The Good Left Undone

The Good Left Undone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRmbcqp5Dbc

            This week, the song I chose is by a great band that infuses incredible meaning into every one of their songs. The band is called Rise Against, and the song is called The good Left Undone from their fourth Album The Sufferer and the Witness (2006).

            The meaning of this song took me a while to figure out because of the poetic nature of the lyrics. Once I finally did however, I thought they were about life and relationships, like many rock songs are. The first verse is about a flower among fields and fields of weeds, which is a metaphor for the good in the world among an ocean of bad. The flower itself represents a woman that the narrator fell in love with, and throughout the song, Tim McIlrath, the singer of the band, sings about the changes she brought to his world. The final verse says "All because of you, I believe in angels. Not the kind with wings, no, not the kind with halos, the kind that bring you home, when home becomes a strange place." Before meeting her, he thought the world was a darker place, but now he sees the good the people around him can bring.

            The love is only half the song though. The other half is about their breakup. He hasn't "slept in so long," and when he does he "dreams of drowning in  the ocean, longing for the shore." he can't sleep, and when he does, he only has nightmares. The man in this song can't let go and appreciate the changes she stirred in him. For many of us, people, possesions, and memories are hard to let go, and just like in last week's song Boys of Summer, the better and happier the memory, the more desperately we cling to it.

            Hope you all enjoyed the song! It's one of Rise Against's best! see you next week.

The Good Left Undone Lyrics:

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
Bending there in my direction,
I wrapped a hand around its stem,
I pulled until the roots gave in,
Finding there what I’d been missing,

But I know…
So I tell myself, I tell myself it’s wrong.
There’s a point we pass from which we can’t return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.

All because of you,
I haven’t slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

Inside my hands these petals browned,
Dried up, fallen to the ground
But it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
Returned this flower to the dirt,
So it could live. I walked away now.

But I know…
Not a day goes by that I don’t feel this burn.
There’s a point we pass from which we can’t return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.

All because of you,
I haven’t slept in so long,
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

All because of you…
All because of you…

All because of you,
I haven’t slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
Inside these arms of yours.

All because of you,
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
No, not the kind with halos,
The kind that bring you home,
When home becomes a strange place.
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

Boys of Summer

Boys of Summer Music Video: http://vimeo.com/38296751

This week, the song is by a great artist by the name of Don Henley, a man who used to sing and play drums for The Eagles. The song is called Boys of Summer, one many of you have probably heard on the radio at some time or another, and it was released in 1984 on the album Building the Perfect Beast.

                The meaning of this song is pretty straightforward, unlike many of the other songs I’ve posted on this blog. It’s about nostalgia, lost love, and growing up. He begins the song by describing the emptiness of the “road,” “beach,” and “streets,” which reveal the emptiness he feels without his past relationship. The chorus speaks of the great memories he had, and how his love continued indefinitely, even when the beaches and bikinis were gone. He comes to the realization halfway through the song that he can’t keep living in the past; he tells himself “don’t look back, you can never look back” to try to convince himself to move on. It’s hard to move on though, whether it’s from a relationship or simply a happy memory that once was. Henley shows this by ending the song with his chorus of happy memories. He feels those memories are more important than letting go because they aren’t just a failed relationship but his life and his youth. He was once a “boy of summer,” and as we grow up, we don’t want to give that away.

                This is a great, powerful song, and I hope you get as much out of it as I do every time I hear it. The music video fits perfectly with the song, creating an air of nostalgia that can almost be pictured. Until next time!

Boys of Summer Lyrics:

Nobody on the road 
Nobody on the beach 
I feel it in the air 
The summer's out of reach 

Empty lake, empty streets 
The sun goes down alone 
I'm driving by your house 
Though I know you're not home 

But I can see you 
Your brown skin shining in the sun 
You got your hair combed back and your 
Sunglasses on baby 
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong 
After the boys of summer, have gone 

I never will forget those nights 
I wonder if it was a dream 
Remember how you made me crazy 
Remember how I made you scream 
Now I don't understand 
What happened to our love 
But babe I'm gonna get you back 
I'm gonna show you what I'm made of 

I can see you 
Your brown skin shining in the sun 
I see you walking real slow 
Smiling at everyone 
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong 
After the boys of summer, have gone 

Out on the road today 
I saw a deadhead sticker on a cadillac 
A little voice inside my head said: 
"Don't look back, you can never look back" 
I thought I knew what love was 
What did I know? 
Those days are gone forever 
I should just let them go but, 

I can see you 
Your brown skin shining in the sun 
You got the top pulled down 
Radio on baby 
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong 
After the boys of summer have gone 

I can see you 
Your brown skin shining in the sun 
You got your hair slicked back and those 
Wayfarers on, baby 
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong 
After the boys of summer, have gone

I'm Still Here

I’m Still Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z-l9IUBOqM

I fell in love with this song the first second I heard it, and I could listen to it every day and never get tired of it. I originally heard it from the animated Disney movie Treasure Planet (2002), and the song I’m Still Here, from Treasure Planet’s soundtrack, and from then on it’s been cemented as one of my favorite songs (you’ve probably noticed I have a whole bunch of favorite songs). The song is the only single by John Rzeznik, the singer and guitarist of The Goo Goo Dolls, an American rock band formed in 1986.

The lyrics are very powerful for anyone who had ever felt insignificant to the world. The song explains the story of a young man trying to find his place in the world, yet constantly being pushed down. Just when he is about to give up, someone comes into his life and changes him completely. He finds himself, and he is finally able to face the world and say that “I’m Still Here.” It’s interesting to note that, though I assumed the person who changed his life was a girl, the song doesn’t specify anything about the person who helped him, showing that anyone can be a catalyst for change in someone’s life. As a Christian, I’ve had people that were male, female, family, and friends that have all helped me along the way to becoming a better person and impacting the world. Everyone wants to feel like that matter in the world, but in their own way. Rzeznik says that “I’ll never be what you want me to be,” because “they don’t know me.” He realizes though, that “they can’t break me as long as I know who I am,” which was powerful and moving to me.

The story begins with the man telling himself “I’m not here,” but he changes his life for the better. Hopefully, one day everyone will have a person in his or her life that can be that catalyst of change. Hope you liked the song, see you next week!

               

I’m Still Here Lyrics:

I am a question to the world
Not an answer to be heard
Or a moment
That's held in your arms

And what do you think you'd ever say?
I won't listen anyway
You don't know me
And I'll never be what you want me to be

And what do you think you'd understand?
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man
You can't take me
And throw me away

And how can you learn what's never shown?
Yeah, you stand here on your own
They don't know me
Cause I'm not here

Chorus:
And I want a moment to be real
Wanna touch things I don't feel
Wanna hold on and feel I belong
And how can the world want me to change?
They're the ones that stay the same
They don't know me
Cause I'm not here

And you see the things they never see
All you wanted I could be
Now you know me
And I'm not afraid

And I want to tell you who I am
Can you help me be a man?
They can't break me
As long as I know who I am

Chorus

They can't tell me who to be
Cause I'm not what they see
Yeah, the world is still sleepin while I keep on dreaming for me
And their words are just whispers and lies thatI'll never believe

Chorus

I'm the one now
Cause I'm still here
I'm the one
Cause I'm still here
I'm still here
I'm still here
I'm still here