Words

At a time when the world seems to be on fire, it proves once again that actions are not always better than words. But yeah. Words... No matter how good a politician you are, even talkers are not always well understood.

Years ago I was obsessed with short sentences. Six word stories. Here and there there will still be a piece of scrap paper with a quickly scribbled text. Waiting for a glorious moment to delight the world with my wit.
Ahem...
Wish I was that good.

But one sentence has always stayed with me. Maybe because we all experience moments like that when we say something that the other person takes completely the wrong way.

What was the reason for the misunderstanding? Often completely irrelevant. The fact is that the misunderstood words lead to an argument. Just try to talk your way out of that.

One of my "favorite" bands is Genesis. Favorite in quotes because I'm never a super fan of any band or singer. The "mood" of the day determines what music I want to hear. Anyway, Genesis. I still remember as if it were yesterday that I was on holiday in the US with my parents, visiting my grandparents. My grandmother saw the cover of the LP "And then there were three". You undoubtedly know the song "Follow you, follow me" from that album. But, grandma didn't hear the music. She only had eyes for one thing. The name of the band. She was very pleased that I was doing something with the Bible. Genesis… Umm, no grandma. Religion has never been my thing. Probably the main reason I don't understand "holy wars".
Sacred or not, everyone is misunderstood sometimes. My favorite six words I wrote myself is based on such an argument. I simply call it "Words":

What she heard

he never said.

That's the core of every problem, isn't it? Misunderstanding.
Genesis has made a beautiful song about that. You can find it on the album "Duke". Or just listen to it here on YouTube: Misunderstanding. 

The cover art of "Duke" was created by Lionel Koechlin. More on the album (and "a few words" by Lionel) in this Duke documentary. Thirty minutes worth listening (and watching).

P.S. Another fun fact. Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks preferred one of his own songs to a Phil Collins song for this album. To this day he regrets his choice. Understandable. If that song ("In the air tonight") had been on "Duke", the band's history would probably have been very, very different.