heard the song, Jolene, before she wanted to hear it again. It was all part of being a writer and connecting to the target audience it helped with her work in marketing and advertising.
They were not really all that different. She was trying to touch a nerve or nurture a recollection of a feeling or a smell form childhood that offered a sense of nostalgia and so was he.
She closed her eyes as he started to sing. There was something wildly sexy about the texture in his voice that came out when he was singing. He didn’t really sound like anyone else that she had ever listened too before. Her ears were snobbish, just like her English literature background.
If she had any pet peeves, at all, it was the improper use of the American Psychological Association style of writing rules. Maybe it was a little bit too structured or staunch. But to her it all made perfect sense and it provided a rule by which to measure all others from.
That mattered greatly to her. And the music played and she sang right along,
Cocaine flame in my bloodstream
Sold my coat when I hit Spokane
Bought myself a hard pack of cigarettes in the early morning rain
Lately my hands they don't feel like mine
My eyes been stung with dust, I'm blind
Held you in my arms one time
Lost you just the same
Jolene
I ain't about to go straight
When she thought about his life and work it inspired her. Anyone that had the steel balls to express themselves so freely was a superhero to her. She felt like she needed that so badly. Then the next verse played,
It's too late
I found myself face down in the ditch
Booze on my hair
Blood on my lips
A picture of you, holding a picture of me
In the pocket of my blue jeans
Still don't know what love means
She couldn’t be sure, but it did seem like Jolene had long since been his muse for creativity and inspiration. He was a truly gifted man with insight beyond his years and she appreciated that about him. Not many men thought that sincerely with their emotions. It just didn’t happen like that.
She could barely keep up with her excitement when the next verse started to play. It took over her mind as she ran her fingers through her hair, completely absorbed by his presence in the moment that felt timeless. That expression of how love …. Angst …. Fear …. And wonder looked on a person in love.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the feeling was universal and she knew that all too well. There were times in her life when she had been lucky in love yet there were times where love reared its ugly head and bitch slapped her right across her pretty face.
She had equal amounts of fear and respect for that little thing called love. She had been on both sides of that fence. Some part of her even wondered if the feeling of heartfelt love was worth the potential heartbeat that could happen.
Only an optimist would forwardly say so. Anyone else would be wary of the like. Any person that had been burned by someone, tended to raise their guard up nice and high because fear had crept in and had caused hesitation for them. And then the music played on,
Been so long since I seen your face
Or felt a part of this human race
I've been living out of this here suitcase for way too long
A man needs something he can hold