Daughtry - Leave This Town

Picked up Daughtry's new CD on my way to my grandma's funeral. I'd already heard all of the songs, but I wanted to give Chris my money, so I bought one of the special editions with the extra songs.

Good CD. Great CD actually. A lot of universal themes, excellent lyrics, Daughtry puts his whole heart and soul into his singing, bringing a lot of emotion and intensity to the CD. There are some missteps, a few boring songs, and he does have this annoying habit of singing a three line group like they're four lines, but that's not a huge problem.

Go out and get it, now. It's worth the money.

1.You Don't Belong. Not a fan of this song, I'm not sure what it's about honestly. I do like the voice changing in the song, it sounds like the band Live. REALLY sounds like Live.

2.No Surprise. A rather mature song about the destruction of a relationship. The extra verse at the end is a wonderful addition, it keeps amping up the intensity. Perfectly written, perfectly sung. A lot of fun, it does not grow old.

3.Every Time You Turn Around. Another misstep. Poorly written rock song, tries to be harder and more rock than it is. Well worth skipping.

4.Life After You. Easy to hear Chad Kroeger's influence, it sounds a lot like This Afternoon. Not a great song, but not a bad song either. Don't know why they're looking at it as a single.

5.What I Meant To Say. A nice angry rock song. One of the meaner breakup songs I've heard. Great stuff.

6.Open Up Your Eyes. Perfectly suited to driving to a funeral. It's about a woman who lays her husband to rest prematurely, then dies herself after waiting to join him for her entire life. Powerful imagery, well written.

7.September. A perfect end-of-the-summer song about all the confusion that people feel as one season (weather or life, either one) ends and another begins. A great song.

8.Ghost Of Me. Another good one. Bit of a different theme to it, it's about a former significant other who's having regrets, and he's reassuring her that she shouldn't. Again, a bit of a Live sound to it.

9.Learn My Lesson. One of my favorites. Typical "you'd think I'd learn not to get involved with these crazy women types" song, but pulled off well.

10.Supernatural. Another favorite. Great rock song describing a physical relationship in a non-raunchy manner, which is quite out of the ordinary for rock music these days. The intensity does not let up. Lots of fun.

11.Tennessee Line. I've covered that here before.

12.Call Your Name. Not sure what this one is about, and it's missing a couple of lines from the chorus. A proper guitar solo though. Wish it had've lasted longer.

13.Get Me Through. Boring. Might change my mind after listening to it a little more, but I doubt it.

Hie thee hence, and buy this CD.

Daughtry feat Vince Gill- Tennessee Line

Open my lungs
To breathe in forgiveness and love
Haunting me now
Reminders of how I used to be
On down the road
The troubles sure to follow
Looking out the window
Hell, I know where I will go
So I'll just keep on driving

On my way to L.A.
Looking into the rear-view
As the roads fade away
I swore off my past
The first and last bad call
That I ever made
Tell me how to make right
Every wrong turn that I've learned
So this could all end tonight
The Tennessee Line
Just changed my mind
It's my heart I'll follow this time

Who would've known
The pride is too hard to swallow
As I rest on the shoulder of a road growing colder
With the trouble I own
Should I just keep on driving?

On my way to L.A.
Looking into the rear-view
As the roads fade away
I swore off my past
The first and last bad call
That I ever made
Tell me how to make right
Every wrong turn that I've learned
So this could all end tonight
The Tennessee Line
Just changed my mind
It's my heart I'll follow this time

I know I must be doing something right
Head the other way back to where I started out
Ask myself if I can turn it all around tonight
And stop living with doubt
Yeah

On my way to L.A.
Looking into the rear-view
As the roads fade away
I swore off my past
The first and last bad call
That I ever made
Tell me how to make right
Every wrong turn that I've learned
So this could all end tonight
The Tennessee Line
Just changed my mind
It's my heart I'll follow this time
I swore off my past
The first and last bad call
That I ever made
It's my heart I'll follow this time
I swore off my past
The first and last bad call
That I ever made
Oh, gonna it all around tonight
Turn it all around tonight
Turn it all around tonight
I'm gonna turn it all around tonight
At the Tennessee line

Saliva - Cinco Diablo

1.Family Reunion. They took the best parts of Click Click Boom and Ladies And Gentlemen, mashed them together, and threw in some tempo changes for a very generic and forgettable "party" song. Boring.

