Redtree Times

I’m awfully tired of the same old business
Kiss the babies, make ’em cry
I’m only lookin’ for one good woman
Cross my heart and hope to die
Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye

–John Prine, Stick a Needle In My Eye

A John Prine song came on early this morning in the studio, one that I hadn’t heard in a while. But while I haven’t actually heard it in my ears, it’s one of those songs that is in my head a lot. When things are going poorly, usually of my own doing due to my sheer stupidity or carelessness, its short chorus inevitably finds its way to my mind:

Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye

Usually makes me chuckle. And that’s a good thing at those low moments. I always figured that if I had taken some sort of a beating and could still laugh about it, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I knew then that I was going to get through it and be okay.

I’ve had some very good laughs on some very bad days.

Better to laugh than cry but sometimes it comes down to laughing while crying.

Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye

Funny how a song or image or a few words can trigger so many memories, good and bad. Hearing this song made me think of this little painting at the top, one that I did a number of years ago. It was done on a quick whim at one of those moments when things weren’t going so well all the way around. It was meant for just me and I knocked it out in 15 or 20 minutes. It’s not much but it served a great purpose for me, much like that short chorus.

I showed this little painting here a couple of years back in a post about the Power of Hopelessness, which remains a personal favorite of mine. I think that essay and this painting and song all link together in a way. I think it’s all about how one reacts to adversity. You can give up or you can laugh in its face then get to work at somehow climbing out of whatever hole you’re in.

Ain’t much but it’s all I got…

Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye