April 10, 2014
Who inspired today's broken heart song?
A woman who has been physically abused by her husband. He is an alcoholic, and becomes abusive when he is intoxicated. She has come close to death a few times, having almost been drowned in a bathtub and strangled. For her own reasons, she is unable to get out of this situation. She is determined to keep her family together. She is also older, came from a poor background and does not have a college education nor any work experience.
Burden is a song about trying to please someone who you will never be able to satisfy. It's about holding on to the weight of a huge burden, a secret that no body knows and wanting to be rid of it. It's accepting that no matter what, you're going to let this person down. It's about been utterly broken and tangled in your own dark world. There's no structure in this song, intentionally. I wanted to mimic the brokenness both musically and lyrically. The lyrics tend to repeat themselves because I wanted to express that the struggle is ongoing. It doesn't ever disappear.
Where did you play?
Jay Street — MetroTech
How much did you earn?
$20.00
Did anything unusual happen?
This was my second time performing at Jay Street, and I have to say I absolutely love playing at that station. For whatever reason, I connect with people well there. I had a lot of keen listeners today and people who were curious about the project. I think the warmer weather is cheering everyone up as well. The morning started with an older gentleman who donated with the most sincere smile on his face. I said, "Thank you," to which he responded, "Good morning!" I smiled and said, "Good morning, how are you?" And he said, "Fine, now." The positive energy continued when an older woman came up to donate, smiled and said, "God bless you."
One of my most interesting discoveries of subway performing has been what I like to call secret listeners. Now and then, someone will peek around the corner, donate and/or pick up a card. I'm always so appreciative when this happens because often, I'll think no one is listening. And then someone shows up. This happened today with an older man. He quickly came around the corner to pick up a card. A couple songs later, he came back to donate with his business cards wrapped in the money.
There was another older man who watched me for a while. You could tell he was debating whether he liked what he heard or not. Then suddenly he nodded his head in agreement, and came up to donate.
Did you meet anyone interesting?
I did! I met a man who started talking to me, but unfortunately I couldn't make out everything that he was saying because of the noise from the trains. He asked me how I sing and play the piano at the same time. He said it seems like it would be very difficult. To be honest, I don't know how I do it. I've never really thought about it before! Regardless, he gave me a good laugh with this: "So, does your boyfriend play an instrument too?" This might be one of my favorite lines I've ever heard from the opposite sex before, haha.
I met a very interesting couple. They did not look it, but they were homeless. They approached me to ask how much money I make busking everyday. I told them it really varies. They are panhandlers themselves. We chatted for a while, I gave them a card and asked them to submit their story. She said they have a tangled story of how they fell in love. They were both heroine addicts, met through recovery and are now both clean.
There was a woman who asked me what day I was on. I love that question. She was curious what I studied, and when I told her journalism, she said, "Ah, that makes sense." She was really sweet and seemed very interested in the project. Hopefully I'll get her story in my inbox.
What's the best advice you received from a stranger?
No advice today, so fun facts:
I love when little kids just stand and stare at me. That happened twice today.
My F key has been broken since day three, but I don't really notice it anymore.
I gracefully spilled water down my shirt today.
I'm still trying to figure out what makes someone stop?
How are you feeling?
I'm feeling great! I received an e-mail yesterday with some very exciting news, but I'm not going to share until it's set in stone. :) It's weird to think that after tomorrow, I'll only have fifteen days left. It's quite surreal to stop and think of how many songs I've already written. I guess I can never say, "I can't" anymore. I believe we can do almost anything we set our minds to. We just like to come up for excuses not do them. The next three weeks are going to be challenging because I'll be back in the office full-time. So I'm going to have to perform before or after work, and find some magical time to write the blogs, make the videos and write songs. I'm always up for a challenge, and with only a few days left, I think I can make it work. It's not like I have a choice. :)
© 2014 Kelly Bazely