I'm not really sure at what point after this album was released in 2015 that I discovered James Bay, this album and in particular this song but my guess is he was recommended by someone I worked with at the time. It was either that or a suggestion from Apple Music, either way I'm glad to have discovered him and I would recommend this whole album (Chaos and the Calm) to anyone.
From the first moment I heard this song and every moment since it takes me back to a very specific time in life with Larry and after sharing my thoughts with him about this song several years ago I believe he agrees with my assessment.
By the time this album came out Larry and I were in positions at work that required us to work opposing schedules during the holidays. So from Thanksgiving day until well into January, Larry worked 14 + hour days 6-7 days a week. On top of the massively long days he also worked overnight, so his day would begin around 1 or 2 in the afternoon and he wouldn't get home until after 4 in the morning. At the beginning of this crazy 5 week period of time we really felt these first lyrics...
Home now, end of the night And it's colder to turn on your side And I know you are up in two hours But we didn't get tonight, we don't have tomorrow So don't ruin now
In the beginning you have so little time together you really just want to enjoy it so you don't really talk about the difficult things because you don't want to be the one to ruin now. But by the end of it so much has piled up and its these lyrics we were feeling...
And I creep in, and everything's loud And I'm sorry, I've woken you now And we'll argue the tiniest thing But we didn't get tonight, we don't have tomorrow So I'm done whispering, done whispering
Lucky for us this was not our first rodeo with working separate shifts or weird hours or just working all the fucking time so we knew how to maneuver the situation better than most. So we were well versed in keeping the peace.
2016-12-07 03.31.52
Larry’s Perspective:
When Shannon gave me this song, it was so perfect for our lives - and I suspect for so many other lives. Working separate shifts always sucked - working these type of shifts sucked even more - as noted by the 3:32am clock notation.
At the time of this photo, every single item bought on the Victoria's Secret website came from Columbus, Ohio. Think about that for a minute. The reason you get your Amazon packages so fast is because they have a million DC's around the United States. We had Columbus, Ohio.
Said another way - web sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday generated enough volume that it would take THE ENTIRE NEXT WEEK just to process the orders for those two days. Oh, and then right after Black Friday sales was CYBER MONDAY SALES. So another avalanche of orders.
Our DC, DC5, would hire THOUSANDS of associates to try and get through this volume. That was for one building - there were five others supporting Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret Stores, Express, etc.
So in DC5 alone, you could fit the entire population of Saint Francis, Kansas - multiple times over.
Back to the picture. I took it right as the current day switched over to being the previous day so we could see what we had done at that point. Believe me, packing 1,073,262 units in one day was a fucking amazing accomplishment.
Is it weird I'm proud of that?
Not really - because to me this was about what my team accomplished - what we accomplished. I have to include a throwback to The Analog Kid so you can read more about my life there and see that team.
After that hard days night (I can't believe I just typed that - Shannon knows why), I would creep into the house trying not to wake her up before she needed to get ready for work. It's hard to describe how everything falls to the side when you're living like this for over two months. But she's right - towards the end, the cracks start to form and the dam bursts open. It may flood out, but we have learned to let it subside pretty quickly so we can go back to being us.
Us against the world...
Move Together James Bay
Home now, end of the night And it's colder turn on your side And I know you are up in two hours But we didn't get tonight, we don't have tomorrow So don't ruin now
How we gonna move together? Just come closer If we don't move together Come closer How we gonna breathe? And how we gonna be together? Just keeping the peace between the sheets
And I creep in, and everything's loud And I'm sorry, I've woken you now And we'll argue the tiniest thing But we didn't get tonight, we don't have tomorrow So I'm done whispering, done whispering
How we gonna move together? Just come closer If we don't move together Just come closer How we gonna breathe? And how we gonna be together? Just keeping the peace between the sheets
So maybe don't give me cold, cold shoulder Before you go, turn around, let me hold you And let me say in the dark of the morning Just one more thing
How we gonna move together? Just come closer If we don't move together We come closer How we gonna breathe? And how we gonna be together? Just keeping the peace Just keeping the peace Just keeping the peace between these sheets
Ghost of a Chance 