The Sade Pendulum.

Feelin' it.

"In heaven's name

Why do you play these games?"

~ Sade

 In Resident clinic today:

Resident:  "Hey Dr. M, have you been doing anything fun since your kids are in California?"


Me: "As a matter of fact, I went to see Sade on Tuesday! She was awesome!"


Resident:  *crickets*


Me:  "Wait. Please tell me you aren't looking at me like that because you don't know who Sade is!"


Resident:  *crickets*


Me:  "You don't know who SADE is? SADE? SHAAAHH- DAAAAYYY???? Seriously?" (but really wanting to say, "AWWW HELL NAAWWW!!!")


Resident:  *crickets*


Me:  "This will be reflected in your evaluation."

Resident: "SHAH-DAY? Is that what you're saying? Spell that."


Me:  "F-I-R-E-D."

Sade, Atlanta Performance July 2011

On Tuesday, the B.H.E. took me to see the wonderfully talented Sade in concert. Her voice was like a perfect piece of dark chocolate--velvety smooth yet textured, uniformly sweet yet peppered with a little bite. The best part of it all was that she sang all of the songs that I like and know the lyrics to. And even better than that? She and her band Sweetback (who is a-freakin'-mazing, by the way) performed each track in the exact arrangement as their original recordings.

That made me super happy because nothing annoys me more than going to a concert to hear one of my favorite artists perform my favorite songs only to find that some wise ass has remixed every slow favorite into some funky, uptempo techno version and reconfigured all the fast tracks into wrist-slashing ballads.

Talk about annoying.

My sister, JoLai, who goes to waaaaay more concerts than me once asked, "Why not just listen to the album if that's all you want anyway?"  To which I snarkily remarked, "Come on--everyone wants to sing along. Just give the people what they came for!"

Sade got the memo.

And yes. This is exactly what Miss Sade got on that stage and did, do you hear me? She gave the people what they came for. That and more.

Like chocolate, I felt myself melting into the seat, lulled by her voice and the horns. I closed my eyes as she sang "Smooth Operator" and remembered when my 9th grade Geometry teacher, Mr. C, had this big poster of her on the wall next to a parallelogram.  I recalled us asking him who she was, and him smiling all big and giddy-like as he pushed the button on a boombox behind his desk.

That was the very first time I'd ever heard Sade.

"Smooth Operator." Ah yes. That song took me back. And track after track, other songs did the same.  We went through my first heartbreak from tenth grade with "Is it a crime" and then the undying love I professed to the same boy at the end of twelfth grade with "Nothing Can Come Between Us."

Of course we'd be together forever and ever--even with me going across the country to college. Because this guy? This guy who was my first love in high school? He was the one. For sure and for definitely. And so I sang Sade all the way from California to Alabama on a forty hour drive--loud--because nothing could come between us. He was the one after all, right?

"It's about faith. . . . it's about trust. . . .yeah, yeah. . "

It's about faith my foot.  That same boy had me singing "Love is Stronger Than Pride" just a few months later in the cafeteria. That sucka.

The good news is that reliving this not-so-good memory was fleeting. I was happy just a few tracks later. Yes. Filled with the warm nostalgia of yet another puppy-love when she sang "I Couldn't Love You More."  

Lawd.

I played this incessantly while cutting out pictures of diamond rings from fashion magazines and annoying the crap out of my roommate every time I hit "rewind." Yes. Because this dude? The one from my freshman year of medical school? Oh baby. This guy? Now he was absolutely the one.  No question.

Uuuhhh, yeah.  Thank goodness she had the track "Bullet Proof Soul" on the same LP, 'cause I needed it.

Time marched on and my crappy luck in love continued. I served as a most excellent professional bridesmaid several times over, smiling pretty and accumulating dresses. Although my girlfriends all had "Kiss of Life" on the brain, I was stuck on "Please Send Me Someone to Love." 

 Good ol' Sade.

I finally finished residency and Sade stayed right with me. After the move to Atlanta, my longing for that "real love" chapter to begin grew stronger than ever. On the days that I felt sorriest for myself, I could count on Sade to have the perfect soundtrack for my doldrums.  "King of Sorrow?"  Seriously? Most depressing song ever. (Yet perfect background music for the blues, I tell you.)

"I want to cook you a soup that warms your soul
but nothing would change, nothing will change at all
It's just a day that brings it all about
Just another day, nothing's any good."

or better yet

"I'm crying everyone's tears
I have already paid for all my future sins. . ."

Damn, Sade. Everyone's tears? Really? (And if that wasn't enough of a downer, I'd just play "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" from the same CD.)

Finally, my heart could rejoice as I relived the first days after I met Harry through her sultry performances of "Lovers Rock" and "By Your Side." She sang it perfectly. No--better than perfectly. She gave the people what they came for. 

It brought me to tears.

The show ended with her locking arms with all of the members of her band, walking to the edge of the stage and taking a bow--together. I immediately liked her twenty times more after that gesture.

See, this is what I love about the Sade pendulum . . . .and the music pendulum in general.  It takes you through the extremes of emotion. . .running through open orchards with you on the best of days and snuggling under down comforters with you as tear-soaked tissue crumbles in your hand.  Music makes you laugh and cry. But best of all, it stirs up memories rich and deep and takes you on a journey through time.

On Tuesday, we took a journey.  And I'm so glad we did.

Encore!!

Oh yeah.

Just as everyone was leaving, she re-emerged for an encore performance wearing a stunning scarlet dress with matching ruby lips. The song?

"Cherish the Day."

Perfect.

***
Now playing on my mental iPod--one of many Sade songs that makes me think of Harry (aka the BHE) because of this line. . . "You're the one. . .the one I swim to in a storm. . . like a lovers rock."



and this one, too. . . because it defines who I want to be to those who I love with this line. . ."I will show you. . you're so much better than you know."



and this one because, yes, it is kind of morose. . . but it held my hand when I felt lonely. And sometimes the right song is the only one who can do that for you.



***
Happy Thursday.


Whose music takes you on a journey?