The Peridot Project: Hope rests in shadows

The first time I listened to “Lonely Work”, a brand new single by a branded new musical group, I found the juxtaposition of sweet music and sad lyrics intriguing. Unrequited love hurts my heart, yet there I was humming along.

Each time I listened, though, I heard more optimism woven into the compelling harmonies and score. I loved the image of a shadow on a shoe, as described in the lyrics.

So, asked by one of the band’s founders and lead singers, Hillary Reynolds, to create a reflection, I wrote the following piece:

Hopes rests in shadows.

It retreats, sometimes, from desperation’s scalding glare, gathers itself under the cool shade of sturdy trees, regroups in quiet corners among cracker crumbs and lint.

It’s there, though, in the rings left by half-empty glasses and pencil sketchings of half-baked dreams. Hope lives in unpretentious places – wine-soaked corks, dull keyboards, worn running shoes.

Strum-soothed, stride-tended, sweat-nursed, lyric-healed, hope feeds on common things like effort and risk.

The search for hope can be lonely, just like the search for love. You have to approach them honestly, with your father’s open heart and your grandma’s fearless soul.

Hope and love trade leads in life’s sweetest dance, bowing low to beckon. You just have to be brave enough to step out on the floor.

I wonder what you think when you listen to the song. Does it conjure up images of your first love? Do you think about how contagious love is? Have you ever been lonely in love?

Check out Peridot, a group that grew from the Hillary Reynolds Band, featuring Hillary and fellow Berklee College of Music graduate Trevor Jarvis.  Here’s a link to Lonely Work. Give it a listen or four and let us know what you think.