Passage

[keithv]

I just discovered Vienna's music this past week and immediately went out and picked up both "Waking Hour" and "Warm Strangers". I wish I'd discovered her a little sooner so I could go see her when she plays at the Mucky Duck here in Houston on Thursday but, sadly, its not in the budget.

I was wondering if anyone knew what the inspiration was for her to write "Passage." Its a very hard song for me to listen to because it strikes a little too close to home. I buried my brother 5 years ago, though it hardly seems that long, because motorcycles don't come with "bags and bars." When I listen to "Passage" it...well...stirs things up. It makes me think about my brother and what it did to my parents and my sister-in-law. I do still make myself listen to it though. Even though I find myself unconciously reaching for the skip track button or thinking about burning a copy of the CD without it. Sometimes its good to stir memories up, even if they are painful.

Anyway, I was just wondering.

[Jessi]

When I saw Vienna in LA, she performed Passage, and as is custom she explained the ideology behind its creation. She said Passage came about while traveling the US on tour and noticing the broken twisted rails, black skid marks and tiny crosses that criss cross the highways. Remnants of auto accidents and realized that those accidents effect those directly involved, but their loved ones as well. Good luck with the memories.

[murlough23]

Now who on Earth would come up with so much from such a mundane observation? Most people would just go "Hmmm, there's a twisted guard rail. Some idiot must've hit it."

This is why I love Vienna.

[sheeba]

There aren't too many songs about death out there especially from the perspective of the deceased. This is a great one. I love this song and the way it was recorded...and that Vienna sings it a cappella. Her voice is spectacular in this song. The subject of death for a song can be quite a bummer. I think it's great that she was confident enough to include it on WS and that she sings it on tour. I've lost a close family member in an accident. I appreciate Vienna taking on the subject matter with such sensitivity. I also love Say Uncle on WH about her own uncle's death...fabulous writing.

[JohnL]

I agree with everyone's observations about this song. It's powerful and sensitive - music at its very best. After listening to WS a jillion times and deliberating, I think I can confidently state that this is my favorite cut on the CD (just edging out Shine). Like keithv, the first few times I listened to the CD, I caught myself reaching for the skip track button too. But then I realized the reason I was doing that was that the song was so effective in bringing out so many uncomfortable emotions that it was hard to listen to. I thought that if it had that kind of effect on a thick-skinned guy like me, it must be pretty good. The more I listened to it after that, the more I liked it. I hope to hear Vienna perform it live some day.

[Norm]

I hope to hear Vienna perform it live some day.

For you old fogies, I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Wreck on the Highway" from The River album of 1980. It's a nice song and evokes similar feelings as Passage, but it's not as direct or raw.

I did see Vienna perform Passage way back in the pre-Waking Hour 2 days. Definitely edgy back then too.

[Eric]

Just had to pipe up here, since I was just randomly reading the lyrics again. Man. They alone are enough to bring tears to my eyes. I can probably say it's the most powerful piece of poetry I've ever read. (Granted, I don't get out that often, poetically speaking.) If I listen to it and pay attention I can't not cry. So impressive.

It possible that it's especially potent for me personally because if you assume the characters in the song are based on Vienna's real life "characters," then I know all of them and can so easily see each of them dealing with the grief of her death precisely as she writes it. Maybe I'm particularly susceptible to the power of Vienna's writing because I know her. And it's true I'm generally empathetic to things that are sort of melancholic anyway. But clearly the song is just plain powerful, whoever you are. Wow.

[Jack]

Having lost an eighteen year old son to an auto accident in September of 1988, I will tell you that the words or lyrics or poetry of Passage, however you wish to classify or catagorize them, are deep and strong, and they hold many, many truths.

Passage is but one of Vienna's works that allow her core group of fans to go forward and showcase her abilities...it's like working the high wire without a net.

