My girl Janis was screaming it in my car yesterday, in that way only she knew how.
So if someone comes along,He’s gonna give you some love and affectionI’d say get it while you can, yeah!Honey, get it while you can,Hey, hey, get it while you can,Don’t you turn your back on love, no, no
I was right there with her all the way, but then she did Bobby McGee:
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free.Yeah, an' feeling good was easy, lord, bobby sang the blues,You know feeling good was good enough for me, hmm mm,Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee...
One day up near salinas, lord, i let him slip away,But he was lookin' for that home and i hope he finds it.But i'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterdayTo be holdin' bobby's body next to mine
I realized again that Janis was as conflicted as I have always been about how to come to terms with a sexuality that seems to be at cross purposes with societal expectations of women. I don’t think Janis handled her conflict too well, but who am I to judge. She said she would trade all her tomorrows for a single yesterday with Bobby, and in a sense, she did. While I’m glad I didn’t throw my life away on sex, booze, and drugs, I understand what she meant.
Living life without regrets is only possible if you have Alzheimers. The rest of us will have to come up with a way to balance our lives between the guilt and the pleasure, the tears and the laughter. The price of freedom is often dear, but then, so is the price of slavery.
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me and bobby mcgee is the one song that makes me feel as if i've lived this life before for some odd reason...like i've gambled and lost before.
ReplyDeletei always joke that in my last life i was janis...and i'm just waiting to turn 27 so i can stick that needle in my arm and screw up again...
"the rest of us will have to come up with a way to balance our lives between the guilt and the pleasure, the tears and the laughter. the price of freedom is often dear, but then, so is the price of slavery." ~ your words are SO wise, and speak to me immensely while i'm dealing with issues of regret and guilt!
thanks for sharing.
It's so great that some songs span the generations so nicely. Janis was hell bent on self destruction, ever more so than most of us. I often thought I would trade all my tomorrows in too, but if I had the three beautiful, amazing, humans that are flesh of my flesh would not be here to be be my friends and make the world a better place. You can see from my post that things are not working out the way my daughter planned, but I will give you the same advice I gave her. Guilt and regret are destructive emotions causing you to make bad decisions. If the stupid things I did have any value let it be that you learn from them. You are worthy of love, no matter what you think right now and this test will make you stronger and more able to recognize it when it comes along. Good luck and keep me posted on how you are doing.
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