Those of you who are fellow country music fanatics should recognize this lyric instantly, the classic line from the dynamic duo Sugarland’s famous “Baby Girl.” It is one of my favorite lyrics, from one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite bands. Now, whether or not you like country music, I’m sure you can at least appreciate the sweet sentiment that these lyrics pass along. Perhaps I empathize with it a little more closely because I am my parents’ baby girl, so to speak.
It is prevalent that I’ve entitled this blog with a Sugarland lyric because, upon my parents’ arrival in Melbourne on April 16th, I was delighted to receive surprise VIP Sugarland tickets for Country Jam as a birthday gift. Other segments of this song's lyrics relate well to my parents’ visit to the land of Oz. Let’s unpack these lyrics and see what we find.
“Well it’s a long way from here to the place where the home fires burn. Well it’s two thousand miles and one left turn.” Duh. Let’s be honest, this one’s easy. I really do not think it’s possible to be more grateful for how far my parents have traveled to see me. Exchange the 2,000 for 10,000-then equate my level of gratefulness with the corresponding growth of the true distance. It has long been a dream of mine to be able to travel with my parents-I’m not talking about our drives to northern Michigan, our weekend trips to Chicago, our mostly rare beach getaways to places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic. I mean really travel. Their trip to Australia is significant because it is the first time the three of us have experienced an entirely new continent together. They are the best piece of home I could have asked for, and I am so lucky for this opportunity to show them around and share my new international digs.
“Dear Mom and Dad, please send money, I’m so broke that it ain’t funny.” Anyone who’s been to Australia, or been somewhere abroad where the currency exchange rate and the cost of living hurt you a little bit on the inside, can surely identify with this lyric. Traveling extensively in an expensive country costs a pretty penny, and each purchase requires serious, serious consideration. Pulling the trigger on these weekend trips to the Outback (coming up May 6th!), Sydney, and Cairns is a terrifying prospect and it often requires a little handholding after the credit card number has been punched in and the dwindling numbers make themselves known on your online bank statement. The point here is that money is a very sensitive matter while traveling and no one, no matter what you have, how you were raised, or what you’ve been given, is above smart finances while abroad. Let’s just say it’s nice to go out to dinner and not worry about how much cash is in your wallet and whether or not you can afford a soda with your meal, because the bill’s on Scuba Steve and Mother Mary tonight-so let’s get another bottle of wine!
The final full verse of the song brings us back to where we began, although there are other worthy, relatable lyrics in this song. Nonetheless, this is the most important lyric to me as I write this. To my parents: thank you for...exploring the Great Ocean Road (an adventure of epic proportions with Stevo driving on the left of a cliff-side road), Phillip Island, myriad dinners at fabulous restaurants from Lygon Street to Cairns’ Esplanade, movie tickets to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, bandaids, bottles of wine, trips to the Kundara rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, and much more. It’s been a treat having you down under. So although you wear socks with sandals more than you ought, and although your sunscreen is never fully rubbed in, and although you still don’t understand the strategy of crossing Australian roads properly, I still love you more than anything in the world. Love, your baby girl.
meg. this is presh. i love.
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