The Cave

The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Album: Sigh No More

This is what I call a "Core Craver." It's not a song that gets stuck in my head, or a great lyric I find myself singing, it's not even a catchy pop song that makes me want to dance. It's a song that my core literally craves to hear over and over again, and as the music swells so does something inside of me.

The melody starts off simple and low, then it slowly starts to build...the words and the music. About a third of the way through, my shoulders can't help but bounce a little and I sit or stand taller as if the song itself is flowing from my toes to my head forcing my spine straighter, my breaths deeper, my heart bigger.

"So come out of the cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand"

By the time the lyric below hits, and the music inerlude afterwards, I feel like I'm about to explode and I want to live in this song for as long as possible. I want to stretch the moment, to feel this feelings and scream these lyrics as loud as I can.

"Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be"

And then it ends, and I need the feeling to happen again so badly. So, I hit repeat. Unfortunately, on the mix tape I made, this song is followed by The National's Runaway which is also a major Core Craver for me. The two of these together pretty much send me over the edge (in the best way possible.)

Tonight was a good night, almost like this song. Great conversation with a great person in a great place. My friend is a writer as well, and sometimes, actually a lot of the time, I just need those conversations. Since the person I talk to most about writing is so far away, and though I wish she were here with everything I have, I know she can't be, I've been wishing for someone who just "gets it" to be closer. And it was nice to have a piece of that last night. Writing is lonely, it's a constant battle of me against myself, making myself do it, making myself believe I'm good enough, my craft is good enough. It's a constant "talking myself off of a limb." There are doubts, and to know that other people, very talented people, share those doubts about themselves, make the load easier to bear.

I feel like the meaning of this song is a mix between two things. 1) Learning to free yourself front the constraints the world, other people, and yourself put on you so you can live the life you were created to have. To live your potential best life. And 2) Knowledge is freeing. Living in the "cave" is like living in the dark, only seeing surface level. But I truly believe each level you dig deeper (or shine some light on), whether it be getting to know a person, the lyrics to a song (or any piece of art), an idea. Understanding the details, philosophies, the meaning of things, only makes the bigger picture that much more beautiful.

I know sometimes I dwell too much on the details, but I have a deep need to understand things. I feel like understanding is what connects all the pieces of the world. That's what makes up the big picture.

XO-
EBG