Ode to Bob

[Photo credit (of the photo in the photo) goes to Zeke Du Plessis, from whom I bought this photo about two years ago.]

Recently came across this cover of Bob Marley's 'Waiting in Vain' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUI6U1kXjkc) - by Somi, a Rwandese-Ugandan-American singer. Amazing, amazing song. I'd never paid much attention to the original...it seems, idk...playful. Like something you'd sing to that person you were flirting with on a beach who was playing hard to get. Nothing to take too seriously.

The Somi version, however, makes me stop in my tracks. It's at once wistful and determined. That song that rings in your head at the point at which you truly realize that the person you love will, in all probability, never love you back. And your heart - it has to be told to leave, to check out, to not be waiting in vain. I love how this song stands both in the past, the present, and the future. It asks you to take stock of all facts, to celebrate them, to mourn them, and to bless & release. It asks you to be cognizant of your reality, and to do your life. This door is locked. You, my dear, must go find one that's open.