This song is country in its purest form. It has a slower pace and kind instrumentals that lend themselves to easy listening. The lyrics of the song go well with the music itself as well, as you may expect from a song called “It’s a Great Day to be Alive.” The song is quite convincing that its title is true, which makes listening to it all the more enjoyable. The lyric “it’s neither drink nor drug induced” separates the song from many other country songs (See “Alcohol”, “Sittin’ at the Bar”, “Drinkin’ Again”, “Whiskey for my Men Beer for my Horses”, etc...). This difference is very respectable and a refreshing change of pace.
I included this song because of how I can relate to the lyrics and the mood in creates. I find myself playing it often in the summer, when the stress of school is replaced by the realization that I am a 20 year old college student at a great university with the entire world in front of me. I feel like nearly every time I listen to this song it takes me to the exact place where Travis Tritt intended. It is also one of the first country songs I really enjoyed. I lived for 14 years in Philadelphia where country music is almost never played. When I heard this song for the first time and connected to it, it gave me a newfound appreciation for country music, which coincidentally is probably my favorite genre now.
Simple Man- Lynyrd Skynyrd
This is another great country song. It has a slower tempo also, but it is utilized to create a sort of seriousness to the mood. This semi-seriousness along with the lyrics makes me pay close attention to the message that he is saying his mother is telling him. The message itself, that he should live a simple life, is something you don’t see here only, but in many religions around the world. Just look at Christianity and just about all Eastern philosophies. The fact that the song articulates a value that is universally recognized makes it easy to understand and appreciate it.
I included this song because of how I feel about its lyrics. I personally often find myself being distracted by the superfluous things in life; we could all make our own list of them, I’m sure. I respect a person who lives a life in which their actions directly reflect their beliefs and whose beliefs are based upon a simple moral code of kindness. I feel as though simplicity is the way to come to respect this important moral construct. A strange, but interesting connection I make in my own head is one between this song and one of my favorite quotes.
“There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.” –Dalai Lama
Maybe Next Year- Corey Smith
This song is by one of my favorite artists, Corey Smith. He is a recently popular musician from Georgia who writes and performs his own music in bars across the South. I respect the fact that he has refused big record companies because he thinks the commercialization of country and southern rock music robs its meaning and turns it into a money making device. This song is about his life and how he is growing up and knows he needs to find a real job, get serious, and become part of the real world. As in many of his songs, he isn’t quite ready to do that and exclaims that “maybe next year” he’ll grow up.
I can identify this song because I am personally in a time of my life that makes me feel as though my “next year” is quickly approaching. As a second semester sophomore at this University I can safely say that I have enjoyed every moment of my time here to the fullest. I will always remember the last few years of my life, but as I transition to becoming an upper classman I feel it’s time to change. My recent admission to Kenan-Flagler will lead me to begin taking classes that I will need to utilize for whatever career I choose. Not only that, but my search for the career I want has officially started, with all of the internships I need to apply for and résumés I need to submit. This turning point is a very exciting, but somewhat nerve-racking leap into adulthood. It is a weird moment when you realize you are at a pivotal point in your life that will go a long way in defining you.
Piano Man- Billy Joel
This is possibly my favorite song. Billy Joel sings about a bar that I picture I a small town somewhere with a very static crowd. Each of the people he describes has some sort of ambition that is being held back by their current situation which drives them to the bar. They find refuge at the bar for two reasons. The first is that they are “sharing a drink they call loneliness, but its better than drinking alone.” The second is that the music that Billy Joel plays makes them forget about their lives and problems.
I included this song because alcoholism is very prevalent on both sides of my family, which puts me at quite a high risk myself. The people in the songs have driven themselves to the point where drinking is their release from life. I understand the feeling of sometimes wanting to escape from reality, but using alcohol to do this will only compound the issues and make life more difficult. Losing themselves in the music and seeking each other’s company is where they will find happiness. The dangerous overlap of these two paths is where many people fall the trap and sometimes never find their way out.
