Dress 15 : You're my butterfly

This week I will be wearing butterfly dresses and coincidently many of my favourite songs are called Butterfly.  I’m hoping to blend dresses and music this week – two of my favourite things together wrapped into a story.

Delta Goodrem - Butterfly


When I moved the first time to California, Delta Goodrem had just been unleashed on the music industry in Australia and I remember walking down the Streets in Orange County when we felt home sick singing along to Born To Try.  When I returned to Australia Delta was everywhere!!  I had met her a few times while working on Neighbours and she was always a friendly, down to Earth girl playing the Bishop’s piano during set breaks.

I think at one point in time the stats said that 1 in every 3 households owned Delta’s first album Innocent Eyes and returning to Australia I became one of those.  I loved her vocal range and the way she actually would sing on pop songs.  She became a favourite in my stereo, microphone and mirror combinations!  When I came home to Australia I had started to date a boy from New York, let’s call him Boyfriend C.  There’s some people you meet in life and you have this indescribable connection like you’ve met before in another time and place and the universe is returning you back to the other.

When I met boyfriend C it was that feeling.  I didn’t matter he had a thinc NY accent and I couldn’t understand a word he said there was something there.  We dated long distance for 6 months and then I returned in NY summer to spend two weeks with him and meet his family.  Dating long distance you have to get creative in the ways you communicate.  I had started sending him CD’s of songs that reminded me of him and when he said his American buddies had caught him listening to ‘Never tear us Apart’ by Inxs I couldn’t stop laughing.
 
I had an amazing summer in NY learning about catching fire flies, drinking at his local bar and meeting his friends and we went on a road trip up to Niagara Falls.  After the two weeks was up being the romantic that I am I wrote the lyrics to this song and left it on his bed on the way to the airport - even though I had made him listen to Inxs I knew I may be stretching the relationship a little too far to make him listen to Delta.  About 3 months later the struggle with distance, miscommunication and leading different lives we broke up, my first real heartbreak. 

But as fate would have it I was offered a job in New York and a few months after we had broken up I moved back to NY.  I ended up moving in with Boyfriend C and his family on Long Island (not the smartest move to move in with your Ex and his entire family – readers never, never do this!!).  Our story did continue for a while after that but ultimately we were not even meant to even be friends and after a period of time for us which is a whole other story in itself I felt strong enough to flee to New York City.  I finally became the independent and brave girl that was hidden behind a small girl from Australia.  I contacted him a few years ago when I heard his Dad, who had always been so nice to me had passed away ,and he thanked me for my email.  We have also since become Facebook friends but it still makes me sad to think of that innocent 21 year old girl who thought he was the rest of her life to him now being pretty much a stranger to me.

Once I arrived in New York City I remember on nights when I was lonely I would put on Delta’s Innocent Eyes CD and fall asleep to it.  It was something comforting that listening to this it always brought me home in some way.  When I started at my Australian office I told people about Delta and they had never heard of her!  A few years later she did come to New York as they were trying to launch her in the States and my office and I went down to support her appearance on NBC’s Today show.  As did Molly Meldrum who was doing a special for the Sunrise show in Australia.

After her interview Molly brought her over to meet us and as she got closer to us she gave me a funny look.  As I was at the end of the row of people I was last to speak with her.  When she got to me she said “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to give you a funny look but I feel like I know you from somewhere” and that’s when I laughed and said “Yeah I used to work on Neighbours”.   She breathed a sigh of relief and laughed to herself and said “Oh good I thought I was going crazy I’d love to chat some more but I have to run and sing in the studio, it was so nice to see you again though”.

Delta songs became a favourite to sing at karaoke – there was never any competition to sing them and many times people would come up and ask who the artist I was singing was.  Steve even learnt back-up vocals to ‘A Little too late’.  Delta has had moderate success in the US and maybe this year will be the year she finally takes it over.  The US is always in the sites of ambitious Aussies and if I can take on the USA and make it .. I’m pretty sure Delta can too .. and I hope she does.

Yours in Dresses
Skye 

Day 15: You’re my Butterfly
Bought: 1 year ago
Price Range: $35.00
From: Valley Girl, Perth, Western Australia
What I like about it: I LOVE the fact I found a dress that makes me happy to wear white!  I love the butterflies!
Tag Info: Made in China, Valley Girl, 100% Polyester
Photo Credit: DWhite, SCondon