Virginia

There is a genesis to this song...it all started with curiosity and melted into fascination. As I read biographies on Virginia Woolf...read parts of her letters and diaries...I discovered a kinship. The connection I felt to her was only strengthened when I discovered we share the same birthday.

Today, January 25th.

I understood her. I understood her life, her demons, her struggles, triumphs, power and, ultimately, her death.

There were several specific things that intrigued me and I gravitated to...things I wanted to incorporate into the song. A quote that Virginia Woolf was pretty but never beautiful...that she was an excellent swimmer...yet she choose to fill her pockets with stones and will herself into a river to drown...she wrote three suicide notes (which is why I chose to repeat the word down three times in the verses) and lastly, I wanted to pay tribute to Emily Sailers of the Indigo Girls whose song, Virginia Woolf, was my first introduction to her life.

I've shared this song with a handful of people - before sharing it here. This song is a different departure for me...it has an unfamiliar shade of transparency to it. The reactions have been all over the spectrum...friends have praised its imagery and questioned my artistry...asking for more fun love songs (those conversations actually sparked their own songs...more on that post-Virginia)...

Those "other" songs are still inside too. They will return...better and emboldened by my other life experiences.

Until then...Virginia.

Virginia

1/9/10, 1/12/10, 1/15/10

v1

Virginia,

Was it the weight of

The water,

The stones

Or world

Pulling you

Down, down, down

Virginia,

Was the escape hidden

In diaries,

The letters

Or books

Writing it

Down, down, down

Chorus

Virginia,

Can you hear me?

Virginia,

Can you see me?

I wade in the water

With stones in my hands

Virginia

Can you free me?

Virginia

Can you teach me?

I’m lost out of the water

I know you understand

I know the voices you hear

I know the faces you see

You and me

We share more

Than a day in January

v2

Virginia

How is madness worn

In dark,

In shade

Or night

Letting you

Down, down, down

Virginia

How are answers made

Carved

In lies

Or truth

Holding you

Down, down, down

Chorus

Bridge

Oh, Virginia

What makes up the sum of you

They said you were:

Always pretty

Never beautiful

Whose eyes did they look through?

Virginia

Strong enough to swim

Virginia

Strong enough to give in

Emily told me,

The river eclipsed your life

But couldn’t touch your legacy

Your will and the water

Pulled you from the surface

Setting you free

Chorus