DESPERADO DAYS, AN OLD SONG FOR CURRENT TIMES

Desperado days come into focus when you ask a millennial if they’ve heard the song before.

Maybe it depends on how you ask?

“This is my anthem song, my guide in the ’70’s, the song that rang true then and now. Ever hear of Desperado?”

I’ll be honest here, if someone asked me like that I’d say no just to avoid the sad story. And it would have to be sad, desperately sad. And it’s been told for ages.

Whether you want to hear it or not, you’ll hear it.

Luckily there was an Apple HomePod nearby. Never heard Desperado?

“Hey Siri, play Desperado.”

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
You’ve been out ridin’ fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow

Do you know one of these guys, a desperado so afraid of getting hurt they just check out? They pretend to work on it, mending fences, but the fear never quite leaves.

It’s a real fear, too, not some boogeyman in the closet or under the bed fear.

To make it even more confusing, no one wants to talk about it, so we have to guess.

Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can’t get

Play It Where It Lays

Talk to someone who grew up in the seventies about looking for The One. This is the one, no that one. It could have been this one, or that one, but there was always something missing.

Usually the missing part was love, and it wasn’t the other person, but who wants admit they weren’t up to the challenge of long term relationships?

“Why didn’t it work out this time?”

“I don’t know, but I do know it wasn’t me.”

That might be a good excuse for a decade, but it eventually grows old. How many times can it not be you?

Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

I’ve heard, maybe you too, that you can love someone, you can fall in love. Or you learn to love someone.

Like it’s a class? Who’s the teacher? You? Me? You can only skip class so many time before you get expelled.

Doing That Desperado Days Homework

Giving it the best shot for a successful relationship takes agreement.

But you’re the type who only does what they want to do. You march to the beat of different drummer? Hey hippie, the 60’s are calling and want your poster back.

The world doesn’t need another sad sack wearing an expression of grief for what they couldn’t do, wouldn’t do, and ran away from. Why are you running, boy?

Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the night time from the day
You’re losin’ all your highs and lows
Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?

If you’re wondering, the feeling that goes away is about caring for someone other than yourself.

Eventually you grow an emotional callous and nothing gets through, the good, the bad, or the ugly.

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you
(Let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you before it’s too late

Wander Around And See What Happens

If you meet people with potential and treat them as invaders trying to breach the walls of your secret fortress, pay attention.

One of them will add another brick to your wall. And it will be a perfect fit.

You’ll see it and not mind one little bit. That brick makes you feel better, look better, and think better.

It’s such a great fit that you start taking bricks out of your wall and replacing them with new ones. The process is engaging and exciting and before you know it the wall has changed.

It’s not even a wall anymore, but a bridge.

This my readers is where you slink out to middle and hope to meet The One.

You’ll see them on the other side and stand a little taller. The sun shines a little brighter when you both take the first step.

Look, a rainbow.