Musings on Misheard Lyrics and Friendships

I have lived with my roommate Sarah for seven years. We are the type of roommates who like spending time together. Lucky for us because we spend A LOT of time together. Sarah and I work together, cook meals together, play on two soccer teams and after all that, actually like traveling together. After a while you would think there wouldn’t be anything to say, being that we see a lot of the same people all day. Sometimes we can finish each other’s sentences or give just a look and we know. There are always things to say but sometimes it can be predictable. Sometimes though,  we surprise one another.

While cooking dinner (beef and baby bok choy stir fry with a ginger glaze) we had a conversation about ninetys t.v. shows. We ticked off a list: Saved by The Bell, ALF, Full House.

“Don’t forget Fresh Prince! (I begin to sing) Now, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down. And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there. I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air…. In WestVillanovia”.

Sarah stops me. “Wait, what?”

“In West Villanovia, born and raised,” I said.

“I’m sorry. Did you just tell me Will Smith grew up in West VILLA-NO-VIA? Where exactly is that?”

“The East Coast where, you know, where he spent most of his days.”

“It is West Philadephia.”

“Are you sure?” I say, not wanting to admit defeat.

“Yeah.” She puts her hands on her hips, convinced I’m wrong.

“No. It’s West Villanovia where he was, um, chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool.” I begin to grin.

“Can you find that for me on a map?” At this point we are both in tears from laughing.

“Sure. It’s out on the East coast where he grew up playing b-ball.”

Sometimes it’s the little things that surprise you. I’m thankful for the silly conversations only best friends can have.

The Fresh Prince Theme Song

 

 

 

6 Comments

  1. You would think there wouldn’t be anything to say
    after a day like today,
    when words were like rain in the hallways again,
    just pouring out from every which way
    and even when we held our hands out to catch the phrases,
    to tuck them away for another day,
    it all spilled out at our feet, causing us to slip-slop
    through the anger and embarrassment until finally
    someone said something funny to break the tone,
    and we found the quiet space to found our way
    back home.

    Sometimes, for Slice of Life, I like to lift lines from blog posts and craft short poems as comments. Thanks for sharing your words with me. I hope the poem honors your words.
    -Kevin

  2. anita ferreri

    March 5, 2015 at 3:09 am

    It’s amazing how those long ago lyrics, etched in our long term memories, can spark conversations, memories and posts! I felt like I was right in the kitchen with you!

  3. What is funny is that West Philly and the township Villanova University is situated in–Radnor–couldn’t be more polar opposite. He didn’t have to move all the way to Bel Air. He could have just moved to Villanovia! So you weren’t all that far off from the truth…

  4. What a fun post! I had a college friend who thought Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” was “Pay the rent, Colette”…thanks for bringing back a fun memory through your post.

  5. Right now my younger daughter and I are singing the Taylor Swift song “Blank Space” as “Starbucks lovers” instead of “a long list of ex-lovers”.

    Though my favorite mis-heard lyric is “hold me closer Tony Danza” instead of tiny dancer.

    Sounds like a fun evening. Those evenings full of laughter are the best.

  6. This is such a great slice! Your friendship with Sarah reminded me of one of my best friends and those kinds of conversations that we’ve had over the years. I also loved thinking back to those 90s t.v. shows!I remember watching the Fresh Prince and Full House and love catching the re-runs–they take me on a trip down memory lane:)

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