Wise Words in "Stompa"
Have you ever heard a song over and over again and enjoyed it at a surface level, and then, for some reason, at some point, you decide to stop long enough to really listen to it? That's what happened to me with Stompa, by Serena Ryder. On a steamy July morning this summer, I was listening to CBC Radio2 as usual as I returned home after driving my youngest to his camp bus stop. I was pulling into the driveway leading to our rented garage here in the Annex in Toronto when I actually slowed down long enough to really listen to the lyrics of Stompa. As the song played, I inched into the narrow garage and then turned the car off. I ended up sitting in the dark, quiet car to focus. Not only did I love the sound of the music but when I absorbed the meaning of the lyrics, I got excited. "Wow", I thought, "she sings and expresses so beautifully what I have been working on with clients for the last several years..." Women often tell me that they have lost touch with who they really are deep down and that they dearly want to reawaken that knowing. That's what I think this song is about.
So for this post, I am simply going to offer Serena Ryder's lyrics here for your enjoyment and invite you to listen to the song and maybe do a little dancing and stomping and clapping (and maybe a hip wiggle :) ) to it in the privacy of your home or anywhere else you choose, for that matter. Maybe you will rock to it while driving ... Whatever it takes for you to "turn it on" and "slow it down" and "give yourself some room" and "feel the rhythm in your heart"...
Here are the lyrics and the music. I have bolded the parts I think are key to pay attention to.
STOMPA by Serena Ryder
There's a light, and I can see it in your eyes
There's a memory of the way you used to be
Nothing's gone, it still shines, every time you turn it on
And when you slow it down...
People working every night and day
Never give yourself no time
Got too many bills to pay
Slow down, nothing's gonna disappear
If you give yourself some room
To move to the music you hear
Gotta get up, listen to me
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Nothing is wrong, if you move to the beat
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
People looking for the great escape
Looking to the greener side
Trying to find a better way
Slow down, open up your big brown eyes
Feel the rhythm in your heart
You don't even need to try
Gotta get up, listen to me
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Nothing is wrong, if you move to the beat
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
When you can't seem to shake off all the feelings that are breaking
Little pieces of the music that are in you
All the pain that you feel
I can prove it's not real
There's just one thing you gotta do
Gotta get up, listen to me
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Nothing is wrong, if you move to the beat
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
Are you dancing yet?
PS Since that July day, I downloaded the whole album, Harmony, and have enjoyed many a walk bopping along to it with my dog, being inspired by pretty much all of the songs on this album!
