Week 98: “Lucky Old Sun” by Aretha Franklin

You wake up late because you accidentally set your alarm for “PM” instead of “AM”.

You throw together a quick breakfast, consisting of the last pulpy dregs of orange juice from a near-empty carton, and the dusty remnants of cereal from the bottom of the box. Forgot to get groceries on the weekend.

You try to make up for lost time by taking a different route to work that you somehow figure might be faster. It isn’t.

You arrive at work to find a desk piled high with stuff that really has nothing to do with you.

You have 837 new emails, all your pens have been borrowed, and you’re pretty sure you forgot to lock the door when you left the house.

You struggle through a day of solving other people’s problems while convincing yourself that your own problems can wait.

You take the heat for poor decisions made by somebody else.

You play nice with people who don’t deserve it.

You spend an hour thinking it’s Wednesday, then realize with utter shock that it’s only Monday.

You wonder what you did to deserve this awful day.

Then you come home, and you listen to “Lucky Old Sun” by Aretha Franklin.

What makes this a beautiful song:

1. Aretha’s voice has the power and maturity that you need to make this song work. She was 19 when she recorded this. NINETEEN. Yet she manages to tap into the soul and emotion of someone who’s toiled at their job for decades.

2. I love the way she stays behind the beat of the song, as if she can’t quite get up the energy to sing the next line.

3. When she really lets it rip at 2:21, she almost sounds like a J5-era Michael Jackson.

Recommended listening activity:

Falling asleep in your work clothes.

Buy it here.