Like most things humans do, crying is really weird when you think about it.
Why should our bodies decide to expel water from our eyes? Or to put it another way, why should our bodies decide that our eyes should have the same reaction to stubbing a toe, cutting onions, or watching that video where an injured Olympic runner is helped across the finish line by another competitor?
If you’re interested, some fascinating stuff has been written about crying. And even if you’re not interested, you’ve got to admit that the strange human habit of weeping has inspired some great music over the years.
“Weep, O Mine Eyes” was written in the late 16th century and intended for voices, but my favourite recording of it is this one, by the Grammy-winning, genre-crossing string phenomenon Attacca Quartet.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Attacca’s four members, like any great quartet, play in perfect synch. It’s almost like their instruments are bowed by a single person.
2. The way each phrase emerges gradually from silence, swells, then decrescendos; mimicking the path a tear might take on its way down a cheek.
3. The deliberate pauses between each of those phrases, like pauses between sobs. (Ironic in the context of the quartet’s name: “Attacca” is a musical direction meaning “to move to the next phrase without pausing.”)
Recommended listening activity:
Hiding some tissue in your pocket, just in case.