"ANNA BEGINS" COUNTING CROWS (1993)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #SeptSongLyricChallenge

Day 22

One of the greatest debut albums of the decade, August and Everything After was our glimpse into a band that did things a little differently. Counting Crows forged a unique identity bent on heartfelt vocals, unexpected time signatures and a wall of sound that could flood your heart. “Mr. Jones”, “Rain King” and “Round Here” all got airplay on college rock stations, but my favorite was “Anna Begins”. It’s a bit of a hidden gem for me. Its lyrics resembling a paperback novel or pages out of a personal journal more so than a rock song.

“Her kindness bangs a gong. It's moving me along. And Anna begins to fade away. It's chasing me away, she disappears. And oh, Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing.”