A few nights ago, I decided to go for a walk. I found myself, an hour or so later, down by South Parade Pier, in tears. This was because my thought processes and my MP3 player had synched up to bring me a combination of memories and music that proved too potent for me to handle.
Thankfully, the random playlist function brought up another song by the same artist shortly after, which holds as much meaning for me, but in a much more upbeat way. I realised, walking back and listening to this song on loop, hoping to pump its philosophy into my brain by sheer repetition, that there are three songs by this one artist that always have an effect on me, and which have driven much of my life. (The song that made me cry, “Every Now and Then”, is not one of them, but it holds special meaning to me personally in other ways.)
These songs are all by the ever brilliant Garth Brooks (buy all his CDs, seriously, they are a wonderful treasure trove of beautiful music, poignant lyrics, and truth about life, love and rodeos). The three that everyone in the world should listen to are “The Dance”, “Standing Outside the Fire” and “The River”.
“Our lives are better left to chance; I could have skipped the pain, but I would have to have missed the dance.”
“The Dance” is supposedly Garth’s own personal favourite of his collection. On the surface, it’s about a breakup: a man who says he’s glad the relationship happened even though it hurt him, that the one good memory (the dance) was worth the pain. But it’s a fine philosophy for life. I have memories that are bittersweet, because the moment that was beautiful at the time has now changed in retrospect with events that came after. But if someone had come along that day and told me how any of it ended up, I could have run, and skipped that moment altogether. I would have missed out on a lot.
“We call them strong, those who can face this world alone, who seem to get by on their own; those who will never take the fall.
We call them weak, who are unable to resist the slightest chance love might exist, and for that forsake it all.”
“Standing Outside the Fire” is the song I was blaring on loop. It’s about how one should never give up on love (or anything), that unless you’re trying and taking chances each and every second you’re not really living life to the full. Yes, you will probably get burned once or twice, but it’s worth the risk. Life is not tried, it is merely survived, if you’re standing outside the fire. Say it with me...
“Too many times we stand aside, and let the water slip away, 'til what we put off 'til tomorrow has now become today. So don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied; but choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide.”
“The River” is a song I have been listening to since I was six. Perhaps it influenced me subconsciously, I don’t know. But its message is such a huge part of how I see the world that it even made its way into one of my uni essays. You have to try every day to reach your ultimate destination, you have to weather out the storms and make what you can of your journey. I love the symbolism of life as a boat on a river – you have some control over where you’re going and how you get there, but ultimately there are a lot of things carrying you like a current in the direction you’re supposed to be headed.
I would highly recommend that you YouTube each of these songs, and take a minute to really listen to them. Possibly it’s just me that sees their charms, but I wanted to share them with the world. If I haven’t converted any of you to his genius yet, look up the music video for “More Than a Memory”. Then you’ll appreciate it – I hope. Till next time!
Thankfully, the random playlist function brought up another song by the same artist shortly after, which holds as much meaning for me, but in a much more upbeat way. I realised, walking back and listening to this song on loop, hoping to pump its philosophy into my brain by sheer repetition, that there are three songs by this one artist that always have an effect on me, and which have driven much of my life. (The song that made me cry, “Every Now and Then”, is not one of them, but it holds special meaning to me personally in other ways.)
These songs are all by the ever brilliant Garth Brooks (buy all his CDs, seriously, they are a wonderful treasure trove of beautiful music, poignant lyrics, and truth about life, love and rodeos). The three that everyone in the world should listen to are “The Dance”, “Standing Outside the Fire” and “The River”.
“Our lives are better left to chance; I could have skipped the pain, but I would have to have missed the dance.”
“The Dance” is supposedly Garth’s own personal favourite of his collection. On the surface, it’s about a breakup: a man who says he’s glad the relationship happened even though it hurt him, that the one good memory (the dance) was worth the pain. But it’s a fine philosophy for life. I have memories that are bittersweet, because the moment that was beautiful at the time has now changed in retrospect with events that came after. But if someone had come along that day and told me how any of it ended up, I could have run, and skipped that moment altogether. I would have missed out on a lot.
“We call them strong, those who can face this world alone, who seem to get by on their own; those who will never take the fall.
We call them weak, who are unable to resist the slightest chance love might exist, and for that forsake it all.”
“Standing Outside the Fire” is the song I was blaring on loop. It’s about how one should never give up on love (or anything), that unless you’re trying and taking chances each and every second you’re not really living life to the full. Yes, you will probably get burned once or twice, but it’s worth the risk. Life is not tried, it is merely survived, if you’re standing outside the fire. Say it with me...
“Too many times we stand aside, and let the water slip away, 'til what we put off 'til tomorrow has now become today. So don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied; but choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide.”
“The River” is a song I have been listening to since I was six. Perhaps it influenced me subconsciously, I don’t know. But its message is such a huge part of how I see the world that it even made its way into one of my uni essays. You have to try every day to reach your ultimate destination, you have to weather out the storms and make what you can of your journey. I love the symbolism of life as a boat on a river – you have some control over where you’re going and how you get there, but ultimately there are a lot of things carrying you like a current in the direction you’re supposed to be headed.
I would highly recommend that you YouTube each of these songs, and take a minute to really listen to them. Possibly it’s just me that sees their charms, but I wanted to share them with the world. If I haven’t converted any of you to his genius yet, look up the music video for “More Than a Memory”. Then you’ll appreciate it – I hope. Till next time!
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