Magic of misheard lyrics.
The magic of misheard lyrics.
"There's that light that I forgot that I possessed." Arguably the lyrics that have had the biggest impact on my life. Every time I heard them, they would hyperlink to Dumbledore saying: "happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
Trouble is: the lyrics I love aren't actually the lyrics.
Or, more accurately, they aren't the technical lyrics lacing what has been one of my go-to tunes for roughly a decade, "Sunshine" by Atmosphere; what they actually are is that classic cluster of words you mishear only to go on reinforcing the inaccuracy each time you sing along.
That is, until the day that somebody has the courage to inform you that you've been wrong all along.
The real lyrics? "There's that bike that I forgot that I possessed."
Bike. Not light. Classic.
Since learning the real lyrics, I can't help but smile at the good fortune fate dealt me when I misheard the lyrics. Had I heard the correct words, odds are high I would have missed much of the beauty I’ve experienced from my auditory malfunction.
Or just maybe I was meant to mishear.
Either way, because I misheard them, they’ve made their way into the fiber of my being, where my soul can snack on them as needed. Sustenance for my spirit salvaged by serendipity.
And the best part is, now when I think about that line, I realize it doesn’t matter whether the word is light or bike.
Because in both instances, the message is the same: when the world around you starts to take on a gloomy tint and you start to take yourself a little too seriously, go play you must.
Pick up that bike collecting rust. That board or that ball collecting dust. You just might find that light that you forgot that you possessed.
And the next time you are wounded by what you think is a mishap, remember this tale of the magic of misheard lyrics. Perhaps a vital part of your masterpiece is waiting in your mess up.
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Context: Read “Steal Like an Artist.” And at the end, Austin Kleon reveals that he discarded a chapter named “misheard lyrics.” One of his suggestions in the book is to write a story to go with a song title, so I took one of his discarded chapters and applied his suggestion. The above is the result.