Life's not a musical...

... it's a movie isn't it?

How are you with musicals? For me, whether stage or 

cinema, I just couldn't get in to musicals. I can't relate 

to them, they don't make sense and they're just one notch 

away from opera and ballet in the 'take seriously' category.

However, there is one that I have always liked... have a 

guess which one;

1.   Sound of Music       .
2.   Grease                  .
3.   West Side Story     .
4.   Blues Brothers       .
5.   Rocky Horror Show.

6.   Or something else?.

West Side Story... why that has grabbed me I don't know,

but I do remember it playing at the cinema when I was about

11 or 12 years old, I'd have to look up its year of release to

say for sure, but I knew nothing about the movie. I didn't see

it at the time. My first exposure to it was when my mother played

the soundtrack on the gramophone sometime during that period.

"Pull back the shield between us, and I'll kiss 
you, Drop your defenses and come, into 
my arms. I'm all for believing, I'm 
all for believing."

By the time I was 13 going 14, I had started buying record

albums and hiving off to my room to play them on the little 
portable gramophone that I had been given. I had 
discovered Cream, Hendrix, Velvet Underground and John 
Mayall, among others, and they were all on high rotation on 
my play list. I can't remember how it came about that the 
West Side Story was in my room, but I put it on one day and 
listened to it as closely as I listened to my other albums 
and it struck a chord with me.

I played that album a lot for a while and I still have it in my 

collection to this day. I've since seen the movie a few times and

thoroughly enjoyed it... no doubt because I already liked the 
songs, but none the less, the movie was enjoyable. (I did go 
to a few midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Show 
in my day, but that was more of an event than going to 
a musical).

But the point is... when does someone break into song during the

normal course of the day as if it were the norm? That's what a 
musical is isn't it? It's presented as if people just break into a 
song without any preamble or second thought... and just as 
amazing, the people around are not only accepting of the fact 
that their colleague/neighbour/policeman or whatever is 
singing instead of talking, they spontaneously break out into 
a choreographed song and dance routine as well.

"I need to know just how you feel, to comfort you;
I need to find the key let me in, into your heart, to find 
your soul."

Suspend reality...? Suspend my brain, you mean. I 
like my movies to reflect life a bit more realistically 
than a musical does.

Well that notion is under threat now. 
My whole understanding and opinion of musicals has just been 
challenged... perhaps musicals are more reflective of reality 
than I ever gave them credit for. 

So what am I on about? Well here's what happened a few days 
ago...

As you might know, Butch and I like to occasionally switch the 
universe off so that there's no background noise, and focus on 
each other for a while. We both have very busy lives which 
tends to occupy us in such a way that we almost lose sight of 
each other through it all. So every now and then we set time 
aside just for us. It could be as little as a few hours or as much 
as a  few days, but it's a time that we steal ourselves away and 
close off all outside influences and concentrate on 
reconnecting with each other.

"I'm all for believing, if you can reveal, the true colours 
within, And say you will be there for me to hold,
When the faith grows old (I'm all for believing)
And life turns cold, (I'm all for believing)" 

We've just spent three days doing exactly that... there's a 
few things that come out of it that show's it to be a very good 
thing for us to do.

We do as two people in love would do, so there's no need 
to expand on that here, but we also talk, and just as 
importantly, we spend time listening to each other too. It's 
very satisfying and very healthy for our relationship. Well 
this time we were sitting on the couch and there was a 
particular CD playing in the background... one of Butch's 
favourites... and one song has lyrics that reflects the 
tenuous start to our relationship. I didn't know it until then, 
but the song's narrative was as if I had written it, it spoke 
as if I were saying the words. 

"So if you're cold I will stay, maybe fate will guide the 
way. I believe in what I see and baby we were meant 
to be, Just believe. Just believe. Just believe.
Trust in me." 

A beautiful song... made infinitely more beautiful by Butch 
just breaking in over the top of it and singing it to me... 
she held my gaze with her beautiful eyes and caressed my 
soul with her beautiful voice whilst filling my heart with 
beautiful words. I sat there with tears rolling down 
my cheeks... it was such a beautiful moment.

Thank you Butch... you've made my life a musical and I 
love it.

Love Bear.