Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Comments: Sunrise, Sunset

I think of the song as bittersweet, rather than sad.

That said, it does tend to make me cry.

Well, yes, there is an element of sadness to the song, but it is also an expression of love. That seems to fit very well with Hazel's story. The song is sung by the father as he reminisces on how fast his children have grown up and his life is winding down. He misses his youth and the boisterousness of his young children. But his children have grown up to be fine people and he is happy. He and Martha and Jonathan are in their "sunset years" but still enjoying their day.

Artemis

Jose, Paul, and Artemis, thanks for chiming in with some more FDK!

This discussion regarding the song from Fiddler on the Roof has certainly amused me. Has anyone here read Up the Down Staircase? It was long enough ago for me that I don't remember all the names, but there was a reference to a woman applying for a teacher's certificate who was rejected because the committee didn't approve of her interpretation of something written by an author -- Edna Millay, or something. Ever after the author herself wrote to the committee and assured them that the woman's interpretation was correct, they still refused to accept it, although they stopped using still-living authors for their literary interpretations after that.

If you'll believe this still-living author, I can honestly say that the story wasn't influenced or inspired by the song Sunrise, Sunset at all. I haven't heard it since I was about ten, and the only words that I actually remembered were... well, "Sunrise, Sunset." The tune stuck more than the words, although the feeling behind the words probably lingered. But then, at the age of ten, what did I know about nostalgia and the passage of time? I didn't actually go and look up the lyrics until after this discussion started.

I guess it comes down to this: once I'd titled the fic, the song struck me as having possible echoes; but any echoes an individual reader finds are probably going to come from their own head.

But a story that inspires echoes or contemplation is a good thing, right?

Hazel

Just when you think you've escaped your subconscious, it pokes its nose above the water.
And I do remember Up the Down Staircase:) What sticks in my mind is the English teacher who receives a love letter from one of his students and returns it bak to her with the punctuation and grammar corrected.
Interpretation is everything!

Anyway - wonderful vignette, Hazel - definitely a good thing.

c

To be honest, I'm not particularly fond of stories without dialogue/action, that focus so much on a character's ideas and describing the environment.

Yet, this story was wonderful. Very well-written and with an excellent choice of words. I'm afraid I didn't enjoy it as much as others would - but be sure, Hazel, that it was not because I thought your story was bad. Quite the opposite. And, of course, it definitely deserved the high score it received on the Merriweathers!

(I believe that you won't misunderstand me and that I haven't hurt Hazel's feelings or annoyed someone. I just like to say what I really believe.)

Anyway. See y' all.
Hazel, keep writing!
AnnaBtG.