soulful son

I recently rented the movie, Once, the little movie that could. It won for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Glen Hansard, perhaps better known as the guitarist and lead singer of the Irish rock band, The Frames, stars as "Boy," the lead male cast member who is a street musician (and Hoover vacuum repair man). Marketa Irglova stars as "Girl," a young woman who meets Boy on the street while he is performing and actually has a busted vacuum in need of repair.

Now you'll think you know what's about to happen. You're thinking they fall in love and live happily ever after. And perhaps they do in a sense. What both have in common, however, is heartache and music. If they have feelings for one another, they push them aside to go after the one they left behind. They are both seeking to make it work with their ex's. All the while, these two very talented musicians are also trying to record an album of Hansard's music, and there is undeniable chemistry in play.

But why am I telling you this? If you really want to know the way it ends, go and see it for yourself. You'll thank me later.

Anyhoooo, back to the reason for the post. After seeing the movie (and having this intense desire to find a group of musicians and jam for hours), I immediately went to Amazon and downloaded the soundtrack, along with some additional tracks from a previous album Hansard and Irglova recorded together called "The Swell Season." I've been listening to them constantly in the car when making the drive to Denver, so the kids have heard the songs over and over again. This afternoon, as I was making us a lovely lunch of BLT's, with a side of strawberries, blueberries, cubes of colby-jack cheese, and yogurt, Josh was serenading Gillie and me in the kitchen. When I realized he was singing, I started listening to the words. Honestly, I was floored to hear these things coming out of my 3 year old son. He was singing about how his heart was broken. How his heart was ruined. How Gillie ruined his heart (He added this jab only after she knocked into him as she was running off some energy). He sang about how he just wanted love.

Oy, if I hadn't made the connection between those particular lyrics and the soundtrack, I would have freaked out and probably called some psychologist. But instead, I've just been non-stop smiling for the past half hour realizing how soulful he sounded. Even though he doesn't understand about heartache the way the writers of the lyrics do, it was still kind of sweet to view my darling boy as a sensitive young man.

Now if I ever hear my young daughter singing the Britney Spears lyrics, "I'm not that innocent," I'm going to blow my top! :)