paean

\PEE-un\

noun

1 : a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph

2 : a work that praises or honors its subject : encomium, tribute

I woke up with the song "No Rain" in my head this morning. This is always a good sign.

In the tenth grade, Liz and I sang "No Rain" at one of Amity High School's functions called the "coffee house" (I think). This was the late nighties; still riding the train of post-grunge, the BOW* community was trying to do something...cool, I suppose. I can't remember whether there was actually coffee there, but the atmosphere was supposed to be that of an intimate acoustic performance. The event was held in some weird room that stuck out like an appendage from the main cafeteria. Organizers strung x-mas lights around the room's perimeter to replace the harsh fluorescents—so coffee house-like. This is really amusing to me since I now live in the land of the coffee house.

Anyway, we had our little hearts set on doing this song. This was my first time playing guitar in public—I had my brother Heath show me the three basic chords I needed to know for the easiest rendition of the Blind Melon song, and I practiced them relentlessly on the Opper's communal acoustic that had been floating around our house since a time before my memory can reach. D, C, G. The song, of course, is more complicated, but these three chords get the point across.

I was thrilled. I didn't care if we sucked (I actually can't remember if we sucked, that's how much fun it was). We sang Blind Melon, complete with our emblematic harmonies (Liz and I always rocked at harmonizing) for a crowd of stoned teenagers on a Friday night. And it was awesome. I don't remember anything except how much I enjoyed playing and singing that silly little song with Liz.

***

Bobbie Sue and I sometimes talk about our funeral playlists, as though we will get to pick them in advance (this, by the way, is entirely possible). "No Rain" is always the first song that comes to my mind. It's just so happy and full of life—a PAEAN to the nineties, to happiness, to simplicity, and to a love of life.

*an acronym for Bethany, Orange and Woodbridge—the three towns that comprise the Amity school district.