Cause I've Seen the Dark Side Too

Admittedly, I have begun to share not just my personal history but my present mindset here on this blog, which is more often than not, filtered through some music playing in my head.

This one takes me back to New York City and a wonderful man. I was crumbling from devastation, emerging from my shell and awakening for the first time to see myself as a fully realized woman. It was after the Oklahoma City bombing when the earth had opened up beneath my feet and I had fallen into they abyss.

This man with the soft brown eyes and the picturesque life pulled me out of that hole and proceeded to swallow me whole. He sat me down one afternoon and played this song. He told me he thought of it the first time he had spotted me across the room, with tears welling in my eyes. He wanted to take the burdens from my soul and heal me in that short time we had together.

Sitting beside him, holding his hand, our eyes locked, and the song played:

Oh, why you look so sad

The tears are in your eyes

C'mon and come to me now

Don't, be ashamed to cry

Let me see you through

Cause I've seen the dark side too

When the night falls on you

You don't know what to do

Nothing you confess

Could make me love you less

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you.

So, if you're mad get mad

Don't hold it all inside

C'mon and talk to me now

Hey, what you got to hide

I get angry too, well, I'm a lot like you

When you're standing at the crossroads

Don't know which path to choose

Let me come along

Cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you, take me in,

into your darkest hour

And I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you

And when, when the night falls on you baby

you're feeling all alone

you won't be on your own

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour

and I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you.
~ The Pretenders
 

Today, I no longer think of the man who gave this song to me, for it is mine now. I play it for that scared girl from fifteen years ago. I comfort her.  It's as if I can pick up a seashell and speak with her through oceans of time. I won't let anyone hurt her and I'm not ashamed of her because I have been with her, to her darkest hour.  I was there when her world tumbled and I am here today, standing by her and she is not now, nor will she ever be alone. Not ever again.