Vienna Waits

Most of the Beech and Oak leaves have dropped now, those trees that hold on to the past in preparation for the future seem to know something the Maples do not. I wait anxiously for that finger snap of a moment when the woods behind our home turn from grey to lime green; I can almost hear the Beeches whispering “Is today the day?” Not yet.

About a month ago, I kept waking up with the song “Vienna” by Billy Joel in my head. Having a song in mind first thing in the morning is something I have gotten used to and I have learned to entertain the ear worm to death. One particular hellish morning was a series of unfortunate events for me—Maire and Isaac were extra tough to get out of bed, there was a big puddle on the downstairs bathroom floor, and I got coffee on my white shirt. I was running late for work and I felt, in a word, crazed.

As I drove to Weymouth in silence, I wiped a few tears of frustration and forced myself to take the deep breaths I knew I needed to reach America’s youth that day. At a stop light, I put on Vienna in order to play it out of my brain. The first few notes on piano were ones that I remembered well and the exact same ones I had been hearing in my head each morning. It’s the kind of song that makes me want to play piano again. “Slow down you crazy child..” were the first words I heard and I instantly felt my shoulders drop. I listened to the lyrics as if Billy Joel himself had been sent to deliver a message specifically meant for me. I told my therapist about this moment, she said sometimes she thinks ear worms are just messages from the universe. I love that she both humors and honors my spiritual side.

Later that day, I looked up the story behind “Vienna” and ended up even more sold on the idea that the song was meant for me to hear. Joel wrote it after visiting his estranged Father in Vienna, Austria at the age of 23. As the two walked through the streets together, Joel saw a 90ish-year-old woman sweeping the streets and said how sad that made him. Joel’s father explained that all people, even the elderly, have a purpose in Vienna and this woman was simply serving hers; she was content. The moment stuck with Joel and inspired him to write the song which is a poetic homage to slowing down because we’re all getting old, if we’re lucky, so what’s the rush for?

As I straddle life between the young and the old, I don’t think there has ever been a song that has resonated with me quite as much as “Vienna”. I have tremendous respect for both stages of life and those lyrics have become somewhat of a long mantra for me, informing both my parenting/teaching style and my daughterly decisions. “This is what it all comes to if you’re fortunate” I told my kids one night when we went out to dinner this week and discussed growing old. I don’t stress too much about keeping up with the fever pitch that seems to be so popular with parents these days. We, as a family, do less. I care very little about grades and other nonsense and a lot more about the kinds of humans they’re becoming. To answer Billy’s question, I have realized that Vienna waits for all of us and to quote another one of my favorites, ‘as we stand upon the ledges of our lives, it’s either sadness or euphoria.’ Rather than try to solve all the problems today, take a minute and listen to both of these gems. Slow down, you crazy child.