of ever getting to where they so desperately want to be. They are having to do this for themselves, without support, but what gives them hope is keeping in sight the other, waiting at the end. There is someone waiting for them on the “safe shore”, expecting them to be there – having faith in them that they would not fail and perhaps that is what the singer had always needed, someone to believe in them and for the singer to be in a position to be able to see that person. The music rouses my hope, carries it forward along with the journey of the singer. I feel it building inside of me, urging for the singer’s safe delivery, wanting them so much to succeed on their desperate gamble. And I see myself as that other person, fiercely staring down at all that seek to disrupt the singer’s passage. Waiting and having a wild hope in them that resolves in an expectation that they will make it. It's a song about taking a chance on it all, despite knowing the massive risks. It’s about feeling alone and knowing there is no way back, no second chance and no certainty that you’ll even succeed, but doing it anyway. All there is, is something that makes it all worthwhile. In this case, someone who believes in you and is waiting for you, keeping expectations that you’re gonna make it. Ultimately, the song is about hope and courage. What a song.

p.s. Having listened to the song more, I am struck that perhaps it's the divine that the singer found and that they are striking out for redemption. I am not a religious person but this song does make you think.........

[Edit: Additional thoughts......]

To me, this song "mind" pictures an eventual meeting of a necessary kind between two people. A longing for one to be close to the other, and the lengths that they are willing to go through to make it happen. It's a romantic piece. A song of longing, need and desire.