Verdigris

Sometimes when you’re not at your best, overtired, or simply overwhelmed by the world, it’s good to have someone that you can trust and count on to speak for you.

Tonight I feel that way, and not because something terrible happened. Quite the contrary: I received my first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine today. It was the first vaccination I became eligible for, and I always said I’d follow the advice of medical science and get in line for what was first offered to me.

Receiving my shot has made me feel emotional, grateful and yet, I know nothing has really changed, not for the moment anyway. I must still be careful not to contract or spread the virus: mask-wearing, physical distancing, hand-washing, staying home as much as possible. But being vaccinated gives me hope that we are moving steadily towards overcoming Covid’s hold over us all.

My heart is full, my arm is sore, and I hope everyone I know will soon be offered this little shot of hope.

I don’t have any more wisdom to offer now, so I will rely on Roger and Brian Eno to articulate, with music, the calm emerging above the chaos of the past 14 months.

“Verdigris” is a track from the expanded version of the Eno brothers’ 2020 album Mixing Colours. I’ve posted several tracks from it already, including “Celeste” (in which I reference earlier posts on “Ultramarine” and “Blonde”), “Cinnabar,” “Vermillion,” and “Wintergreen” (a post in which I explain the international video competition that Deutsche Grammophon and the Eno brothers held to promote the album).

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.

And please, make an appointment and be vaccinated as soon as you can. You’ll be protecting yourself, those you love, and those you’ve never met. That’s a loving, wise and science-based thing to do.

Here’s the video Natalia Galán of the United States produced and which was chosen as the winner of the competition and named as the official music video to accompany the piece, as posted on the Deutsche Grammophon YouTube channel: