I’m thrilled to finally feature Chastity Brown in Lavender. She’s crossed my radar so many times in the past year that I feel a little behind the curve, but better late than never. I was listening to the recent release of the Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 4 (put out by Vega Productions to benefit music programs in schools) when I heard her rendition of “For No One.” She’s only done this one cover amongst her original works; it is so very gut-wrenching with her voice and interpretation of Paul McCartney’s lyrics. Slow and contemplative, Chastity sings: “And in her eyes you see nothing/ no sign of love behind the tears/ cried for no one/ a love that should have lasted years.” It captures a dreamy quality of yearning and denial almost too well. Apropos for the Valentine Issue? Indeed.
Valentine’s Day falls when things can be pretty stinky for the singletons. It’s cold and somewhat dark outside, thoughts stray to cozying up with someone we don’t have. On top of it, we’re fighting a fight for the freedom to marry, which has foisted loving couples into our vision and News Feeds in great concentration for over a year. They’re everywhere and the more they’re seen by greater society, the easier the fight will be. Good. But, at the same time, it’s rough. I’ll get it out of the way: I’m happy for you, you two make a great couple, blah blah blah. It’s true. I’m happy for people who have found their beloveds. But, it can bring out a little bit of the bitter, too. Some of us are working out of relationships. Some of us don’t remember our last relationship. Some of us are even new to the community and just figuring out where we fit and what kind of relationship we’re looking to have. Hoping. Our Valentine’s Days are for no one.
The interesting thing about Valentine’s Day is that we don’t tend to ignore it as we would any other holiday that we don’t observe. I never struggle with how to spend Hanukkah as a Lutheran, why do I worry about Valentine’s Day as a singleton? We are funny people. I’m going to take it easy on myself and curl up with Grendel, my dog, as I would on any other Thursday night. I’ll probably hang out on Facebook and listen to more of the Minnesota Beatles Project. Maybe, I’ll have some ice cream that I have to share…wait for it…with no one.
With love,
Andy
Listen to a snippet and buy “For No One” here at Amazon.com.