Earsnag: “Big Jet Plane” by Angus & Julia Stone

“She said, ‘Hello mister, pleased to meet you.’ I wanna hold her, I wanna kiss her.”

Whimsical, wonderful, lovely, nostalgic — all words  describe this delightful piece by Angus & Julia Stone. Evidently, this brother-sister duo hailing from Syndey, Australia have perfected the folk-blues sound.

“Gonna take you for a ride on a big jet plane.”

While the song is sweet and pleasantly elevating (who would refuse a spontaneous jet plane ride offer?), it’s also a little sad. I listen to it and my heart feels heavy.

I think it’s because it reminds me of dreams that die away, the “what-could-have-beens” in life, fragmented relationships and faded splendors. Maybe it’s the melody, or maybe it’s because that jet plane ride might have never happened, and might never happen, period.

“She smelled of daisies, she smelled of daisies.”

The song reminds me of lost loves. It reminds me of a beautiful childhood that’s now a memory rather than reality. It reminds me of time itself and how you think it’s going to slow down, but it never does. I don’t believe I’ll ever become used to the speed of it. I can remember the summer before college so vividly: rejuvenated, eager to begin a new slice of life, ready to grow up, experience and discover the core of my individuality.

“Be my lover, my lady river. But can I take you, take you higher?”

Now I’m almost a junior. I know I’m still so young, I have so much ahead of me, so much to look forward to and experience. But as Earth continues to rotate and the days fall away so softly and almost without notice, I’ll never, ever forget yesterday. Because if you think about it, forgetting the past would be like reverting to infancy — it would mean unlearning every lesson learned thus far, unfeeling every emotion ever felt and undoing everything already done.

So as we grow up, let us not forget what brought us here. Let us take time to reminisce and allow sweet sentimentality to seep into our bones.

Check out Angus & Julia Stone’s album, Down the Way, available on iTunes.