I no longer pine for springtime...

On the way to work today, I was listening to the new Mix CD that nativeminnow sent me. A song by Welcome Interstate Managers came on. This was one of my favorite songs last winter as I was braving the Utah cold and snow. The lyrics are:

Hey Sweet AnnieDon't take it so bad

You know the summer's coming soon

Though the interstate is choking under salt and dirty sand

And it seems the sun is hiding from the world

Your daddy told youWhen you were a girl

The kind of things that come to those who wait

So give it a rest girlTake a deep breath girl

And meet me at the Bay State tonight

And the snow is coming down

On our New England town

And it's been falling all day long

What else is new?

What could I do?

I wrote a valley winter song

To play for you

And late DecemberCan drag a man down

You feel it deep in your gut

Short days and afternoons spent puttering around

In a dark house with the windows painted shut

Remember New York Staring outside

As reckless winter made its way

From Staton Island to the Upper West Side

Whiting out our streets along the way

And the snow is coming down

On our New England town

And it's been falling all day long

What else is new

What can I do

But sing this valley winter song

I wrote for you

It just didn't have the same impact on me here in Bakersfield. The winters are mildy cold, and sometimes it even freezes, but it is the first of February and the fruit trees are already in full bloom. Daffodils and tulips are already pushing through the deep, dark soil. The robins never even seem to have left. I read a comment FliesWithoutWings wrote on another blog about how Northeastern Utah even has a mental soundtrack for him. That when he hears certain songs, they are somehow indelibly linked in his mind with Flaming Gorge. I think it is also true that certain songs have more power when experienced in certain environments/locations. I know that is definitely true of "Valley Winter Song."