This song hits really close to home because it makes me think of my time after my 15 year old brother committed suicide. "Your trying to find a compromise between remembering and learning to forget; so now just pouring a glass of water is like trying to move boulders with your breath." This is EXACTLY how I felt in the aftermath. The simplest things seemed like it took so much effort to get up and do and accomplish...I wanted to remember everything about my brother; how he looked, smiled, sounded like when he was laughing...but remembering these things always brought me back to the fact that he was suddenly gone. "Reconciliation of guilt and grief, it's the hardest battle you've tried to win and now every year you grit your teeth as it cuts you underneath your skin." This is how it feels years after his death still. The little anniversaries of his birthday and his death...still hurts badly. "Don't leave me breathing, no not alone, there's so much more I meant to tell you... I went by with flowers, just to see, but the granite told me you're still gone.... " The granite being the tombstone...my brother was cremated but I can so see the visual of someone going to a gravesite with flowers and the tombstone being the ultimate reminder that it wasn't a dream...that the person is really gone.
Absolutely haunting!
I totally agree, nursemaryck. This song is one of the most haunting mourning songs I've ever heard. It's a combination of the lyrics, the simple guitar work, and Chris's voice. It goes right to the heart of the feeling of extreme loss without being melodramatic or over done. She picks such poignant images and presents them in a gut wrenching way that it's impossible to listen to this song without being extremely moved, even if one has not experienced a similar loss. It taps into a universal sense of loss and mourning to a degree I've never heard, outside of...
I totally agree, nursemaryck. This song is one of the most haunting mourning songs I've ever heard. It's a combination of the lyrics, the simple guitar work, and Chris's voice. It goes right to the heart of the feeling of extreme loss without being melodramatic or over done. She picks such poignant images and presents them in a gut wrenching way that it's impossible to listen to this song without being extremely moved, even if one has not experienced a similar loss. It taps into a universal sense of loss and mourning to a degree I've never heard, outside of Patty Griffin's "Long Ride Home".
I wonder, though, what she meant by the line "reconciliation of guilt and grief". What do you think she felt guilty for? The inconsolable grief part if clear; just not the guilt.
I really like the use of "the granite told me you're still gone". It conveys a powerful sense of finality, and it adds to the haunting imagery/impact of the song, especially the way it repeats throughout the song. I'd never heard anything by Chris Pureka before hearing this song, but it's become one of my favorite songs and motivated me to listen to more of Chris's music as a result. She's definitely a very special and talented singer-songwriter.
This song hits really close to home because it makes me think of my time after my 15 year old brother committed suicide. "Your trying to find a compromise between remembering and learning to forget; so now just pouring a glass of water is like trying to move boulders with your breath." This is EXACTLY how I felt in the aftermath. The simplest things seemed like it took so much effort to get up and do and accomplish...I wanted to remember everything about my brother; how he looked, smiled, sounded like when he was laughing...but remembering these things always brought me back to the fact that he was suddenly gone. "Reconciliation of guilt and grief, it's the hardest battle you've tried to win and now every year you grit your teeth as it cuts you underneath your skin." This is how it feels years after his death still. The little anniversaries of his birthday and his death...still hurts badly. "Don't leave me breathing, no not alone, there's so much more I meant to tell you... I went by with flowers, just to see, but the granite told me you're still gone.... " The granite being the tombstone...my brother was cremated but I can so see the visual of someone going to a gravesite with flowers and the tombstone being the ultimate reminder that it wasn't a dream...that the person is really gone. Absolutely haunting!
I totally agree, nursemaryck. This song is one of the most haunting mourning songs I've ever heard. It's a combination of the lyrics, the simple guitar work, and Chris's voice. It goes right to the heart of the feeling of extreme loss without being melodramatic or over done. She picks such poignant images and presents them in a gut wrenching way that it's impossible to listen to this song without being extremely moved, even if one has not experienced a similar loss. It taps into a universal sense of loss and mourning to a degree I've never heard, outside of...
I totally agree, nursemaryck. This song is one of the most haunting mourning songs I've ever heard. It's a combination of the lyrics, the simple guitar work, and Chris's voice. It goes right to the heart of the feeling of extreme loss without being melodramatic or over done. She picks such poignant images and presents them in a gut wrenching way that it's impossible to listen to this song without being extremely moved, even if one has not experienced a similar loss. It taps into a universal sense of loss and mourning to a degree I've never heard, outside of Patty Griffin's "Long Ride Home".
I wonder, though, what she meant by the line "reconciliation of guilt and grief". What do you think she felt guilty for? The inconsolable grief part if clear; just not the guilt.
I really like the use of "the granite told me you're still gone". It conveys a powerful sense of finality, and it adds to the haunting imagery/impact of the song, especially the way it repeats throughout the song. I'd never heard anything by Chris Pureka before hearing this song, but it's become one of my favorite songs and motivated me to listen to more of Chris's music as a result. She's definitely a very special and talented singer-songwriter.