WORDS FROM SORAYA NASSER
“When words matter most, we beg, steal and borrow.”
Love. Heaven. Eternal.
It would be hard to throw them into conversations off the bat.
But songs can get away with things.
Conversations take turns. We can both ask ‘How are you?’, at exactly the same time, and both answer ‘Fine’, at exactly the same time. Which could be a fun exercise. However standard conversations generally take turns.
Songs are different.
A recital, prayer, chant or song can be voiced by more than one person. What comes next can be known. It is usually written somewhere or exists in living memory.
We may not know but people around us may know what comes next.
We share not only the words, but timing, pitch, rhythm and breath. Individual voices joined together in sound, silence and less.
With borrowed words, somebody else has already done the difficult bit. They found something close enough and left it behind for the rest of us.
We may not know but people around us may know what comes next.
At a funeral, that matters. Structure holds us.
Recycled words can save the environment. The circular economy.
Words and sentiments too grand to say alone can be sung together.
Borrowed words say something when we can’t find the words ourselves. They let us say together what ordinary language often requires us to say alone.
We return them anointed.
