“You Said Something” by PJ Harvey hits me at a visceral level every single time I hear it. When I press play I feel like I’m in the song, in that moment, even if I’ve never been to New York, and even if I have no real idea what that “something” is that was said. I still feel it.

It rattles memories of moments I’ve had, at one in the morning, of conversations that will never be forgotten.

365 Days of Music – Day 2 – January 2, 2023

“You Said Something” by PJ Harvey – from the album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000)

“I held my breath.
You said something.”

Have you ever noticed the immense power of words? How something can be said, even in just a few syllables, in person, in a letter, typed, written, whispered, bled, and everything changes. Or maybe everything stays just the same. We go on, or not, but those words, no matter how you try to set them free, they live in the deep folds of your skin, in the taste of a shared late night cigarette, within the wallpaper of your soul.

I know, for me, I have this insatiable need for words. I am ever longing for language that ricochets from all corners of my mind, my ears, my lips – and someone else’s. I always feel the deep recesses of who I am, overwhelming, overflowing, needing to be said. Don’t you?

I always have so much to say. And so much I wish I had said.

Sometimes I wish I could be the catalyst for all the words from everyone. They would spill out collectively, spill out everywhere. All over me. All over everything.

I feel this need to know so much, to learn so much, to hear the flowing of words over and over again.

We all hold so many words that have been said inside of us. They sneak out in so much of who we are. In our breathing, our writing, in the way we think, act and react. How many nights do you find yourself lying in bed, sleepless, replaying so many words? I know I dissect too much. I evaluate too much. I read too much into words.

But, that’s who I am. How I am. My own breed of insanity, I suppose. In words.

PJ (Polly Jean) Harvey is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, but is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. She started her career as part of a local band called Automatic Dlamini, as a singer, guitarist, and saxophonist. The band’s frontman, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator.