Guest Post by Fluffy: Rachel Baldwin – Spirit
Hi, it’s me again. Fluffy the Cat. Sometimes when the Food Guy is busy, he lets me write his log post and put it on the Winternet. Today the Food Guy has a pre-existing condition to rake the leaves. The Food Guy hates raking leaves because it is boring. He said, ‘You’re just staring at the ground. There’s nothing interesting on the ground.’
I told the Food Guy that there is plenty of interesting stuff on the ground, he just needs to get down on my level where he can see it. So the Food Guy got down on the floor — I’ve been an Indoor Cat since I was a kitten — and he looked close and said ‘Do you have any idea how much cat hair is on this floor?’ So we changed the subject.
Today I am writing about ‘Spirit’ by Rachel Baldwin. ‘Spirit’ is about a cat that is sitting in the front window watching the people walk by on the street. And the cat starts imagining where they are going and dreaming about their travels and soon the cat is asleep. And when the cat wakes up, she feels like her fur has been moved around, and she thinks maybe her food person came by and petted her while she was asleep. And she’s glad her food person petted her, but she wishes her fur hadn’t been re-arranged.
The Food Guy thinks the song is about the River Sticks Styx and a gate that is guarded by a big dog, and someone named Orpheus who goes down to the river and tries to charm the big dog with his music. Or something like that. I didn’t understand it and I’m pretty sure no one else will, either. But here are some words that I like.
leave your window open
before you sleep
so i can come inside and
whisper pretty things
you wouldn’t hear
when you were awake
i’ll only give you
what you can take…
rowing down your ear canal
like it’s the river styx
singing siren songs for you
and hoping something sticks
i won’t give you anything
you can’t take baby
i’m here for you
and you alone baby
I am not very good at describing what the music sounds like. The Food Guy is very good at it. No matter what the song is, he will say that it sounds like some band from 1968 that no one has ever heard of. Or he will say that it sounds like birds the Birds Byrds or maybe Neil Young. I will just say that ‘Spirit’ is a very nice song. I enjoy the air between the notes, and Rachel Baldwin’s voice. ‘Spirit’ does not make me want to hide under the bed.
Rachel Baldwin is from Boston, Massachusetts. The Food Guy showed me Boston on a map, and it is only a few inches from our house here in Houston so I may trot over and visit Rachel someday. I am going to keep making that joke until someone laughs at it. OK I’m done writing now. The Food Guy can finish up and put this on the Winternet. Bye.
‘Spirit’ is Rachel Baldwin’s new single, b/w ‘The Hill.’ The musicians on ‘Spirit’ are: Rachel Baldwin (guitars and vocals), Gal Petel (guitars, drums, synth), and Dana Amado (bass). Rachel’s music is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music. And be sure to follow Rachel Baldwin on Instagram and Facebook.