ANNIE LENNOX - "Legend In My Livingroom"

I've always loved Annie Lennox, but especially during her first solo album "Diva". I remember knowing every word of this album and singing it relentlessly for months and months (a late "sorry" to all the roomates and neighbours, I must have been a pain in the ass, haha) - and it has worked as my getaway at later times too. The songs on this album are just so sublime, so brilliant. In many cases, they are very simple but they are so emotional, so perfect that my mind and heart is at ease. I've been deeply touched by them. Annie's soulful voice is always a thrill to listen to, she is such a great talent and many more artists should have the integrity she has had throughout her entire career. I respect her tremendeously.

I've chosen to play a song which I've had fun with and which also tells (sort of) the story of my life. I too moved away to study when I was younger (younger than seventeen - referring to the first line of the song) and in my life I have seen both sides of the coin. The reality of having and living off of dreams was (and still is) a reality for me, many people in my life have turned out to be different from what they represented to be, I've felt betrayed by them - and being "different" (in terms of having the soul and aspirations of an artist, as well as being gay) has never been easy either. Those things are never easy to any artist but they are things that are true and which you feel you need to follow no matter what. And then finally, I too have woken up in places and realized that some of my dreams never came true or they weren't worth dreaming about. I am no stranger to bitterness either, I have felt extremely bitter about ten years ago when all the feelings of my father's suicide - as well as the things he did when alive - were the strongest. So in all levels, I have and always will feel closeness with this song.

The line "legend in my livingroom" is something can identify with - as I will always be the legend in my livingroom, haha! I do not mean that in a pompous way, it's just the truth. This is true because: no one can ever take my unique being away. And I consider myself a legend just by surviving life this far - many people with my experiences would have destroyed themselves along time ago. I'm still standing even if I fall flat on my face from time to time. It doesn't matter. I think we all do that, some just don't openly admit it. They try to be perfect. Silly people. Perfect is an illusion that never existed. So, as long as I have been here I haven't failed to get up; despite the fragility I'll forever possess, I'm a fighter and I will not give in. I'm a one tough bitch even if I have my weaknesses. Just watch me.

Here are the lyrics to "Legend In My Livingroom":

When I was just seventeen i ran away from home/ To be with all the pretty people/ To be on my own
Bright lights and trains and bedsit stains/ And pavements paved with gold/ And I believed in everything that everybody told me

Have mercy/ Have mercy on me

I found myself in a lonely place with a suitcase full of dreams/ And I soon grew up to realise what living in the doghouse means
But everyday I told myself good things would happen soon/ 'cause I knew that I was going to be a legend in my living room

Have mercy/ Have mercy on me
(welcome to this perfect world)

Now everyday on a dead end street is where I spend my time/ The dust has been collecting on the corners of my mind
But I've shed my tears in bitter drops until the thorn trees bloomed/ To take the spiky fruit to crown myself the queen of doom

Have mercy/ Have mercy on me