As most of the world has seen by now, Susan Boyle walked on stage at Britain's Got Talent and proceeded to shatter an entertainment stereotype. Maybe our culture has finally (and rightly) grown tired of plastic, perfect entertainers parading on our screens. She truly opened the collective mind, allowing everyone who watched her to throw out their expectations of what a singer should look like. She is more beautiful than one hundred of the current pool of entertainers. What a gift she has!I wish someone had warned me how moved I would be to witness the performance of this unassuming, humble soul. For the last several days I've been seeing links about her and avoiding them. I don't believe in cruelly poking fun at someone for their efforts simply because they look different from others. But because I was bored and had to watch something, I clicked on one of the YouTube links, fearing another William Hung performance. Initially, I felt sorry for this woman who was obviously being laughed at in such a public way. However, my pity soon turned to awe as she opened her mouth and let go that first note. When the crowd rose to their feet in applause and I saw the looks on the judges' faces, I became filled with emotion.
Look her up and be inspired. (I would include a video here, but embedding has been disabled on YouTube.) The lyrics to the song make this even more profound.
I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed
6 comments:
OMG Gail! How did I not see this one before I posted? Honestly I didn't. Besides yours is way more detailed. Mine is like a "tweet", but it's not.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that got teary eyed - I mean REALLY teary eyed. The whole thing was a great eye opener.
We BOTH posted about her. So funny. She is a sensation for sure and on everyone's radar by now. Could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. Wow.
Now you need to watch Shaheen Jafargholi, the 12-year-old Welsh boy who competed on that show. He starts out singing one song; Simon cuts him off mid-song with some condescending remark; the kid then blows everybody away singing a Michael Jackson song. It's awesome. :)
Thank you, daughter for that amazing link. My eyes were welling up even before he stepped on stage. Shaheen is incredible! The range and control he has at such a young age....well, he should get somewhere with that voice and poise. Exceptional!
I came across your blog because I was googling the surname "Hodgins" (which is my maiden name) and Google said that there was something in these blogs that related you to the Hodgins family. Well, I didn't find that reference, but I did read your blogs. I love your writing and your photography. Thanks for sharing your life.
Thanks for visiting, Anon!
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