The Astriders
Hands up if you've used the word astride in conversation lately. Or ever? How about the first song that comes to mind that contains astride in the lyrics? Right. Just the Father John Misty fans. And a lone Walt Whitman disciple there at the back with an arm up. Astride is a perfectly good preposition, It comes down to us from Middle English and preserves the meaning of "extending across" or "having one leg on each side of." He sat astride a horse, for example. Chekhov stood astride the 20th century, for example. The sailors at work astride the spars, for example. In our time, Pedro The Lion uses the old word in a new song about a beloved yellow bike from childhood. David Bazan sings: But I remember what it was like Astride my yellow bike First freedom, second life All the places I could ride... It's a wonderful song that make me consider how truly I hear. On first listen, it is a nostalgic song in the well-worn theme of the freedom ...