One of the big turning points in my life was in 10th grade when I went on a 6-week trip to Israel on an amazing youth Israel trip with an organization called Nesiya ("Journey" in Hebrew). For now I won't go into my experience on the trip or how it changed me, but I was just reminded of the essay I wrote to get into the program: I was supposed to write about a song or book that really spoke to me in some way. I chose the song "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" by Ellis Paul.
I was really into self-reflection and great, meaningful experiences, doing something with my life, and amazingly beautiful music (all this stands true today of course) and so this song was a perfect fit for me.
It's funny to hear this song again now, 8 years later (woo! I feel young), and reassess my reaction to the song in relation to my current stage in life. I am happy to say that I feel like I did get in on the carnival of life (oh dear could I be any mushier?)
The World Ain't Slowin' Down - Ellis Paul
I found you sitting on a suitcase crying
Beneath my feet I feel the rumble of a subway train
And I laugh out loud
'Cause it's the one thing I hadn't been trying
The train came in breathless
The passenger's restless
You say, "Baby, you'll never change"
You gotta get gone
You gotta get going
Hey, the world ain't slowin' down
For no one
It's a carnival calling out to you
And it sounds like a song
It hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on a merry-go-round
Hey, look, the world ain't slowin' down
Out on the sidewalk
The pigeons do the moonwalk
I'll be dancing like Fred Astaire
The lampposts are rockin'
The whole town is talking
Like a fool in a barber's chair
And I get the sensation
It's joy and frustration
Like getting caught by a drop of cold rain
Freedom can numb you
When there's no place to run to
It feels just like Novocain
You gotta get gone...
You packed up all your handbags
You're throwing off the sandbags
I let go when you stepped free
I didn't want to lose you
You said, "You didn't choose to --
It's just how your karma came"
But thanks for the vision,
And the twenty-twenty wisdom
It hit me like a south-bound train
You gotta get gone...
