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The following notebook pages were found amongst Jeff's belongings following his death. The words are very powerful:

In order to live my ideal life Solutions Visions TruthHurtsHeals Non-Evasion and Pro-confrontation – ORIGIN ALITY - As far as conducting the total awareness life in which you plug into "Now" and constantly push ahead, constantly develop and grow. The thing is that I want it all next week, right now, this millisecond. The leader, the instigator, the creator, the cold origination. Life should sparkle and rush, burn with fire, hot melting steel, like freeze-burn from a comet. I know that if I was around someone who was REAL and very PHYSICAL and RECOGNIZED about, I would probably verge on envy and I'd be too repressed for fear
of fucking up in front of this serious
person – intimidated. Don't be!
Be seriously involved with growing,
with true development, and never fear.
Be the kind of person who is naturally
powerful, positive, ingenius, open
to the highest degree, but with no
interest in coercion or pressure or
power over other people. That kind of
power is hollow. It contains nothing
and brings you nothing in the long run.
BE THE BEST. NO
NEGATIVITY, NO
WEAKNESS, NO ACQUIESCENCE
TO FEAR OR DISASTER,
NO ERRORS OF IGNORANCE,
NO EVASION FROM REALITY.

Grace

I learned in a religion class once that "grace" means "gifts from God." Finding Jeff Buckley's music was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. And one of his most powerful songs, one that is eerily foreshadowing of his fate, is called "Grace." And I'm going to name one of my future daughters "Grace." ANYWAY, how did I become a fan? Read on.

Many a year ago, when I was just a wee li'l girl in 8th grade, I was having a total identity crisis...or maybe it was just adolescence. But 8th grade was definitely a defining point in my life; I began figuring out who I wanted to be, and I found a large part of that identity through music. That may sound kind of ridiculous, but it's so true. That year was my transformation from being a Paula Abdul fan to being a Nirvana fan. In the midst of all my grunge-lovin', I came across an absolutely heart-breaking, yet amazing song on the radio. On Sunday nights, a radio station that was normally all pop music would have on "Planet Z," which was a show of emerging alternative music artists. The song that I heard was "Last Goodbye," by up-and-coming Jeff Buckley. My friends and I would sing the song ALL THE TIME. We LOVED it. And Jeff had a video for his song on MTV, and I'd watch it, gape-mouthed and drooling. I think Shannon still has that video on an old tape somewhere in her house, probably with old Saved By The Bell episodes following. Anyway, for reasons I'm yet to understand, I kind of forgot about Jeff Buckley for a few years. I still had my mixed tapes of songs and would come across "Last Goodbye" every so often, but I just never backed down and bought the tape...or ~gasp~ CD for that matter. (They were still relatively new.)

I can honestly say that I have no idea what made me remember Jeff and buy his CD two years later. I think I was in my "Even if I like only one song on the CD, I'll buy it" phase. (which resulted in a CD collection of over 300!) So I guess I just kind of bought Grace one day, on a whim. I'm not going to lie...I HATED it at first. But something about it made me want to be masochistic and listen to it again and again. So I did...and, BOOM, I loved it. This would be when the obsession actually started. I began realizing that Jeff was this incredibly deep, wonderful, pure human being. Part of me is convinced he was never fully human, for he always had somewhat of a divine quality about him. It was very surreal, like his voice. Anyway, soon after, I bought Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, which came out later that year. I hated Sketches for a really, really long time. It's VERY different than Grace and VERY weird...but one day, I fell in love with "Opened Once" and "Morning Theft," later falling just as in love with the faster, kind of odd songs. (like "The Sky Is A Landfill"..hehe)

Jeff's lyrics are absolutely, positively phenomenal. I never knew it was possible to capture the essence of human emotion on paper, but somehow, God gave him that gift (grace). And he has made me grow SO MUCH in my spirituality. He made me realize that I can be as religious as I want, but if I'm not spiritual, my regular church-goin' is worth nothing. Jeff was not made for this world...he, trapped in a world that could never fully understand the extent to which he loved others, was subconsciously ready to go home, I think. And he did on May 29, 1997, when he drowned in the Mississippi River.

As I said, the main way Jeff has impacted my life is through his song lyrics. Never has another human being conveyed so much passion, love, hate, eroticism, purity, sensuality, beauty, cynicism, trust, etc. etc. etc. on paper the way he has...at least not that I've found so far in my twenty years of life. When I write, I cannot capture even half the beauty he captures. Please read over the words to his songs, taken directly from the official site. (99% of fan sites totally mess up his lyrics...it's annoying! We'll trust his mother's site.)

Lyrics to Grace
Lyrics to Sketches For my Sweetheart the Drunk

More goodies:

Eternal Life ~ One of my Jeff poems.
Voice Ship ~ My other Jeff poem.
Jeff Quotes ~ Things Jeff has said or written in songs that I find meaningful.

And here is some real player stuff I'd like to share with you. The first is 8 minutes and 49 seconds long. In it you will find a portion of an interview with Jeff, a friend of Jeff reflecting on his life, and videos of Jeff playing in the background. The second link will open Jeff's videos: "Grace," "Eternal Life (live)," "Last Goodbye," "So Real," and "Everybody Here Wants You," followed by Jeff speaking about his life and music (get some tissues!).
About Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley Videos

And how has Jeff touched YOU?!

E-mail me, and let me know so I can add your story to the...

~*~ How Jeff Has Touched His Fans ~*~

page. And DON'T BE SHY...the success of this section depends on YOU. = )

**Please read and keep the "golden promise," as outlined by Jeff's mother:

The Golden Promise

Clearly, this young man touched countless lives with his vitality and humanity. The absence of this being from our little planet is a tragic loss for everyone, if we consider his musical talent alone. Thank God we have the music and his recordings to console us. What we have lost by way of his tenderness and soulfulness is beyond measure, and cannot be replaced...unless, perhaps, each of us makes a Golden Promise to act on his behalf from this day forward.

A Golden Promise is one that must never be broken. It is made in one's heart to another heart that's just departed this life. Look into your soul and find a Promise you can keep that would make this world a better place, even if just for a moment. Commit "random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty"... demonstrate the courage to follow your bliss.

And if, when you go to that silent, certain place in your heart, you find there a Promise you can make that gives you a higher purpose in life, then make the strongest vow you've ever made and maybe, just maybe, together we'll be able to repair the damage done to this lowly little world by the untimely passing of this gentle minstrel.

And, of course, why not end this show with a little blatant (yet wonderful) sexuality...Jeff used to do different versions of his songs. He had a special "Chocolate" version of "Mojo Pin" and "Kangaroo":

Love turn me on \ Let me turn you all over with my thumb on your tongue \ Rest your heel on my shoulder \ Your love is like chocolate on the tongue of god \ Love turn me on \ Let me turn you all over with my thumb on your tongue \ Rest your heel on my shoulder \ Your love is like chocolate melting on the tongue of god

Jeff, you are the tear that hangs inside my soul forever. I love you dearly.

<~~~