Memories of wedding dance songs

We went to a wedding reception the other night.  The wedding was in California but they had a reception down here for the groom's Louisiana family.  It was...nice, very plain and not fancy but still they tried and the little boy had a good time.  He, of course, found some other little boys to play with so he ran off with them.  And the place was small so he could play and I could see him at the same time.

And we discussed wedding songs.  I can't remember what they danced to, a Ben Folds song, I think.  Our wedding song was "When You Say Nothing At All" which was really my husband's choice.  I wanted "At Last."  I told my mother-in-law that I thought we danced to the wrong song and she looked at me weird, but it's the truth.  I gave in for our wedding dance song.  It was less a compromise and more like a "I'm tired of talking about this" type of thing.  And it is a beautiful song, just very cliche and I tried so hard to stay away from cliche.  Really we should have danced to "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" because that would have been more appropriate for us and it would still be a good choice for us.  It's what I engraved on the inside of BT's wedding ring and it is a lovely song though less about love per se. My other choice was "Elsewhere" by Sarah McLachlan, but BT was having none of that.  Ah, well.

Here are the lyrics:


"Tonight And The Rest Of My Life"  by Nina Gordon

Down to the earth I fell
With dripping wings
Heavy things won't fly
And the sky might catch on fire
And burn the axis of the world
That's why I prefer a sunless sky
To the glittering and stinging in my eyes

[Chorus:]
I feel so light
This is all I want to feel tonight
I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life

Gleaming in the dark sea
I'm as light as air
Floating there breathlessly
When the dream dissolves
I open up my eyes
I realize that
Everything is shoreless sea
A weightlessness is passing over me

[Chorus]

Everything is waves and stars
The universe is resting in my arms

[Chorus x2]

Elsewhere

I love the time and in between
the calm inside me
in the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a
distance I have wandered
to touch upon the years of
reaching out and reaching in
holding out holding in
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as I can be
left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand
I know this love is passing time
passing through like liquid
I am drunk in my desire...
but I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near...
I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand
Oh the quiet child awaits the day when she can break free
the mold that clings like desperation
Mother can't you see I've got
to live my life the way I feel is right for me
might not be right for you but it's right for me...
I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand it
I would like to linger here in silence
if I choose to
would you understand it
would you try to understand...