Last night, I was watching the Grammy's, and I was suddenly drawn into one of the performances. I was mesmerized as Alicia Keys and Maren Morris sang "Once," and crooned beautifully sad and wistful lyrics. These are my favorite kind of songs - the kinds that tug at your heart and make you remember and feel all your pain from the past.
But one line stuck out to me - "when it's all said and done, don't forget that you loved me once."
The words "when it's all said and done" kept haunting me. In life, when do we ever really say that phrase? You read that line in books; you hear a narrator telling a story; you hear it hanging off a singer's lips. But do we ever say it ourselves? in real life?
And I realized no. Why don't we? Because it's just far too dramatic. Everything you say after a phrase like "when it's all said and done" feels like a compositional embellishment. But I love it. I love when words and phrases have a heavy impact like a thick winter blanket weighing down on your body. I love how no matter what I write after this phrase, it evokes a deep sense of longing and yearning in your heart. Let's try it out:
When it's all said and done - I still can't forget.
When it's all said and done - you can't change the past.
When it's all said and done - I will be alone.
When it's all said and done - we move on.
I even tried to put silly things after this phrase:
When it's all said and done - the cat will meow.
When it's all said and done - chicken is the best.
When it's all said and done - I will go to bed.
No matter what I write, it may sound less dramatic, but it still has a feeling of finality, concreteness. What a powerful phrase. So while I soaked in the beauty of this song's melody and voice, I also fell deeply into the pillowy depths of its words.
After all - when it's all said and done - the words are all we have left.
