Music Monday #47: Taking Chances by Celine Dion

For the last time on this list we return once more to Celine Dion, this time to her 2007 release 'Taking Chances' an album that initially I did not form a connect to apart from 2 tracks but as time has passed and life experiences have changed my outlook the other songs have come to mean more to me and my connection to this album has grown.  I love when this happens and as I have said before this is one reason why I advocate a deep dive into your music library every now and then to see what you can reconnect with and what you can form new connections with.

Two tracks that struck a chord with me right from the jump, the first was 'Eyes On Me' which I loved because of the opening riff, the track was produced by Kristian Lundin who also produced 'I'm Alive' and 'That's The Way It Is' two of my favourite tracks by Celine.  'Eyes On Me' is heavily influenced by music from the Middle East, and reminds me a lot of 'Ojos Así' by Shakira in 1999 which was later released in English with a slightly modified backing track as 'Eyes Like Yours' in 2001.  The lyrics to the song open with "I know that once in love, You don't think of the devil who's inside, And maybe there'll come one day, When you'll feel safe and I won't have the time" which speaks to that moment when you fall in love and forget yourself, but warns not to lose perspective, to stay awake and be aware because that false sense of security is what allows darkness to grow and take hold when you are staring at the light oblivious.  The chorus "You'll hear what you wanna hear, Blink once, I could disappear, Some rules to the game will make it, Right for both of us, Just say what you wanna say, I've got it to give away, We both wanna make it last, So keep your eyes on me" warns that if you want love to work you need to pay reverence and respect, never lose sight of what you want, turn away from it or blink and lose sight of it and you can lose it all.

The second track that instantly connected with me was 'Fade Away' which talks again about the nature of love and how it teaches us, shapes us, and influences our lives.  The chorus reads "Once touched by pain, You're not the same, But time can heal, Your heart again, So let the clouds, That bring you down, Just fade away" these lyrics are about acknowledging the hurt and the pain and the scars that it can leave on us, and taking that pain and turning it into something positive.  The promise that life will go on and time will heal the wounds.  This as someone who has experienced heartache touched me and connected with me.

These two tracks were instant emotional connections for me but the remainder of the album was not something I came to appreciate until several years later when failed flights of fancy left me feeling introspective, looking back on my live I listened to the title track 'Taking Chances' and it was if Celine was speaking directly to me, the opening lyrics "Don't know much about your life, Don't know much about your world, but don't wanna be alone tonight, On this planet they call earth, You don't know about my past, and I don't have a future figured out" these words were like an old friend coming back into my life after several years of absence, saying to me that life has had its way with both of us and while we might not know everything the other has been through it doesn't matter that much in the end because we're both here, still alive and looking forward to a future that is unknown to both of us, the lyrics go further with the chorus "What do you say to taking chances?  What do you say to jumping off the edge?  Never knowing if there's solid ground below, Or hand to hold, or hell to pay, What do you say?" these lyrics serve now as a motivation for me that echoes my mentality that if you're willing to lose everything then why not take a chance, if you're already prepared to lose what is there to lose?  What's wrong with taking a chance, even if you have no idea where it will lead you, that leap of faith is easier to make if you are ready to jump.

The theme of being alone in the world is something that has resonated with me over the years with the words of many artists but it wasn't until a few years ago that 'Alone' truly resonated when I met someone who became the closest friend I've ever had, someone who has been by my side ever since and been a constant pillar of support for me.  He's listened to me when I needed someone to talk to, he's never judged me, and he's been a part of my life for so long now I can't imagine not having him in my life, the lyrics "Till now, I always got by on my own, I never really cared until I met you, And now it chills me to the bone, How do I get you alone?" resonate with me now because in another life we would be together but in this life we are destined to be friends and nothing more sadly, but that feeling of having constancy and reassurance is incredibly positive.

On the other hand, the fear that goes with that positivity comes from the thought of losing that permanence which strikes something deep inside me.  The truth is life is a lot easier when you go through it on your own, that doesn't mean it's something I advocate, it's just the simple statement of truth that other people complicate our lives and being on your own saves you from a lot of those complications.  It causes other problems though so this ultimately comes down to weighing which you want more, companionship or a quiet life.

I know that contradicts everything I have said in every one of those posts but it's true because the longing to be with others and to fall in love is something that we want, it's borne out of desire and reflects the social nature of the human being as an animal, but sometimes the things we desire most aren't necessarily the things that are the best thing for us this is the conflict that we face through our gift of consciousness, the choice whether to satiate or starve our base instincts.  I know our friendship has been strained at times, he understands my social anxiety better than anyone and quite frankly has the patience of a saint in my eyes, but having to think about someone else in such an intimate way, the impact of your actions at times can be a burden, something that again he understands and we have communicated clearly how we both feel which is the only reason things have never fallen apart.

I still hold onto the idea that one day I will meet someone that I will fall in love with and that we can have that happy ever after moment, but having friends and family like this who love me unconditionally and support me when I need them most is something I value, I know how rare this is, I've been around the block too many times with too many people to know this is rare.  We met completely by chance and at a moment when I needed someone more than anything to be there with me the Universe put him in my path and that's one reason why I want to believe there is something more than what we see in the world.  I also know that I am my own worst enemy, the greatest danger that I face in this world is inside me.  In the moments where I have been suicidal in my past, it didn't matter how many people loved me, how much they supported me, that darkness was inside me and they couldn't reach in and take it away no-one can, the will to live has to come from within which I know for those who have loved and lost people to suicide is incredibly hard to accept, even those like Celine who have lost loved ones to diseases like Cancer that feeling of helplessness can be so hard to handle when you want more than anything to be able to save them but you can't.  All you can do is try and make the time you have together mean something special, make the most of that time when you still have it, and when it's gone look back on those memories and cherish them and be grateful that you knew them and that you got to be with them for a time.

Celine Dion's music is emotional, it can be happy and positive, it can be sad and speak to the feeling of despair.  The wide range of her music and its moods, he varying styles, and the messages her songs contain mean a lot to me.  I own 19 albums by Celine Dion and that isn't even her complete discography, she has produced more albums than this, at the time of writing she has released 27 studio albums, 7 live albums, and 19 compilations, totalling 53 you could make an entire list of 52 posts and still come up 1 short of covering every album she has released, so for me including only 4 I think shows restraint.  I adore Celine Dion and she will remain part of my music library, I can't ever see a day where I would get rid of any of her music - there's only one track of hers I have deleted, a duet because of who it was with but we won't go into that - I don't think she'd take offence for the record as researching this post I discovered she deleted it from streaming services too.