Wish That You Were Here
by Side A
It took a while for me to write this. I kept putting it off, finding excuse after excuse not to write. It wasn't because I didn't like the song, I did...even from the start, I did. But the truth is, I just wasn't in love with it. Yet.
So I listened to the song over and over... watched the music video more times than I would care to admit. Pretty soon I started to notice random little things like..... Ned wears his wedding ring on his pinkie while Leevon on his ring finger and that I had the same color chucks years ago as Naldy's. And more personal stuff like...... Yubs was starting to grow on me, and that it really is unfair how Ernie still seems to look as young as he did 20 years ago sans the mustache.
And then a funny thing happened, I started to miss random little things like...... halo-halo and pansit and fish balls and ramen and milk tea and....well ok, not so random, they're all food. :P And then my mind started to wander down memory lane and I started to miss more personal stuff like.... late nights with SideA, and high school and first love, and college and the bestest friends, and home and family.
And so I realized, this song isn't just about missing someone who is far away; it's about missing anyone or anything far or near.... it's about doing the things that you can while you can.... it's about growing old and cherishing beautiful memories.... it's about missed opportunities and taking things for granted and second chances.... and yes, it's about love and holding on.
It's pretty amazing actually... a story within a story. And quite a testament to Ned's creative genius that he wrote this song one ordinary day when he was at home missing his family while they were at work/in school.
How a band can turn the mundane into something beautiful and thoughtful and sweet takes more than mere talent. It takes a brilliant mind to come up with the words, a caring heart to make the words sound sincere, and passion, great great passion, to put them all, words and music, together into one beautiful heart-warming tear-jerking song.
No, it wasn't love in an instant for me. But as with great love stories, not all start with love at first sight, some take a closer look and develop over time. And yes, like a great love story, this song is a treasure I will keep in my heart.
