Greetings,
So it seems that tomorrow is Memorial Day. Ironically, today is a day when I always remember a particular person. Sadly, I am reminded of him because of his death. That person is Jeff Buckley.
Unfortunately, I don't think many people know who he is. Certainly, not enough. He has been heard of in passing, I'm sure, and I know a lot of people who claim that they are fans because they have his cover of "Hallelujah" on their ipod. I, however, was so entranced by him that I learned as much as I could. Now I could sit here and list a bunch of facts about him, but that is not what he was about.
Jeff Buckley was all about a feeling. The feeling you get from his music, his words, his voice could overwhelm any person with a soul that appreciates art. He had such a story, such a life, and all of it could be known in one note from his mouth. I've heard him speak with that voice as well as sing, and it always sounded so soft and gentle, which was always the kind of man he appeared to be as well. It was as though he wanted to save that voice for each song. He didn't want to let us down. And he never did.
As inspiring as his life was, his death was just as tragic. I remember it well. And somehow drowning in the Mississippi River almost seems drenched in some mythological cliche of the rock legend that he has become. A source of another writer's inspiration becoming his funeral bed is almost too much to handle. But isn't the death of someone like this always that way? I know I still cry when I think about him dying. Thankfully, he was so full of life when he was still living it and sharing it that thoughts of his death manage to be held at bay when I listen to him sing.
I could go on for so long about him, but all anyone needs to know about him they can find in his music. So if you haven't yet, find it, listen to it, REALLY listen to it, then all will be clear. And you can all mourn along with me. It's a good thing, though, that, in this case, along with the mourning comes quite a bit of joy.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
