There’s an old poem by Neruda that I’ve always been captivated by, and one of the lines in it has stuck with me ever since the first time I read it. It says “love is so short, forgetting is so long.” It’s a line I’ve related to in my saddest moments, when I needed to know someone else had felt that exact same way. And when we’re trying to move on, the moments we always go back to aren’t the mundane ones. They are the moments you saw sparks that weren’t really there, felt stars aligning without having any proof, saw your future before it happened, and then saw it slip away without any warning. These are moments of newfound hope extreme joy, intense passion, wishful thinking, and in some cases, the unthinkable letdown. And in my mind, every one of these memories looks the same to me. I see all of these moments in bright, burning, red.
My experiences in love have taught me difficult lessons, especially my experiences with crazy love. The red relationships. The ones that went from zero to a hundred miles per hour and then hit a wall and exploded. And it was awful. And ridiculous. And desperate. And thrilling. And when the dust settled, it was something I’d never take back. Because there is something to be said for being young and needing someone so badly, you jump in head first without looking. And there’s something to be learned from waiting all day for a train that’s never coming. And there’s something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight, and doesn’t fade or spontaneously combust. Maybe I’ll write a whole album about that kind of love if I ever find it. But this album is about the other kinds of love that I’ve recently fallen in and out of. Love that was treacherous, sad, beautiful, and tragic. But most of all, this record is about love that was red.
More you might like
Hidden Messages in Red
- State of Grace: I Love You Doesn’t Count After Goodbye (from the lyrics we know it’s about Jake)
- Red: SAG ( Screen Actor’s Guild or maybe Sagittarius, so JAKE)
- Treacherous: Won’t Stop Till It’s Over (Sweet Disposition lyrics. It could be about Harry Stiles because of his tatto but I don’t think so. In the All too Well lyrics there is this line “Oh, your sweet disposition, my wide eyed gaze…" so I guess it’s about Jake.
- I Knew You Were Trouble: When You Saw Me Dancing (reading it’s about John)
- All Too Well: Maple Lattes (JAKE JAKE JAKE, Maple Lattes is a bar they were going to)
- 22: Ashley, Dianna, Claire, Selena
- I Almost Do: Wrote This Instead of Calling (no idea)
- We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: When I Stopped Caring What You Thought (I think it’s about Joe)
- Stay Stay Stay: Daydreaming About Real Love (reading it’s about Tim Tebow)
- The Last Time: L.A. On Your Break (maybe John?)
- Holy Ground: When You Came to the Show in S.D. (San Diego or South Dakota - we know Joe and Taylor went to her concerts)
- Sad Beautiful Tragic: While You Were on a Train (no idea)
- The Lucky One: Wouldn’t You Like to Know (I’m thinking about Miley Cyrus, they met when Miley was at the top of the world and Taylor wasn’t so famous and Miley has a “made up name” but I’m just guessing. Reading it can be about Marilyn Monroe, why not?)
- Everything Has Changed: Hyannis, Port (this is where the Kennedy have a house, so CONNOR)
- Starlight: For Ethel (Connor’s grandma)
- Begin Again: I Wear Heels Now (this is what i read “Fairly sure this is about Will Anderson, he tweeted James Taylor songs and apparently throws his head back when he laughs :)”)
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Why don’t you tell me that “if the girl had been worth having, she’d have waited for you”? No, sir, the girl really worth having won’t wait for anybody.
F. Scott Fitzgerald (via quotes-for-reference)
Her heart sank into her shoes as she realized at last how much she wanted him. No matter what his past was, no matter what he had done. Which was not to say that she would ever let him know, but only that he moved her chemically more than anyone she had ever met, that all other men seemed pale beside him.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, A New Leaf (via larmoyante)
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
Lemony Snicket (via durianquotes)
And you tried to change, didn’t you? Closed your mouth more. Tried to be softer, prettier, less volatile, less awake… You can’t make homes out of human beings. Someone should have already told you that. And if he wants to leave, then let him leave. You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful. Something not everyone knows how to love.
Warsan Shire, For Women Who Are Difficult To Love (via fleurstains)
