This Masquerade

When I first heard this song, by 'The Carpenters' in 1973, written by Leon Russell, oh how I love his music, I knew it was for me.

I was only 13 years old. My life was focused on 'love' just like all girls my age. The first paragraph:

Are we really happy with
This lonely game we play
Looking for the right words to say
Searching but not finding
Understanding anyway
We're lost in this masquerade


I was always lost with 'boys', it was a masquerade. I could never find anything right to say, until I became 'me'. When I did that, then my 'best friends' were guys. Yet again, I was lonely, because, I kept relating to the game!!

Then HS happened. The song remained the same, the lyrics, never changed. When I heard it through HS, 'The Carpenters' weren't popular, but no one could tell me these lyrics from Leon Russell & sung many times by George Benson weren't. I would swoon hearing the haunting melody, and those lyrics!!

What were they telling me? Since the third and fourth paragraphs are so close, the second made me grow up quicker:

Both afraid to say we're just too far away
From being close together from the start
We tried to talk it over
But the words got in the way
We're lost inside this masquerade.

"WORDS GOT IN THE WAY!" That was my problem, I always tried to talk my way through relationships!

Okay, so I learned young in life, and didn't keep it up. If only I had...listened, because "my life became lost inside that masquerade"

I still listen now, but only with an understanding, it's a beautiful song, that I grew up on, with many tears, I try not to cry now, only sing, in the shower, with my pretend mic...but I'll never forget those beautiful words, Leon Russell..