Monday, June 25, 2012

"Fighting vainly the old ennui"


The phrase "fighting vainly the old ennui..." is from Cole Porter’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You.”

We need more ennui to fight.  The lazy definition is: boredom.  That’s not it.  Ennui is more of a recurring sulky lassitude because we know something really exciting and satisfying exists but we haven’t figured out how to participate.

I was riddled with ennui until it dawned on me that there was excitement and satisfaction in writing.  I wish I could dance.  I’m sure good dancing is the ultimate method of saying bye-bye to ennui.

Cole Porter also wrote “You’re The Top” a song that includes these lyrics:
            You're the nimble tread
            Of the feet of Fred Astaire,
            You're an O'Neill drama,
            You're Whistler's mama!
            You're camembert.  


9 comments:

  1. The letter N in Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies was
    "N is for Neville, who died of ennui.". This led to a shorthand among my friends of walking into a room, flopping dramatically on a sofa and moaning "Just call me Neville...", or answering the question, "What are you doing?" with "Just Nevilling..."

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    1. I yearn for friends like yours.

      Thanks for following me.

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  2. because I was handicapped by ennui without being aware of the word, it's been a pleasure to reference CoPorter's lyrics in "I get a kick out of you" - even sing those few lines - to show off my sophistication and fake French accent...and use a word that NOBODY speaks and hardly anybody knows its meaning.

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    1. Bravo. Bring on that fake French accent and say
      "ennui" as often as possible.

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  3. Thank you for sharing. I must have heard that song a hundred times but that phrase never caught my attention in this way until you wrote about it. I'm currently unemployed looking for work and the ennui is killing me. I know there is fulfilling work to be done out there and I'm trying to find, in your words, a way "to participate."

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    1. Oh, Charles, Charles - I like your comment so much though I commiserate regarding the lack of fulfilling work. Here's what to do. Tolle says to accept everything as if you had chosen it and it will transform the situation. Yes, even unemployment and ennui. Say out loud, I accept this as if I had chosen it. I don't judge it as good or bad.

      Whenever I do that, it takes away the sting and pretty soon I'm able to let life flow instead of keeping it in irons.

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    2. Thank you, what an unexpected but welcome response. I appreciate you taking the time to reach out. I was in a pretty dark place for a moment feeling really low. I think that does hit the nail on the head. I don't want to accept that I've chosen this for myself. I read somewhere that "The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage."

      Well tho losing my last job was out of my choice accepting that I am free has been a scary and mentally liberating experience. I have the time if not the funds to explore what interests me and find out what I truly want to do with the gift of life.

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  4. thank you for this post - it turned out to be just what I was searching for.

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    1. I feel lucky to provide you with something you were searching for. Thanks for visiting.

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