[Ginny]

Jack, I'm terribly sorry you had to go through such a horrible loss. I can't imagine what losing a child must be like as I don't have any, but a close friend lost his 23yr old son 2yrs ago and one of my best friends lost her 22yr sister in a car wreck a few months later, so I've seen what it can do to a family. And Keith, I'm very sorry about your brother as well. Yes, Passage is an incredible song. The way Vienna describes everyone's reactions to the loss is so moving. My sister plays our homemade tapes, laughs as tears run down her face....that puts a pit in my stomach, imagining losing my own sister or her losing me. I also love the line, "I am nothing everywhere." ~Ginny

[ctakim]

Jack:

I, too, am sorry to hear about such your terrible loss. The folks in on this forum are such decent honest to goodness real people, that it is easy to feel a strong sense of kinship.

ctakim

[Jack]

Thank you...your sincerity is deeply appreciated!

[rahau]

To Keithv, Sheeba, and Jack: My condolences and prayers for your loss.

I haven’t lost any close relatives to auto accidents. But I did lose two good friends. In a way, “Passage” brought them back.

In 1988, I was working as a news producer and reporter for a small TV station in Victorville, California. That year, a young man named Jeff became the mayor. Jeff was extraordinary, right out of Central Casting – brilliant, hard-working, funny, and charismatic. He and his wife Debbie were the most strikingly good-looking couple one could imagine.

His election as mayor was nothing short of miraculous. Jeff was a Democrat. Victorville was, and is, a Republican bastion. (To understand what a tectonic plate-shifting event this was – try to imagine a Republican becoming mayor of Berkeley.) He immediately set about challenging the existing power structure. He didn’t always win, and he made some mistakes. But he gave it his best, and even managed to win a few victories. Although reporters and politicians usually have coolly professional relationships, Jeff and I became pretty good friends.

As is the case in other small towns, politics in Victorville is a part-time job. When he wasn’t being the mayor, Jeff was the principal of a local “continuation school” – that is, a school for troubled kids. One might expect these kids to hate all authority figures, especially their principal. But almost without exception, his kids adored him. God knows how many young lives he turned around.

Within a short time, local Democrats were seriously eyeing Jeff as someone who could break the Republican stranglehold in San Bernardino County. There was talk of State Assembly, State Senate, or even Congress.

On a Monday morning in February of 1989, my then-girlfriend called and broke the news. Over the weekend, Jeff was killed in a car accident. He and Debbie were headed west on a two-lane road. Two men were driving east. One was trying to pass, the other refused to give way. The cars collided. Jeff was killed instantly. Debbie died four days later. Their deaths were the most difficult news stories I ever had to report.

When I first heard “Passage,” I realized I hadn’t thought of Jeff and Debbie for a long time. But I also discovered that after fifteen years, I still miss them. I can still see the warmth of Debbie’s smile. I still remember the bemused exasperation in Jeff’s face, as he told me about his opponents’ latest move. I’m still angry with the other two men.

And I still can’t help but wonder what might have been.

[butter]

Hi Everyone,

My deep condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one. I lost someone I loved about two months back and I just like to believe that she is still around and If I go to the house she lived in, I will definately find her there.

Everytime I listen to Passage, it draws me right in. It puts life in a very different perspective. The fact that life goes on without you is both sad and comforting at the same time. It makes you think you are not as important as you believe yourself to be. It definately makes me more humble. "I am nothing Everywhere.." so true and so powerful.

The idea of an apple tree planted in your name blossoming somewhere with beautiful new little apples hanging on it... Absolutely touching and beautiful.

I have heard Vienna live a couple of times now. Her voice just brings her lyrics to life and though we dont know her personally, we definately know the people in her lyrics very well.

[sheeba]

Beautiful posts, Butter and B-Flat...

[Lynchy]

This song also really hit me. I think Passage would be amazing to see performed live, in a similar way to Tori Amos' 'Me And A Gun'. The first time I saw Tori live, she performed that song, shared it with all of us, and all she had to do was utter the first line and the entire venue fell utterly silent. I'm talking about 3000 people. That's the power she has over a crowd.

"I died in a car crash..." it'd just send chills down everyone's spines.

Awesome song, beautiful lyrics, superbly structured... just... wow.