Bitten By the Susan Boyle Bug

If you haven’t heard about Susan Boyle by now, you must be living in a cave and not able to read this. Whatever the case may be, you’re missing out.

On Britain’s Got Talent, a 47 year old woman with caterpillars for eyebrows and a quirky personality simultaneously admonished and won over the heart and minds of the world. Near 48, never dated and never-been-kissed (not by choice) this aptly described as “cheeky” and guileless woman stood bravely in front of a jeering audience and cynical judges, attempting to fulfill a lifelong dream. If you have any imagination at all, you’ll know what a lifelong dream means to someone near the age of 50.

I’ll admit, as I slowed the elliptical machine long enough to plug my iPod headphones into the nifty box that allowed me to hear one of the several TV’s in the place, I was expecting another William Hung incident. We’ve been conditioned by shows like American Idol to expect to laugh at the hilarity of truly terrible singers trying to make it as a singing sensation, marveling at their audacity to even try. As I geared up for the waves of cringing and pity sure to follow, I turned up the news at just the right part…and received the smack in the arse that I so richly deserved. I found myself hiding a sniffle from my fellow gym rats and wiping away a few stray tears. This was all nothing compared to the downright deluge when I watched it in it’s entirety at home.

To say that this video changed my outlook on life would be dramatic, yes, but not so far off the mark. I think this video is circulating so rapidly because it means just that to so many. In these turbulent times of economic instability and rampant cynicism, Susan Boyle is a bright shining star of hope and dreams realized.

We, society today, are like the skittish children of a really bad divorce. We’ve been lied to, used and manipulated so much that we’ve found solace in expecting the worst of everything. As a shield, I think we’ve childishly adopted costumes of apathy to disguise the calluses and fend of further disappointment. We’re all trying to find a happy pill these days, when one doesn’t truly exist. Life is hard, it is pain and yet, it is also beautiful, as our Susan reveals this night.

I don’t know if you all have noticed the attitude I’m referring to, but it seems to be a common ground these days; in our humor, children and normal discourse. No longer is the cool, nonchalant attitude being left in high school halls where it previously held court. Now, it’s being adopted nation, if not world, wide. I’m always running up against the “too cool” factor and it never fails to piss me off. I think my views on elitism are well documented by now. The cool policy seems to require we don’t be idealistic, overly emotional, or excitable. Instead, remain aloof, hands in pocket, and slam every single establishment we have with snark and sardonic wit.

How much more courage it would take to be vulnerable, to approach a moment with childlike excitement and glee. There is so much more to admire there, the humanity of it could bring you to your knees.

As with anything negative, it starts to wear away at you after awhile. It was one such night, when I felt weary with the weight of the world and it’s disappointments, that I watched Susan Boyle. This woman, having been through a lifetime of trials and disappointment, trots out on stage and faces her demons with a giggle and a hip swivel. In the face of Simon’s eye-rolling and a packed house of ridiculing laughter, Ms. Boyle opens her mouth and unleashes the full-bodied voice of an angel. As the song crescendos and her voice swells effortlessly out to accommodate, ruthless Simon Cowell actually sighs and smiles like a little girl in love, chin in hands.

I found my heart joining her voice, circling joyfully in wide arcs toward the vaulted ceiling and outwards, into the fervent shouts and applause surrounding her. Exalted and untouchable, if only for that moment, she wowed much more than an audience and three entertainment hardened judges that night. She wowed the world, replacing derision and exclusiveness with belief and love. The power of music to inspire and change has never failed to astonish  me. This is a shining example of that exact thing.

As an added note, I don’t know if she choose the song deliberately for it’s message or to show off her vocal range, but the lyrics are stunningly perfect for her situation. Anyone who has had to let loose some long coveted dream will identify with this excerpt from Les Miserables. I’ve included them below.

done

I Dreamed A Dream

from Les Miserables

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he’ll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.