hush now...don’t explain
Billie Holiday
The year is abruptly winding down. I can’t deny it has been a whirlwind of great opportunity and not so great but isn’t that life? Without the downs how can we appreciate the up?
I am talking to you running trails in Chamonix, France. I trained for miles of running at elevation with hours and hours of vertical. But here was the surprise. The hardest part of the experience was the downhill. Highly technical and fast, the gaps in my training didn’t prove detrimental but it made me think.
Traveling across Europe solo sprinkled with scheduled talks and conference podiums elevated my perspective on where I want to be in 2025. The good and the bad.
Billie Holiday is mournful but present in the lyrics to Don’t Explain. She knows he cheats and is no good but clearly she loves him and simply wants to be present in the here and now.
Hush now, don't explain
I know you ain't staying
I'm glad you're back
Don't explainQuiet, don't explain
You've mixed with some dame
Skip that lipstick
Don't explain…Songwriters: Arthur Jr. Herzog / Billie Holiday
The incomparable Nikki Giovanni in conversation with James Baldwin aligns with this exact moment and mentions Billie Holiday’s lyrics. Deserving of a listen, here it is in a quick translation. If you lie in other areas of your life, for example pretending you like somebody at work — and you don’t — so you smile and make nice, Nikki states she wants you to lie to her too. Don’t bring the anger and frowns because “you love me”, lie to me too.
This reminds me of people that a colleague described to me as “transactional”. I guess it applies to both personal and professional relationships. The friend that whenever your paths cross insists you have to get together for lunch, dinner or drinks but never extends the invitation. Eventually you both give up the farce because clearly the feeling is mutual — I mean, phones work both ways am I right?
Professionally it also remains omnipresent. In the era of social media it has never been easier to elevate the work of a colleague. Of course it looks different. We comment, share or mention to show support and solidarity. We mention names to planning committees, panel organizers and platforms where their efforts might be appreciated and amplified.
Except when we don’t. The truth can be blatant and harsh. We say we prefer pants aflame in true liar, liar fashion.
But who wins that game in the end?