The first class I took in the online Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University was called “Close Readings.” It was recommended as the first class because it was designed by the founder of the program, Dr. Rita Charon. We interacted closely with works of art: classic short pieces of literature, a Beatles song, and artworks. We responded with what we learned from the close examination.

One of the assignments was to choose a piece of music to examine. I chose this piece. And this is the response I turned in for that assignment.

Roberta Flack: Ewan MacColl’s “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”

There are points in this piece where the music intensifies the meaning of the lyrics. The piece opens with soft guitar setting a gentle tone. The soft music and gentle voicing at the beginning draw the listener in, as when a speaker whispers. The piano entrance coincides with the line “I felt the sun rose in your eyes.”

In the second stanza, right after “ever I kissed your mouth,” the cello rises so sweetly, my chest resonates in sympathy. I’m almost brought to tears. The stanza ends with the two strongly accented words, “my love,” accented both by the singer and the accompaniment.

In the stanza, “first time ever I lay with you,” the violins enter. Later, in contrast to the words being sung at “I felt our joy would fill the earth,” the accompaniment falls to its quietest level. The instrumentation throughout is nuanced and subtle. Roberta’s voice is simple with minimal vibrato but not without power, in keeping with the subject matter of the innocence of first love.

Repeated Listening

I later adapted this assignment into an ekphrastic poem. Even now, when I listen again, the cello brings that fullness to my chest, tears to my eyes. It’s an emotion evoked beyond the simple poetry of the words. The magic happens when the music and the words work in tandem, as when the form of a poem enhances the content.

Each time I spend five minutes listening to this song I undergo a micro-transformation of beauty.