"Unmet Expectations And Desires..."

Where in the world are you, Alice Clark? Last week I randomly came across this song from her self-titled 1972 album:

I became more fascinated with "Keep It Hid" the more I listened to it. Who is Alice Clark? Why does she look so sad? How could a performance like this become so tragically overlooked? Well I hate to break it to you folks, but there are 200 sad Alice Clarks out there for every Rihanna. In that light, I guess I'm lucky I ever found her at all. But where is she now? I posted a query to AskMetaFilter to see if anyone could point me in the right direction, but so far no luck. (I'll update here if anything develops...)

The song's relevance to the despondent Five of Cups is somewhat twofold. First of all, we have the song itself, about the singer's private struggle with unresolved feelings that she dare not air out:

"Oh why can't I walk up to that old love of mine and say
Baby, what you been doing
I still love you like I did
You know, nothing's really changed here
But being the way I am
I keep it hid..."

In Waite-Smith Five of Cups, we see a person experiencing a painful emotional setback. There are two cups left standing, so obviously there's plenty to move on with. However, it's almost impossible to keep from dwelling on the spillage. Unfortunately, that makes the figure's remaining assets all the more vulnerable, because he/she isn't paying them proper attention. In the distance you can see a bridge waiting for the figure to "get over it" and rejoin civilization, but clearly the trauma is still too fresh. There are numerous messages here for you, depending on what your own quandary is. I can't help but see the echo of this card in Clark's own face on the LP cover -- she has suffered, alright.

The second prong of relevance relates to my own disappointment at not being able to appreciate something as fully as I'd like to. There is certainly something in this card that relates to unmet expectations and desires, of only receiving a small amount of something you expected far more of. I really hope I do find out more about Alice Clark; I hope she's still alive and perhaps even that I'd be able to contact her and ask her about her experiences as a soul singer in the early '70s. But I need to make sure that this (perhaps entirely unrealistic) desire doesn't keep me from enjoying what I already have -- which, in this case, is her entire album via the iTunes store for just $9.90!

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Five of Cups