Life is a Compromise

New Bern, NC

We love Eileen Quinn's songs.  You can buy her CDs here.   My subject today has to do with the following song by Eileen.  Please read the lyrics before reading my comments.

Don't Ask Your Love To Choose (by Eileen Quinn) 

He says, come on, Mother, our children are grown,
It's time we were living the life of our own;
And she knows with that boat he's like a dog with a bone,
She looks at the sea and her heart sinks like a stone.
Life is a compromise, love's not a test,
Don't ask your love to choose what he loves best.

She's a little unsure, but willing to try,
Now she's packing her memories away with a sigh;
And they're casting off docklines, waving goodbye,
He tries not to notice the tear in her eye.
Life is a compromise, love's not a test,
Don't ask your love to choose what he loves best. 

Sailing on slowly from place to place,
He loves the sea and the wide open space;
And he's thinking he's lucky he checked out of the race,
She's thinking her grandchildren won't know her face.
Life is a compromise, love's not a test,
Don't ask your love to choose what he loves best. 

Now they've been out there three years,
When he says to her I'm having the time of my life,
Feel like I'm in my prime;
But to her it still feels like an uphill climb,
Seems like she's saying goodbye all the time.
Life is a compromise, love's not a test,
Don't ask your love to choose what he loves best. 

Then she says to him one day,
You know I've done what I can;
But I miss my family and my friends,
And it's time we swallowed the hook.
What do you say, old man?
He's sad and he's silent, but he's turning for land.
Life is a compromise.
Don't ask your love to choose what she loves best. 

Back a year and seen grandkids maybe three times or four,
She's a little surprised to find her days are a bore;
And her wonderful garden is nothing but a chore,
He laughs when she says let's go cruising once more.
Life is a compromise.
You're lucky if your love loves what you love best.

Normally I'm very bad with song lyrics.  I have bad hearing comprehension and I miss so many words that the meaning of the song is obscured; so I don't try.  The other day I happened to listen to that song more carefully, and its true meaning penetrated my thick brain.  What a great point Eileen had!

I played the song for Libby, and I watched her face as she listened.  I could see the relevance and the emotional impact hit her too.  Eileen was spot on.    When the song was done, I said the following, "I've never said it explicitly before, but if the day comes when you want to ask me to quit cruising, it will not be a betrayal.  You always have that option."  On the flip side of the coin I am confident that Libby would never make such a request lightly; it would have to be massively important before she would say anything and I would almost certainly know before she said anything.

Libby replied, "Yes the first three years was an adjustment, but now I have no desire to change our lives.  But, thanks for the offer."

Thank you so much Eileen Quinn.