Stan- Eminem
Eminem is an incredibly controversial character, but is a master lyricist. I have to respect anyone who can be considered as one of the best at whichever endeavor they chose to undertake in their life. This song is about one of his biggest fans named Stan who feels like he can relate to Eminem about the issues they both have gone through in life. He writes him multiple letters in hopes of being written back. After not being written back for a while, Stan records a final tape of himself driving drunk off of a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend. The final verse is Eminem’s response to all of his earlier letters. While writing the letter he realizes that a terrible story he saw on the news was, in fact, Stan.
I included this song because it makes me think about how much power individuals who are role models really hold. It makes me think past the awful story in the song itself to my own life. I have a younger brother who is in 8th grade that looks up to me. I don’t always realize the bearing that my actions have on what he thinks and the choices he will make. It is my responsibility to reflect sounds character in my own actions so that he will do the same, hopefully even better than I have myself. This responsibility is one of the most important things in my life.
Party and Bullsh** in the USA- Notorious B.I.G. and Miley Cyrus
This song is an interesting mix up between two cultural extremes. The verses are taken from Notorious B.I.G’s “Party and Bullsh**” while the music and chorus are from Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA.” Notorious is the late famous rapper who is celebrated by the rap community as one of the two greatest rappers ever. His life reflected his lyrics (or at least it says so in the movie Notorious). Miley Cyrus is nearly the complete antithesis of her rapper counterpart. She got her start on the Disney Channel (enough said).
I included this song because I was amazed by how well the two songs meshed. It’s interesting to realize that two things so different can come together and create something brand new that is perhaps even better. This is an introduction to a lesson that we would all be better off learning. Instead of spiting each other because of our differences, just maybe we could use them to learn something new and use this new knowledge to make our lives that much better. I personally try to respect and understand the people I meet. This is important to me because of how much discrimination can truly skew reality and even worse, the damage this can cause. Like Biggie asks in the song, “Can’t we just all get along?”
Drift Away- Dobie Gray
This song is incredibly mellow and relaxing. It is about simply listening to a song and becoming lost in it and “drifting away.” Ironically enough, this song induces this feeling itself. The slow tempo of the bass in the verses give way to a more upbeat tempo in the chorus which takes the listener from calm and serene state to a content, if not happy one. Dobie Gray discovered gospel music through his Baptist grandfather and this soul is very prevalent in his music, especially this song.
I included this song because we all have our moments when we feel like life is moving just a little faster than we are. Listening to this song makes me feel detached from reality for a little, as if there is nothing else but me and the easiness of just being. This feeling usually calms me down and helps put life into perspective so I don’t feel as overwhelmed or stressed as I did before. I like the fact that this feeling is both articulated and induced by the music.
Skin of my Teeth- Corey Smith
This is another great song by Corey Smith. It is again about him and the fact he is not exactly a clean-cut, straight-edged adult. His lyrics embrace the fact that he may be less than perfect, but still has a reverence for God and knows that He can and will forgive him. One verse really sums up the point of the song:
Half a loser, I'm half a winner
I'm half a saint, and I'm half a sinner
I feed my soul on Sunday dinner
I'm every man of God
When times get hard, I hit my knees
And I praise the lord when he blesses me
I do my best to keep him pleased
I'm every man of God
He knows that despite his shortcomings, he is going to “make it to heaven by the skin of his teeth.”
I included this song because it makes me reflect on my own life in relation to how I live it and my religion. My entire life I have considered myself a Christian, although I have many reservations and issues. Despite these issues, I believe wholeheartedly in the overarching Christian ideal of kindness to others. I do make my fair share of mistakes, but it is reassuring to know that one mistake does not ruin everything and that we can live with our imperfections and still seek to do the best we can. I believe that doing the best we can is as much as any superior being, man, or woman could ever ask for. I feel like in this song Corey Smith resigns to the fact that he is only half-way there and doesn’t try to better himself, which is a trap that I hope I never find myself falling into. When we lose the will to become better people than we are is when I believe we cease truly living.
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