Here we are. At the beginning. My first single release EVER. I'm thrilled that you are here, choosing to join me on this Ivy Eld journey. What an initiation it has already been. And I truly believe that this is just the start. I am asking for about 15 minutes of your time (maybe less, maybe more...but it's absolutely flexible!). I'd love to invite you on a little quest with me. With each song of this 5-song EP album, I will toss out some background to each song + some inquiries for you. I will give you a little sneak peek into the song's origin. And then I will ask some questions of you before you click "play" and take a listen to the song for yourself. If you have no interest in going a little deeper with each song by hearing the story and/or pondering the questions, that is just fine! You are welcome to skip this part and click here to go ahead and listen to "Horizon" on Spotify (or scroll to the bottom of this blog for other streaming platform links). I'd love to hear what you think of the song once you listen!
But if you are curious to hear a little more dirt on each song + want to expand a bit more into the listening experience, read on!
A little background to the song:
I wrote "Horizon" to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of meeting my husband, Rick. We met (after I graduated from college) in December 1999 in San Jose, CA, while we were both working for a drug and alcohol treatment center for adolescents. I was determined to stay focused on the "mission" of being there for these hurting teenage girls who were all court-ordered to be in residential treatment--many of whom came from broken homes, experienced severe trauma, and just had hard lives in general. So I stubbornly (and quite honestly, a little piously) pushed him away for awhile before I realized how smitten I had become for this gentle, strong, handsome 27-year-old from San Diego. I had organized a ski trip to Lake Tahoe during my off time, and that's where the sparks officially started to fly between us. Many rollerblade excursions by the ocean, lots of late-night snuggles and DTRs in his little gray Toyota truck, and countless plates of Pad See Ew, sticky rice, and peanut sauce later, we got engaged.
One mild, relaxed Northern California January evening, he popped the question while we were taking in a breathtaking ocean sunset with a stunning view of McWay Falls in Big Sur. And later that year (2001), we tied the knot on a perfect October day in Pacific Grove, CA, right off the famous (and oh-so-lovely) 17-mile-drive along the Northern California Coast. Falling in love in California and dating in all of these ridiculously gorgeous and cool places--Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Big Sur, San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz, etc.--was quite a dream in so many ways. It was a sweet foundation for all the ups and downs to come.
Since those idyllic first oceanside days in California, we have moved to the Midwest (first to Michigan and then to my home state of Minnesota), and then we finally moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina where we've been the past 16 years. During these 20+ years, we've experienced two amazing, spirited children joining us in this world, jobs started and ended, careers changed, multiple new businesses launched, friends gained, friends lost, dreams followed, dreams shattered, hard and scary diagnoses of loved ones, many traumatic situations to navigate with my family of origin, the death of Rick's dad and my brother, grandparents and other significant deaths, family traditions honored, toxic generational cycles broken, creative passions reclaimed. And that's just a glimpse. It has been a lot. A lot of good. A lot of hard. A lot of joy. A lot of grief. A lot. We are strikingly different people than when we first met and got married. And miraculously, we still adore each other and would choose each other all over again. Even with all the intense challenges (that sometimes stretched us in ways we didn't know were possible), I can't imagine my life without Rick. He's my best friend, my soulmate, my partner.
My dear Rick and I are as different as night and day. I'm predominantly extroverted. He's predominantly introverted. I'm naturally drawn to fire and movement. He's drawn to water and stillness. I hate bookkeeping and spreadsheets. He's a wiz with numbers and all things financial. I love the stage. He hates being the center of attention. I walk through the world with songs (mine and others) constantly dancing around inside my head and off my tongue. He walks through the world tuned into patterns and details in nature, deeply observing through what he sees and feels and hears around him. My head is in the clouds, constantly exploring and pondering abstract concepts and ideas and hopeful visions for the future. His head is turned toward the earth, meticulously scanning for stones and salamanders, staying firmly rooted in the present. I help him dream. He keeps me grounded. I made a profession out of my love of delving deeply into the inner world and helping others to heal their wounded places. He made a profession out of his love of delving deeply into numbers and finances and helping others build a healthy, accountable relationship with money, planning, and investing. I love psychology. He loves geology. I love music. He loves math.
