It seems fitting to end a year of song lyrics by sharing the one that cracked open a door to all the others.
It’s no secret that songs, and songwriting, can have therapeutic effects. This song also has therapeutic origins: It arrived after a period of counseling, at a time when I was grasping the necessity of judging myself less harshly and coming to believe that making space for things I enjoyed, for enjoyment’s sake, was not a selfish sideline but a central piece of figuring out how to exist as a more-or-less happy, more-or-less balanced person. The churning that started then has much to do with all that has followed, including other songs and the existence of this site.
Song-wise, here’s where it started.
(Have a favorite lyric from this year? If you’d like, let me know by email.)