Taking it All - Abba

I listen to music...loads of it.I love it for the calm,relaxing mood it puts me in.I love the way the sound wraps itself around me mellowing my mood.There are seldom songs which stir you in such a way that by the time,its over,you feel so many emotions rolling in from the resurfaced memories of the past or the likely imaginings of the uncertain future.
The first time I listened to ABBA's "Winner takes it all",the tune was as enticing as a siren's ,making me hear it again and again.And then hearing it again and again made me listen closely to the words and reflect.

Where would you find such simple words making a statement and stirring in you emotions as these words do.....

"I don't wanna talk
 About the things we've gone through"

Don't we all have these moments when we feel so upset and everything feels like the end of the world.

"Though it's hurting me
 Now it's history"

And the many times that we try to put it in the far corner of the mind and try to conveniently forget it,after naming it history.

"I've played all my cards
 And that's what you've done too "

The many times that everything we do in our relationships,seems like a game of cards with chance and destiny intertwined.

The above is just an example of the way the words are strung in this song.
This below stanza is one of those that I listen to with such mixed feelings and I always wonder it manages to hit just right at my soft spot.

 "I was in your arms
 Thinking I belonged there
 I figured it made sense
 Building me a fence
 Building me a home
 Thinking I'd be strong there
 But I was a fool
 Playing by the rules"

I will not go any further about this song,other than to say,if you've never heard ABBA before,this one will make you pause and listen.Furthermore,it will make you addicted to her brand of music,the brand that was uniquely "ABBA".
If you ever chance to hear this song,do take the time to sit back and reflect like I did and you will see what I saw in this one....

When Segal wrote Love Story

It is only once in a while that someone manages to say something so meaningful in such simple sentences.Segal is one of those who did it in "Love Story". For a  long while,I put off reading this book due to the title.I thought,a book with a title as this must be standard stuff.
Little did I know that I had hit upon one of those page turners which keep you awake at night.And the funny part was that,I couldn't stop myself from reading on,even after the preview of the tragic ending,portrayed in the beginning pages.What has been the charm of the book is that,it is so simple,that it could be true....
 

What starts as rich boy meets poor girl with a temper,mellows down to destiny after love and marriage.Fate plays a cruel hand in the lives of Oliver and Jennifer after they overcome all odds to be together forever.
Somehow ,some of the dialogues which touched me were as simple as "Love means never having to say you're sorry".
To follow it up,I also saw the film by the same name "Love Story". It had Ryan O 'Neal and Ali MacGraw starring in the lead roles.Needless to  say,I was in tears by the end of the film.There was just the right amount of drama and I would bet even now that "It was one of the best on screen chemistry ever seen."

 After having devoured such a gem of  a story,I am in search of more such tales to satisfy my hunger....