A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
The Thursday of Pregnancy Week 5, Simon wrote a song about the baby, and by that Friday night, he had it recorded. I love the recorded version--of course I do--but the best version I heard was the first one, when he stood in the doorway with the guitar across his chest and started singing without even telling me to prepare myself for what I was about to receive. It is perfect now, with the vocal harmony and the backup instruments and the pucculo bridge (all Simon), but it was perfect then too--just my man and a guitar (and maybe a tear or two in his eye), standing in the doorway of our home sharing the song he'd written about our baby.
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for what you are about to receive:
"The Stranger," aka "The Baby Song" (4.2 mb).
That is SO SO SO great.
And the title of the post was a good book too.
Well done.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I'm all a'crying.
Can our babies be in a band together?
What an amazing gift! Very well done, indeed.
I love it!
Wow! I was crying right off the bat and then at the end with the baby noises and the welcome home baby! oh dear god- its no wonder your all mushy in full of love. You two are going to be amazing parents!
holy cow, that's sweet!
Very neat! What a fun idea and amazing inspiration. So thrilled for you guys. I love the line "He represents all of my hopes and fears", precious.
Can you please make a slideshow of all your pregnancy belly shots and then a few (non-vaginal) shots of the birth and after the birth and photos of your squishy newborn and set them all to this song so I can cry even harder?
Nicely done, Simon. You guys are going to be the best mom and dad ever.
That is truly awesome.
That is pretty darn sweet.
OMG. Genius, indeed!!!!
So cute! Is Simon just sure it's a boy :)?
Okay, the "Welcome home baby" tipped me over from tears-prickling-my-eyes to full-fledged weeping. What a keeper you've got.
Mandolin overdubs? Awesome. Y'all rock.
That is just so awesome!!
And I have got to say it reminds me of some of my family...Simon would so love to jam out with them because they do the same genre of music!! I will track down their info from my cousin (the particular way I worded this before did not make it past the "spam filter") and send it to you. I just love it :)
It's only 10am and I've already got my FDA-recommended dosage of heartbreakingly adorable. So sweet.
I am all weepy over here. That was perfect.
You two are just awesome.
Wow Leah... I just found out last night that I am pregnant and I've been so apprehensive since.. This song made me shed some of my fear! Thank you and Simon so much! :)
Great song, great gift! I'm going to be whistling that tune all day long.
It made me cry when I first heard it in your kitchen back in early May and it made me cry this time, too.
Well done, Simon.
Pure greatness.
But don't worry ... sometimes you roll the dice and your creation is the best of the both of you. Crooked ears skip a few generations, I've been told.
Too. Darn. Cute.
x x x
How wonderful! I think that is just too sweet.
I. Love. This.
I also love my husband, but things like this make me wish, just a teensy bit, that I'd stayed with the musician. C'est la vie.
It's beautiful; what a treasure.
that man of your's is multi-talented. :)
The song makes me smile. It is so cute. Your baby will most likely inherit the "way with words" you both have (lucky baby!).
Alright, so I tried posting the "info" on my cousins, but the spam filter hates me putting that stuff in your comments section :P
If you are actually interested in knowing, than you can email me and I'll send it to you that way. I won't be offended if you aren't, I do realize this is the internet :)
So sweet. My Mom wrote a song for my sister and I (nothing like Simon's!!), and we still sing it. What a wonderful gift for the baby, and YOU!
That may very well be the best song I've heard in a long time.
Y'all are so wonderful. I have chills. Seriously. This baby is one lucky little dude(ette) :-)
Haha, your husband is awesome. Love the song!
Love this. So, so much.
That is incredibly sweet!
So sweet. So sweet.
Awwwwww!
*sob*
Adorable! Makes me want to get pregnant all over again! You two are going to have the happiest baby ever.
Wow. That's so great! You guys are awesome! Congrats.
I need this on my iPod!
Simon, you're making all other dads-to-be look pretty bad now.
Chills. This totally gave me 'em. Wow, you have one totally sweet hubby!! The lyrics are completely precious. Soundtrack worthy!!
Simon is an excellent whistler.
Also, the baby gurgles on Isn't She Lovely have always warmed the cockles of my heart. Instant happy tears.
Well done.
I was going to say the same thing - MAN, Simon is a good whistler! Loved all of it to pieces. He's so cute. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
That gave me goosebumps. Amazing.
Alliclaus was grooving to the song and probably wondering why I was so teary. It's really beautiful, though I'm sure I don't need to tell you that.
Well done sir, well done.
Featured on Good Mom/Bad mom on the Chronicle: http://tinyurl.com/6lwlue
What a keeper. And crooked teeth are a sign of vast intelligence and inner beauty. Our so mom tells me.
You know, I'm so glad that two of the coolest people ever went ahead and got to the babymakin'. This is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, and I swear if my heart were still cold and dead this would've been the cure.
And I'm with HJ on this one - bring on the baby bands!
I absolutely love this. What a man :)
Oh My... that's just adorable!
So talented! I absolutely LOVED it! When will we be hearing it on the radio, please?
How great is that!