It Ain’t Over

As much as we’d like to rush this we’re in charge of our own destiny.

Are there song lyrics in your head? Do you constantly hear music? I mean… ALL the time? Every second of every day (and night), 24. 7. 365. I’m either blessed or cursed with that ‘gift’. Today, it’s a 16-minute masterpiece by my new favourite band, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. The song is called ‘Head On’ and the riffs and catchy lines are on repeat whenever my brain isn’t occupied. Yesterday, it was ‘Hot Potato’ by The Wiggles, after I saw the new yellow Wiggle, Emma, being interviewed on TV. Thanks Emma, not a great day for ol’ subconscious, I’ll let you know. I can hear songs perfectly in my head. Every note, every beat, all the guitar licks, both the lead singer and the backing vocals – clear as a bell and in perfect tune. It’s a serious pity that what’s going on in my head isn’t what comes out when I’m in the shower or singing along in the car or out at the barbeque.

I’m living for the day when my thoughts each week about writing these columns aren’t focussed on either a global pandemic or the perils that Donald Trump is leaving us as a ‘legacy.’ I’ve been trying hard NOT to let the 600 words I pen each week become totally encompassed by those two crazy topics, but when just about everything we see, hear and read has at least something to do with those two things, it’s pretty hard. For the last few hours, the mush between my ears that masquerades as a brain has been singing the chorus of ‘It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over,’ by American Rock legend Lenny Kravitz. That started as I rolled over at the crack, thinking how much I wished these situations would all be over… and here I am 5 hours later, still singing Lenny and penning a column about, well, penning a column.

Just when we thought we were getting close to everything being ‘over,’ they said on the news this morning that the world had the biggest ever day of new cases of the virus – over 150 000 new cases, yep, in one day. That doesn’t really sound like it’s ‘over,’ does it? Sure, we might be all back in the pubs, at weddings and funerals, and getting ready for the ski season, but it’s only gonna be one false move and we will be back to square one. Touch wood, touch wood, but have a look at those clowns in Florida, Mexico, and some parts of Europe, their eagerness to get their economies going and the fact that being fed up with getting stuck at home has over-ruled common sense – we’re going backward as a planet on this. We will hit 9 million cases and half a million dead this week. The land of the Long White Cloud and the Land Down Under can thank our lucky stars that being girt by sea means we are naturally socially-distanced from the recklessness abroad, and can make our own decisions. I hope the pettiness and infighting between our states is put to bed this week, we need to move forward as a 25 million person strong team, the rest of the world is very jealous of us.

So, in the words of Lenny again ‘It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over’, and to quote another one of the big bands – as Guns ‘n’ Roses say ‘All we need is just a little patience’♬. My apologies if you are now singing ‘Hot Potato’ in your head endlessly – now you know what goes on my head all day every day. Can I suggest YouTubing King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard… The Wiggles won’t stand a chance in your head after that!