Song For My Friend Andrea - And For My (Old) Self

Whenever I hear the wonderful song "Anchorage" by Michelle Shocked, I always think about my good friend Andrea and how we were young women together in Seattle, during that magical time between college and grad school. 

We were all feminist-y together and involved. We met while doing volunteer training for a battered women's shelter. We helped plan Seattle's "Take Back the Night" march, which took place in June, 1995 and I still had the framed poster from it, until David & I got rid of almost everything we owned and moved to Florida, almost 2 years ago. 

She taught me how to apply lipliner & curl my eyelashes and we went to clubs & danced to the wee hours of the morning. We had intimate talks about our pasts and how we wanted our future lives to go. And then we drove off into the sunset together (a la "Thelma & Louise") to go to WI for graduate school (she in Madison, me in Milwaukee), in August of 1995 and never looked back. We had A LOT of fun! 

I will always love this line "hey Chele/We was wild then" and it's a great video, check it out ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hffcyJ1GAg

Both of us are married now, both of us have step-children, and neither of us have kids of our own (on purpose). And despite having desired to be one & having done it for a while (it didn't work out so well), the line "I sound like a housewife/I think I'm a housewife" still makes me feel sad, for some reason.

Anchorage ~ by Michelle Shocked 

I took the time to write to my old friend 

I walked across the burning bridge 

I mailed my letter off to Dallas, 

but Her reply came from Anchorage, Alaska 

She said Hey girl it's about time you wrote 

It's been over two years now my old friend 

Take me back to the days of the foreign telegrams 

And the all night rock 'n rollin' 

hey Chel We was wild then 

Hey Chel you know it's kinda funny 

Texas always seems so big 

But you know you're in the largest state in the union 

When you're anchored down in Anchorage 

Hey girl I think the last time I saw you 

Was on me and Leroy's wedding day 

What was the name of that love song you played 

I forgot how it goes, 

I don't recall how it goes 

Anchorage, anchored down in Anchorage 

Anchorage, anchored down in Anchorage 

Leroy got a better job so we moved 

Kevin lost a tooth, he's starting school 

I got a brand new eight month old baby girl 

I sound like a housewife 

I think I'm a housewife 

 

Hey girl what's it like to be in New York 

New York City, imagine that, tell me 

What's it like to be a skateboard punk rocker 

Leroy says send a picture 

Leroy says hello 

Leroy says keep on rocking girl 

Yeh keep on rocking 

Hey Chel you know it's kinda funny 

Texas always seems so big 

But you know you're in the largest state in the union 

When you're anchored down in Anchorage