Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “Cannonball” by Damien Rice

there’s still a little bit of your song,
in my ear,
there’s still a little bit of your words,
i long to hear,
you step a little closer to me,
so close that i can’t see,
what’s going on

All of the live versions of this song (even the cover by a makeup-plastered quartet on X Factor) are better than the studio recordings. This one is my favorite. It’s a pretty heart-wrenching song already, but then if you see the last comment on this YouTube upload, you will be even sadder. Click at your own risk.

Last weekend I went to The Spa at La Costa where Lisa and I had gone together almost two years ago. There is a reflexology pathway built of stones – you are supposed to walk on it barefoot, letting the stones massage your feet. She spent a lot of time on that path during our 2010 visit.

I took a moment and stood in the center of a vortex of stones, looking down and thinking about her. I imagined her standing next to me – her hair, her spa bathrobe, what she would say if she could speak to me with words. What it would be like if she was a ghost and could visit me and hang out with me at a spa. How absurd-funny-macabre that would be. I couldn’t linger long because I was with a group of people, but that moment was good.