River
[Music: S. Luszpinski | Lyrics: R. Sleegers]
I saw a river flowing over in the spring Felt the current with my feet still pondering I realized the fleeting finality of life Then a moment came I hadn’t planned nor dreamt That cleared the sky and turned the tidal wave of self-contempt I realized the passing of purifying pain Chorus Now’s my time to hit rock bottom, shoot back up, breathe out, recover Let everyone know I’m back again Now’s the time to look around and see if someone else is struggling Let everyone feel a helping hand It seemed the past and present molded into one I saw the image of the (wo/)man I was and had become I realized the courage of someone I could be Chorus Now’s my time to hit rock bottom, shoot back up, breathe out, recover Let everyone know I’m back again Now’s the time to look around and see if someone else is struggling Let everyone feel a helping hand What I needed and what you need maybe two different kind of things But what they have in common is a transcending power That binds us to our inner self, and outer force and to one another Fueled by love.... Chorus Now’s my time to hit rock bottom, shoot back up, breathe out, recover Let everyone know I’m back again Now’s the time to look around and see if someone else is struggling Let everyone feel a helping hand What I needed and what you need maybe two different kind of things But what they have in common is a transcending power That binds us to our inner self, and outer force and to one another Fueled by love we're lifted up We're lifted up We're lifted up We're lifted up |
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“This song is a pretty sad one,
with a hopeful twist at the end. I tried to ‘rethink’ a tragedy that happened
to a family of four. The father, also a musician and very creative spirit,
after fighting reoccurring depression for almost a decade, decided to walk into
a river. I was at the ceremony and tried to come to grips with the idea of
leaving a loving wife and two sons behind. I imagined him standing at the
water’s edge and I thought “what thoughts or feelings could’ve prevented him
from taking that final step”? In the following weeks these words sprang from
Simon’s melancholy chords, which he had unknowingly already titled ‘River’.”
“For me, the magic ‘moment’ can be a divine intervention, where a thought or feeling is impressed upon you that pushes the exact right button in your mind, opening up a choice.* We all have these ‘turning’ moments in life – maybe not as dramatic as depression or standing at the edge of life – where a crisis turns into a new way of seeing life... and consequently of living life. But, we do have to make that choice: to become a new person from that moment on. If we have enough love for ourselves and loved ones around us to bear us up, these crises turn into real gems in our life story and development of character. Then we get the desire to help others overcome similar crises.”
[* This father, sadly, was too well prepared: blurring his perceptive and moral senses by drinking almost a full bottle of whiskey before he went.]
“For me, the magic ‘moment’ can be a divine intervention, where a thought or feeling is impressed upon you that pushes the exact right button in your mind, opening up a choice.* We all have these ‘turning’ moments in life – maybe not as dramatic as depression or standing at the edge of life – where a crisis turns into a new way of seeing life... and consequently of living life. But, we do have to make that choice: to become a new person from that moment on. If we have enough love for ourselves and loved ones around us to bear us up, these crises turn into real gems in our life story and development of character. Then we get the desire to help others overcome similar crises.”
[* This father, sadly, was too well prepared: blurring his perceptive and moral senses by drinking almost a full bottle of whiskey before he went.]