Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

As all of you have realized by now, I love music.  Moreover, I am in love with it.  For me, it is one of the most beautiful & most necessary parts of life.  What would our lives sound like without it?  How would we transport back in time to special moments or years in our lives without it?

I can remember where I was the first time I heard certain songs because the impact they had on me was just massive.  They were so beautiful it actually hurt to listen to them.  The first time I heard the opening guitar riff of Derek & The Dominos “Layla” I froze.  All I could think was, “what the hell was that?”  Then the second riff followed and I thought, “My God, what the hell is that?”  I managed to stagger to the edge of my bed, sat down and stared directly into the radio as if a sign was going to pop up to tell me what this unbelievably gorgeous but heartbreaking sound was that I had never heard before.  I remember having to close my eyes and take in some deep breaths because I was in sensory overload.  And this was before Eric Clapton sang.  One. Single. Note.

Decades later and I still lose my breath whenever I listen to it.  And that includes the absolutely sublime four minute piano exit with the chirping birds at the end.  No wonder Scorsese used that part of it to end the movie “Goodfellas” with.  He is an artist who appreciates the craft of a fellow artist.  There was a reason someone declared “Clapton is god” back in the late 1960’s when this song was not even an idea yet.  He is just that  insanely talented.

As much as that song impacted me, so has today’s.  It is a beautiful ballad by a man who, initially frustrated by how long it was taking for his wife to get ready for them to go out, used that time to write a love letter to her.  No grand gestures, no gifts, no sugary metaphors, no special circumstances needed.  Just the love for his wife in an ordinary moment.  Simple.  Elegant.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  Eric Clapton has single handedly given every man alive a lesson on how it is done (although one missed it as evidenced in this commercial).  Bravo to an incredibly great man.  And to this unbelievably gorgeous song.

“I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize how much I love you.”

Eric Clapton at the Knebworth Concert, June 1990.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Eric Clapton:  “Wonderful Tonight” (1977, written by Eric Clapton).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.