Come Away with Me – Norah Jone
I think this is maybe my first favourite album. When I say that, I mean the first album that I, by myself, autonomously, decided that I loved. Though the Beatles’ 1 was very important to me, the Beatles are important to a lot of people, and it’s a very easy and common album to have as one of one’s favourites. But Come Away With Me, even though I was, of course, introduced to it by my parents, struck me early as a favourite that would be more unique, a little less known, a little more special. Not that liking a less popular album makes you better of cooler or more deserving of limo services than someone whose favourite album is better-known, but it was because Come Away With Me wasn’t quite as popular that it felt more like a personal favourite than one I’d just adopted from everyone else.
The song that’s always been my favourite is the title track, Come Away With Me. Even when I was young, I thought that the imagery evoked by that song sounded pretty appealing. There are two lines in particular, those being I want to walk with you on a cloudy day in fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high, and I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof, while I’m safe there in your arms. Doesn’t that all sound just lovely? I’m imagining a little cabin, with, of course, a tin roof, out in the wilderness. Not too far from society that you can’t pop down to the corner store for some snacks and a bottle of wine, but far-enough away that you can head out into field and forest for a couple hours and not meet anyone. Just the two of you. I like that.
Come Away With Me, though my fave, certainly isn’t the only good song on the album. Truth be told, there isn’t a song on the album I don’t like, and that can be a rare thing. Usually, even on some of my favourite albums, there is at least one song I am tempted to skip (which is, again, the beauty of listening to vinyl, because you’re forced to listen to all the songs, and they may grow on you, given time). I’m especially fond of the melody of Don’t Know Why; it’s really fun to sing, and I always really enjoyed singing it with my jazz choir in high-school.
The song Shoot the Moon is another I really like. It’s got this sense of accepted tragedy about it. First of all, the music itself is gorgeous. That always helps. And the words go so perfectly with it. It’s in a major key, and the music is delicate, but the lyrics are quite sad; the song reminds me of autumn, and not just because one of the lyrics is about it being fall again. It’s all about dealing with the loss of a lover, and taking the pain with each season, not really understanding why it had to happen, but having to move on from it, nevertheless. That’s what I think, anyway.
