Brandy's sailor

It has been a couple of weeks since I joined steemit, but unfortunately, these weeks have been marred by inactivity mostly stemming from a lack of time and inspiration. But finally, inspiration came in form of a movie. Well, specifically a song in a movie but the point remains the same.

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I only recently watched the second installment (volume 2) of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (I have good reasons for being so late so please forgive me). I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire movie but a particular scene stuck in my memory. It’s the scene where Peter Quill and his father (Ego) discuss a song titled ‘Brandy’ by ‘Looking Glass’. Curiosity got the better of me (or maybe boredom) so I downloaded the song and listened to it. Apparently, the song (as well as the band) were a big deal in the 70’s (aka long before I was born) but for a first time listener such as myself, I must confess that the song is indeed worthy of praise. It is a master class in melody and storytelling, traits which are sadly missing in modern day music.

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There's a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes

The point of this article though, is not to discuss melody and failings of modern day music. Instead I am writing about the story which the song tells. It tells a story of a girl named Brandy, a beautiful girl who worked as a barmaid in a harbor town. Daily sailors would come and go from the harbor and all would profess their affection for her. Unfortunately, Brandy had already fallen in love with a sailor and was, indeed, still in love with him but whatever affection they felt for each other was not enough to keep them together. He told her from start that no land could be his home because his one true love is the sea. He tells her how wonderful she is but she still isn’t enough to take him away from the sea. The sailor had gone off to sea, leaving the woman he loves with nothing but a necklace to remind her of the love she lost and the life she could have had.

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At night when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around
She still can hear him say...

What intrigues me about this song is not the tale of love and loss but the symbolic nature of the story. In fact, I choose to see the story from the perspective of the sailor. And from his perspective, I see a story of a man with a singular purpose in mind. One goal around which his life revolves and that goal is to remain at sea. He shall have no distractions and there shall be no temptations to deviate from the objective he has set for himself. He comes to land when necessary and as soon as he is done, he is back off to sea. No force is powerful enough to keep him away from the sea, not even love.

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This made me ask myself; what purpose can a man (or woman) have in life worth chasing with such dedication that nothing else matters? Could there really be something worthy of being pursued with such fervor that a person would give up the chance at a happy or normal life without even so much as a second thought? No faltering and no compromise in a single minded pursuit.

The irony of a sailor anchored to the sea, too scared to drift back to land.

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..."Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl)
"But my life, my love, and my lady is the sea"