Day 12: Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World by U2
There are several songs in the past week that have taken up residence in my head and won't leave. This one is one of the more prominent, but I'll be getting to the other in a second.
Ever stumbled out of a bar, drunk out of your mind? You know, bumping into people, giving them a hug and telling these complete strangers how much you love them? That's what this song is about. But I've also heard people say they see it as being about a man and woman in a difficult relationship, which also makes sense. Still, Bono referred to it as U2's "Irish Drinking Song" about walking home drunk, so that's the intent behind it, but the wonderful thing about music is that it's open to interpretation. So, what do you pull from this one?
Day 13: Every Breaking Wave by U2
Yup, another U2 song in the same post! This is one of the other songs that's been living in my head for a week, only slightly less than the one above. I loved this song from the moment I heard it several years ago. Chasing every breaking wave is something humans have a tendency to do. We run after every glamorous impossibility, certain we can catch it, but in the back of our minds we know the truth. As a race, it seems like we really are in love with defeat, judging by the way we act, and this song really breaks all of that down for me.
Day 14: Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars
Poison and Wine was the big hit for these guys when this album dropped, and while I love that song, this title track beats it by a mile. We've got the story of a man who's committed a murder, and even though he's not afraid to die, he's afraid of being sent to hell, so he keeps running. It's a great song with a catchy tune, and if you like Folk, I think you'll dig this one.
Day 15: Forward Motion by Relient K
I think this song explains itself really well, so I won't go into detail. It's a fun tune that I've been listening to since I was a teenager, and I don't see any reason to stop now.
Day 16: Maggie's Farm by Bob Dylan
Hands down, this is my favorite song Dylan ever wrote, and I maintain his version is way better than the one Rage did a long time ago. Anyway, what we've got here is your standard Dylan-ish lyrics, full of cryptic messages that I love to dissect. At it's core, though, this is a song about someone taking control of their life. They're tired of people taking advantage of them in every aspect of their life, so they break ties with everything. That's an important life lesson if I've ever heard one.
Maggie's Farm
Day 17: Caroline by Jon Foreman
This isn't the first time Jon Foreman's popped up here, and it won't be the last. This song hit me at a time when I needed it the most last year. I remember liking it when I first heard it, but the full weight of it didn't hit me until about a week later, when I was listening to it in the car, alone. In that moment I realized that I was Caroline. I felt lost and alone, trying to find my way back home, stranded in that same phone booth in the middle of a storm, calling home with no one answering.
I broke down when this finally hit me. There I was, driving down the interstate, bawling my eyes out like a baby. The song broke me, but in those pieces I found a way to rebuild myself into who I am today. And that's something I'll never forget.
That's all for today, ladies and gentlemen. See ya next time!
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