Music Love: "In the Long Run" by The Staves

The Staves is comprised of a trio of sisters that hail from the UK. What I enjoy most about them is their voices & the way that they harmonize. I also like that their songs tend to be sweet and sorrowful. I don’t own a ton of their music because, after a while, they start to sound a little same-y same-y to me. What I do own, however, I find incredibly soothing.

I like this song in particular for a reason that might seem odd on the surface: it reminds me of my early relationship with my husband. We were together for only a year when we got engaged. Two months later, he got a job in another state. At that point, I’d lived in the Pacific Northwest for ten years and I thought I was never leaving. To me, it was my home. I felt closer to my friends there than I’d felt to practically any other friends in my life. I had a decision to make.

So when The Staves sing these lines:

“But I can't be married, you'll take me away from everything that I love dearly
And we can't be lovers, you'll take me away from my home”

That hits me right in the feels.

I made the opposite decision of the woman in the song. I don’t think I would have seen my husband again, in the long run, if I’d decided to stay. I was married, and left my home. While I don’t regret the decision - it’s been a very grand adventure ever since - this song reminds me of that bittersweet time, in a good way. Every time I hear it, it brings a nostalgic smile to my face.

P.S. I chose this video because the live version, while quite nice, has some camerawork (EXTREME CLOSE UP!) that I don't care for.