03-19-19
Earth Wind and Fire have countless songs that are quite joyous, I have loved Shining Star since as long as I could remember. Its message is one that wasn’t often sung about at its time, and not frequently by ethnic musicians. Individuality is strength no matter how we come to understand it, it makes us who we are, so we should embrace the things that make us different. In that appreciation for our differences we can find joy for ourselves, and ultimately others as well.
This image comes from the first Treasure Island Music Festival my wife and I went too. We didn’t know what to expect, and it was one of the first festivals we were at without any extended festival family. We felt very free. It was also one of the first significant trips that we had taken as a couple. Up to that point we had always had friends to act as buffers, but that trip would help show us how we traveled as a unit. I can’t remember a single point of contention on that trip. Of course, I could be looking back with “rose-colored” glasses, and yet I think it was a highly successful trip.
Through all my relationships I had never fully experienced the same amount of unconditional support. Support felt like it came with some measure of judgment or series of conditions. The first few concerts and festivals my wife and I had gone on as a couple we would have our specially created costumes, I was a luchador, and she a “huggable” t-rex. Treasure Island was one of the larger festivals we had debuted our costumes at. It was the first with such a positive response—we had tried an LA festival not long before, and we were the only ones out of 5,000 attendees not dressed as an H&M model—I suppose this image and this song really help capture the spirit of joy and freedom that moment had been able to provide us.
Lyrics:
Yeah, hey, hey
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams will take you very far, yeah
But when you wish upon a dream
Life ain’t always what it seems, oh yeah
What you see
On nights so clear, hey
In the sky so very dear, yeah?
You’re a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be
(What you could truly be)
Shining star come into view
To shine its watchful light on you
Give you strength
To carry on, yeah
Yeah, make your body big and strong, yeah
Born a man-child of the sun, yeah
Yeah, saw my work had just begun
Yeah, found I had to stand alone, yeah
Bless it now
I’ve got my own
Oh yeah, oh yeah
So, if you find yourself in need
Why don’t you listen
To these words of heed
Be a giant or grain of sand
Words of wisdom
Yes, I can
You’re a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be
You’re a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be
You’re a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be
Shining star for you to see
What your life can truly be
Shining star for you to see
What your life can truly be
Shining star for you to see
What your life can truly be