[8/16/25 12:34 PST]

The song nocturne op9 no2 in my
opinion, is one of the most beautiful
songs ever written. This might be
a bias of mine, as it has followed me
through every moment in my life. Every
half-remembered era of my life that only
exists through one or two memories, feelings,
vibes, has one thing that shines through it
in one way or another. That damn song. 

I find it beautiful because I feel that the
overall pacing and tone follows a similar 
line for how most things go in my life, and
in my own way, the human condition. The song
starts off peaceful, it follows a sort 
of repetition that I equate to following
a beaten schedule, something that has been
tread across hundreds of times, something
safe, like a well worn suit. There are 
minor ruts where the notes take on a more
somber tone, but they get drowned out by
the more prominent notes overtime. In
a way, I feel that describes how I or we
tend to ignore our problems, try to stick
with what works instead of facing our problems.
Eventually, the problems worsen, represented by
the deeper notes being played in the background.
The song tries to keep some level of
normalcy within the pitch of the other piano
notes accompanying it, another attempt to
ignore the problems and act as if everything
is normal. The song then spirals off, which
I find to represent facing your problems and
all of the hard emotions that come along with
it, might it be out of pure force from whatever
problem you are facing confronting you, or
you confronting the problem. The tempo changes,
a series of high pitched notes play faster,
which I find to be the direct aftermath. At
some points in my life I have attributed it
to a mental breakdown, maybe the aftermath 
of loss, that sort of thing. It has changed
as I've faced more things and revisited the
song. My favorite part of the song is the
ending. An attempt to bring everything back
to the way it was, or at least build up
a new sense of normal. It feels similar to
before the crescendo but different. The
tempo is faster which mimics grief in my
mind. I find this to represent getting up
the next day, still stricken by whatever
haunted you the day before, but getting
up anyways and trying to keep that
schedule going. The very ending, the
two high pitched notes, I find to
represent striving for something new,
acceptance. Based off the meaning
I've attributed to it, I feel that
if the song continued, it'd be
similar to the start but maybe
with a tempo or pitch change. As
while you may find a new sense of
normal, things won't ever be the
same. 

Sorry for the pretentious rant, I
am very passionate about this song.

Anyways, I bring this up because I
have a tradition going where I write
a comment on the nocturne op 9 no 2
video checking in on myself and asking
people how they are doing. My first
comment was around March of 2024. 
Here's the comment "I come back to
this song every so often to remember
the last time I've listened to it and
compare how I'm doing now to how I was
doing then. At this song listening 
instance, I'm at my lowest point so far.
If anyone would like to share their
experiences, then leave them in the 
replies. Goodnight, everyone!" For 
context, this was around the time that
I left my dad. Somebody left a 
reply that makes me smile whenever
I look at it. "My dad plays this song,
so I remember recording his performance
of it several years ago...and all
the cursing that would happen when he'd
mess up that part at the end. So I 
have good memories associated 
with it." It's sweet, because it
reminds me that even if I am
going through a horrible moment
in my life, there's someone out
there who is having a good time.
It's a grounding technique I use,
even if I am feeling horrible today,
the sky is still blue, there's
still something going on, and if
I can get myself out of bed, maybe
I can join in. There's always a
silver lining to things, it's
almost like a coin. There's 
a negative side and a positive
side, and even at my lowest, I
can turn over the coin and
try to be happy, or feel a 
warmpth of sorts. That might
not be a universal experience,
but I experience it.

Have a good rest of your day
-sage