Even though we are wildly different in so many ways, we have so much in common as far as being adventurers, nature and animal lovers, rec buddies (tennis, softball, hiking, to name a few), and spiritual, intuitive, deep-feeling people-lovers. We are both passionate about our kids, justice, play, and helping others. We both have church wounds we've been healing from and sorting through, deconstructing toxic theology and it's impact. We both fiercely value community and authentic connection and are thankful to have people in our lives that truly see us and cherish us for who we are. We both relish beauty in all the ways it shows up in our lives.
It's impossible to thoroughly cover 20+ years of partnership in a 5-minute song. So this was my humble attempt to capture one aspect of the beautiful, multi-faceted enigma that is us. In the process of writing this song, I kept thinking of elements--fire, water, earth, sky--and played with these. I leaned into paradoxical language around the nature of these elements and the nature of our relationship. I remember plunking around on the piano with these abstract elemental concepts and then BOOM, a lightning bolt struck and I realized I was writing about where all these seemingly disparate parts meet. I was writing about the horizon--where sky meets earth (or water), where my energy dances with his. While I was writing, I think I may have even glanced at an ocean sunset picture from Hilton Head, SC, that was tucked in my piano bench at the time. While watching A Star Is Born on the big screen with two dear friends, I was deeply inspired by Lady Gaga passionately belting out "Always Remember Us This Way." I remember thinking (and feeling) so clearly, "I want to write a love song someday that evokes that much imagery and emotion." "Horizon" was my attempt.
A few questions to ponder before/during your listen:
--Can you think of any relationship(s) in your life (romantic, platonic, familial, etc.) where you feel the other person is dramatically different from you? What relationship(s)?
--What do you celebrate and appreciate about in regards to the differences within the other person? What do you sometimes struggle with or maybe even resent at times?
--Are you able to feel into the "third party" created in your relationship where you and this partner, friend, etc. come together--the "horizon" as it were? Perhaps you could think of it as not fully you, not fully the other person, but the energy or the entity that is created as a result of your unique relationship with each other? What type of chemistry, connection, dynamic--for better or for worse--happens where you and this person are together in relationship?
--Any other reflections during or after listening to the song? Feel free to jot them down if you'd like.
Whew! OK. Those are all just suggestions and ideas. You are welcome to embrace or ponder any of these inquiries or just chuck them all. Either way, thank you for reading to this point. And now it's time!
Listen to "Horizon" on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts about the song after you listen. Feel free to email me (ivyeldmusic@gmail.com), DM me, write in the comments below, comment on a social media post, whatever is easiest! I'd love to hear from you.
Thank you so much for listening!!! And if you enjoy "Horizon," please please share it!
Lyrics for "Horizon" by Ivy Eld
We met years ago under California clouds
Your warm smile lit up the cold gray office walls
I didn’t know it was you that my heart had been aching for
I pushed you away for so long 'til I saw
That you are home to me
I bring the wildfire and you bring the steady sea
You are my sapphire ocean, I am your scarlet sunset sky
I dive in your cool waters when the flames burn too high
The horizon is where we meet you and I
There’s a curve on your shoulder made just for me
My chin nestles in so perfectly
I am your sunfire queen, you’re my forest river king
I help you to fly, you’re the earth beneath me
Oh and you are home to me
I bring the wildfire and you bring the steady sea
You are my sapphire ocean, I am your scarlet sunset sky
I dive in your cool waters when the flames burn too high
The horizon is where we meet you and I
Sometimes where we meet is harsh and stormy
Sometimes where we meet is soft and sweet
But the sun will always rise and always fall
Just like you and I will always be…..the horizon
You are my sapphire ocean, I am your scarlet sunset sky
I dive in your cool waters when the flames burn too high
The horizon is where we meet you and I