Be Here Now

Be Here Now by Mason Jennings
Mason's Video


It was going to happen at some point... today might as well be the day.

The first time I heard Mason sing this song was on a cold February night in Washington, D.C. at the Black Cat. Patty had promised to go to the show with me since she lived two blocks away... and to make a long story short we were standing there taking in the Mason show when he played this song. Both of us were, it was just one of those songs where you went, "wow" you heard it.

Fast forward 19 months—now I'm in Chicago, and the Girl surprised me with tickets to the Mason show a few weeks before. We were a few weeks removed from my birthday and something had to happen in our relationship. On our way to the show we stopped to get something to eat, but we were running late and had to do some sort of fast food. Potbelly's won out. And at some point during dinner we got in a bit of a fight about us as a relationship, as a couple.

The fight carried out onto Belmont Avenue. Walking east, The Girl and I made no progress in our situation. When we finally arrived, the theater was packed and Mason had already started playing. There was no where for us to really sit, and as we stood there trying to get comfortable, our uncomfortableness of the current situation in our relationship boiled over. She was frustrated with me, I was frustrated with her... neither one of us was enjoying the show even though we had only been there a few minutes... the night had disaster written all over it.

But then Mason started singing, "Be here now, no other place to be." The Girl and I weren't even in the seating area at this point, we were just outside the doors in the lobby talking about us but we could hear Mason clearly.

"Sun comes up and we start again..."

As Mason continued to sing, two thoughts, in this order, crossed my mind:
1) I love this song.
2) This is the perfect song to tell The Girl that I love her.

"All the doubts that linger, just set them free"

As the Girl looked at me all frustrated, wanting to leave, I decided that I had to let her know. "Don't you know?" A blank look on her face was the response. "I love you." A smile and a hug... then a kiss. "You are the love of my life," I found myself repeating Mason's words to The Girl. She loved me too.

It was like something from a movie... not the profession of our love, but rather the song Mason was playing at that moment provided a soundtrack to our lives. Had I planned to tell The Girl that I was in love with her that night at the show while Mason played "Be Here Now"? No. But it happened that way... it was like a dream... For a night, I lived a moment that I had always dreamt about—I told a girl that I loved that I loved her while Mason Jennings provided the soundtrack. Life doesn't give us very many serendipitous moments, but when one does arise, we should all take full advantage of it. Because those serendipitous moments are among the best in life.

But I was no Mr. Darcy that night, and even though this is a great love song, Mason's lyrics don't match Mr. Darcy's words, "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." But for a moment in time I lived in my very own song, my very own movie... it didn't last more than a few seconds because eventually Mason moved on to the next song. And I can't go back and rewatch or re-experience that night ever again... it's over. It is now just a memory... a memory that may even be forgotten someday later in life.