Melancholy is knowing the pain that love brings, and doing it anyway.
Willie Nelson is the world’s foremost troubador of falling in love again, despite what it did to you last time, and the time before.
In Back to Earth, he achieves a little bit of insight. He realises that he’s been here before, only last time he was the disappointment, and his Beloved was the victim.
The song is addressed to an old love, who’s been through with him what he’s going through now. It’s nice to think she’s still there for him to confess to, although she may just as easily not be. Which of us hasn’t addressed our thoughts on love to someone who is no longer listening?
The words are by Willie, but since I’m not a great fan of Willie’s singing, I’ve chosen to include a video of the song as sung by my old friend Eddi Reader. First the words:
Back to Earth
I guess my heart
Just settled back to Earth
I rode a dream so wild and free
For all that dream was worth
But true love
Can be a blessing and a curse
I guess my heart
Just settled back to Earth
And now I know just how
You felt so long ago
When the dream for you had ended
And you let me know
So I rode from sky to sky
Tryin' to keep the dream alive
But everything
I did just made it worse
I guess my heart
Just settled back to Earth
Love created songs
That I still sing
Love we knew
Still makes the rafters ring
Tonight I'll sing
For everything I'm worth
For all the hearts
That settle back to Earth
Love created songs
That I still sing
Love we knew
Still makes the rafters ring
Tonight I'll sing
For everything I'm worth
For all the hearts
That settle back to Earth
Our song will never have
A final verse
Our hearts just finally
Settled back to Earth
That line:
Our love will never have a final verse
is the essence of melancholy: sorrow plus resignation.
Here’s Eddi Reader singing it, (no embedding, sadly) and if anyone thinks a lassie frae Glasgow can’t sing country, check this out. Country was our folk music. It speaks to white trash everywhere, whatever the continent.
And we fall in love too.
