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A Broken Music Box

from Start of Something Blue by Nathan Mac

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lyrics

Let’s talk about crying for a sec
You know, when I was young, I knew this kid
& they had a favourite toy
A music box
What became a broken music box
Now, this thing was shaped like an old carriage
With spinning wheels
& a place to yoke a horse

It used to play this
Kinda haunting melody
Some sort of classical piece, I…
I don’t remember
Ehm… but the kid was playing one day
Just wheeling it back & forth on the table
Until a slip too far
& the box went flying

Now, it flew across the room
Landed on the stone floor
& cracked wide open

Heartbroken, crying…
The child begged, & pleaded
For somebody to fix this toy
That they just loved, so much
&..
& they tried as hard as they could, but
The thing eventually just became this…
This gluey mess
Like, the carriage wheels wouldn’t spin
& there were these big cracks all through it
I mean, the music box part of it still worked
So I guess that helps
& you know
At least it was in one piece again

That night, like most
The kid brought this music box to bed with them
You know, they still-
It was still their favourite toy
They were-
They still found it so special
& then
Safely tucked away
Under the darkness of the blankets
They noticed a glimmer
& looking as closely as they could
Eyes fixed to the widest cracks
They saw it
This little light swelling inside

Now, on that night
& every night after, I assume
The music box never left their side

It was kind of mean of me then, but
I used to make fun of them for believing
Like, whenever they showed it to me
It wouldn’t glow
I never saw it at night, but
Even still… I just didn’t believe

Nowadays, like, we still reconnect
Every year or so
We keep up with each other
& honestly I’d forgotten about this story, until…
I went to one of their exhibitions

They are an artist now
They may-
They mostly work with ceramics
They didn’t remember the story
But..
But they must have
At least, like, subconsciously, cause-
So, they work exclusively with
The practice & philosophy of Kintsugi
You know, make a pot
Break it in some gentle way
& then reassemble it
Nowadays they use a clear resin
I mean they used to use gold, but
What they’re trying to do now
Is put a little light inside the pot
& then when that glows
It celebrates the cracks
It celebrates…
How beautiful they can be
& doesn’t that sound familiar?

I often wonder
If something happened to me
When I was a kid
You know, something like this
& how that might have shaped me
In some unknown way
& how it might change
The things that I do
The music that I make
Or…
The life that I live

credits

from Start of Something Blue, released September 2, 2022
Lyrics: Nathan Mac
Music: Brian Dwyer

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about

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Nathan Mac Dublin, Ireland

Nathan Mac ran away from the Circus to pursue a life of music. Now he’s back with both! Over the years, he’s sold out theatre’s, released a string of successful singles, founded his own record label, & written his own Circus musical! At the genesis of his career, there’s no better name for his debut album. This really is the ‘Start of Something Blue’.

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