Many blog posts ago, I expressed a wish to perform a new rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Michael from Mountains,” dedicated to my boyfriend, Michael.
Michael is not from mountains. He’s from the Hyde Park section of Boston.
Here are the lyrics to “Michael from Boston” (as adapted by Ann from WordPress):
Michael wakes up from a sleep
He takes me up streets for a coffee run
Sidewalk potholes are so steep
With birdies that cheep, bunnies having fun
There’s kitties and puppies and possum-y pet toys
That lie on the lawn
in colored arrangements I snap with my camera
At dusk and at dawnMichael from Boston
Go where you will go to
Know that I will know you
Someday I may know you very wellMichael brings me to a park
It’s light and it’s dark with the clouds up high
Kids on zip lines and on swings
Like puppets on strings hanging in the skyHe cooks us great suppers in second floor kitchens
They’re yummy and bold.
And Michael will hold me
To keep away cold when the winters come by
Michael from Boston
Go where you will go to
Know that I will know you
Someday I may know you very wellMichael leads me up the stairs
He wants me to care and he knows I do
Cats come crying at the door
And he feeds them more with a dish or two
There’s rain in the window
There’s sun in the paintings that smile on the wall
I want to hear all
But his accent’s so thick that I never doMichael from Boston
Go where you will go to
Know that I will know you
Someday I will know you very well.
.
While I’ve snapped pictures, over my blogging years, to illustrate almost every point in that song, Ann from WordPress likes to show photos she’s taken since her last post. I hope the following photos will reflect aspects of Michael, Boston, and/or those song lyrics.
What do you — from mountains, Boston, WordPress, or wherever — think of all this?
Now, I need to record that song with the new lyrics. Not sure how good my voice is going to sound this early in the morning. Also, who knows if I’ll get all those new words right?
Well, Ann from WordPress is having trouble recording a video of “Michael from Boston” because I’m getting no sound on my iPhone from Apple.
Because of the help and support of Michael and other kind people from Boston, I am not panicking about technical difficulties these days. However, I’ll need to restart my iPhone to try to fix this. So, I shall post this now and add a performance video later.
Okay! Still no sounds from my iPhone, but the YouTube video has sound, so here it is:
Many thanks to Michael and others from Boston, to Joni from Canada, and to you — of course! — no matter where you’re from.