2.My Own Worst Enemy. Lyrically, the singer is blaming someone else & himself for the way he's screwed up his life, which conflicts with the title. Seems they tried to mix just a few too many themes into the recipe for this one. Good song though.

3.Best Of Me. Forgettable. Seriously, I don't even remember what it's about, and I've listened to the CD 5-7 times in the past 24 hours.

4.How Could You? It's their new single, sounds like Always. Decent song. I like hearing this one on the radio as I'm driving home at midnight. Entertaining music, despite being so generic.

5.Hunt You Down. Embarrassingly bad. Tries to be macho. Fails.

6.Judgment Day. Now here's a good one. I thought it was inspired by the new Terminator movie, seems its a soldier tribute. Brings Terminator to mind a lot better. Good rock music, again generic. Entertains.

7.Forever And A Day. Good ballad. Forgettable, but not the worst. Probably better than How Could You?

8.I'm Coming Back. Another terrible macho song. I hit skip on my CD player every time.

9.Southern Girls. A retread of a lot of raunchy rock-about-girls songs lately, without the raunch. Could possibly achieve some level of success on pop radio if they'd give it a shot. It sure is a lot better than that Kid Rock song from last summer.

10.So Long. Here's a song I can relate to. Confusion, attraction, difficulty, all very well presented in a nice melodic package. It's not Savatage, but Saliva shines on the lyrics with this one. Best of the CD.

There are a couple of songs worthy of download on this CD. Buy Blood Stained Love Story first. Or instead.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising

I see
A Bad Moon Rising
I see
Trouble on the way
I see
Earthquakes and lightning
I see
Bad times today

Don't go 'round tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

I hear
Hurricanes blowing
I know
The end is coming soon
I fear
Rivers overflowing
I hear
The voice of rage and ruin

Don't go 'round tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

Hope you have got your things together
Hope you are quite prepared to die
Looks like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye

Don't go 'round tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

Don't go 'round tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise
---------------
This song is so simple, yet so powerful. Sounds upbeat, but it has almost a biblical, Revelations message to it. Seems more and more relevant these days.

I see/A Bad Moon Rising
I see/Trouble on the way

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

Seether - Careless Whispers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7imqO-OBVk

Hie thee hence and listen. Now.

Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler

Have you ever seen a one-trick pony
In the field so happy and free
If you ever seen a one-trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog
Making his way down the street
If you ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me

Then you've seen me
I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me
I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me
Bet I can make you smile when the blood it hits the floor
Tell me friend, can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more

Have you ever seen a scarecrow
Filled with nothing but dust and wheat
If you ever seen that scarecrow then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man
Punching at nothing but the breeze
If you ever seen a one-armed man then you've seen me

Then you've seen me
I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me
I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me
Bet I can make you smile when the blood it hits the floor
Tell me friend, can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more

These things that have comforted me I drive away
This place that was my home I cannot stay
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display

Have you ever seen a one-legged man
Trying to dance his way free
If you ever seen a one-legged man then you've seen me
--------------------------------------
Simple but effective ballad that speaks to a feeling of weariness. I haven't seen the movie, but apparently it's about an aging wrestler who's a failure everywhere but the ring.

I'm not normally a fan of Bruce Springsteen, but I'm really digging this new album.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Went to see TSO in concert a few days ago. Phenomenal show. Probably half the setlist was from their upcoming release Nightcastle. Just...unbelievable. Angus Clark kneeling on the stage mock-stabbing his guitar was quite the scene.

Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody

Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody

This time
I wonder what it feels like
To find the one in this life
The one we all dream of
But dreams just ain't enough
So I'll be waiting for the real thing
I'll know it by the feeling
The moment when we're meeting
Will like a scene
Straight off the silver screen
So I'll be holding my own breath
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me like that
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own
And everyone wants know they're not alone
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me out there

Tonight
Out on the street
Out in the moonlight
And dammit this feels too right
It's just like deja vu
Me standing here with you
So I'll be holding my own breath
Could this be the end
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me like that
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own
And everyone wants know they're not alone
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me out there

You can't give up
(When you're looking for)A diamond in the rough
(Because you'll never know)When it shows up
(Make sure you're holding on)Cause it could be the one
The one you're waiting on
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own
And everyone wants know that someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me

'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own
And everyone wants know they're not alone
There's sombody else that feels the same somewhere
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me out there
Nobody wants to be the last one there (When you're looking for)
'Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares (Because you'll never know)
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere (Make sure you're holding on)
There's Gotta Be Somebody for me out there
---------------------------------------------
First single from Dark Horse, their new album due out November 18th. Was originally supposed to be "If Today Was Your Last Day" but that got scrapped. Apparently this new album is "dirtier" with more "adult content like Animals." Yay. I can hardly wait. Not.

Nickelback is THE pop band. Infectious music and lyrics that everyone on the planet can relate to. Everyone. I don't care who you are, there's a Nickelback song for you. Yeah, they're a boyband that rocks out. They still write fun relatable music.

Second chorus makes me think, no matter how hard I try not to, of looking around at the massive expanse of stadium surrounding me.

So As I Don't Go Forgetting...End Of The Summer

Theory Of A Deadman - End Of The Summer

Here we are
At the end
Say goodbye
To all of your friends
Here we go
Watching the sun go 'round
Sitting on a rooftop
Making time stop
I never wanna come back down
I never wanna come down

It's the End Of The Summer
It's the end of it all
Those days are gone
It's over now
We're moving on
It's the End Of The Summer
But we'll see it all again
So hold onto this moment till then
It's the End Of The Summer

Here we stand
In the middle of an empty street
Tell me where you wanna go
I'll tell you "that's where I wanna be"
Say goodbye to the warm breeze
We could be almost anywhere
I'll miss you
'till the next time
I hope I see you there
I hope I see you back here

It's the End Of The Summer
It's the end of it all
Those days are gone
It's over now
We're moving on
It's the End Of The Summer
But we'll see it all again
So hold onto this moment till then,
It's the End Of The Summer
End Of The Summer

Ride's almost over
It's getting colder
Take one last look
Before it passes by
Before it passes you by

It's the End Of The Summer
It's the end of it all
Those days are gone
It's over now
We're movin on
It's the End Of The Summer
But we'll see it all again
So hold onto this moment 'till then
It's the End Of The Summer
It's the end of it all
Those days are gone
It's over now
We're movin on
It's the End Of The Summer
But we'll see it all again
So hold onto this moment 'till then
It's the End Of The Summer
It's the End Of The Summer
------------------------------------------
Ice cream and gifts.

Summer ended for me the same way it began - walking home, wondering what comes next. I'm not the one leaving, but I feel like I'm boxing part of my life and putting it in the attic.

This summer was so messed up for me. Started off wondering what kind of mistake I'd made, how I was going to make this work. First it became tolerable, then wonderful, the heartbreakingly better, and now...

Now I don't know how I'm gonna deal with things going back to the way they were.

Black Label Society: Just Killing Time

I sit reflecting
I feel the end has begun
It seems my days now mirror the setting sun
So many places that I have been
This ride that was long
Seems so short in terms of now and then

For all that has been
And all that is
All that's to be
Lord, I'm Just Killing Time
And time's killing me

Dead man breathing
Just taking up space
Calloused and weathered
Like the lines on one's face
Dead man breathing
My conscience is bare
The lining of my soul is torn
Yet I no longer care

For all that has been
And all that is
All that's to be
Lord, I'm Just Killing Time
And time's killing me

(solo)

For all that has been
And all that is
All that's to be
Lord, I'm Just Killing Time
And time's killing me

(solo)

-----------------------------------
It seems contrary to what I just posted, but this song really resonates for me right now.

When you're racing a clock, the urgency, the need to beat the deadline infects everything you do. You're evaluating everything you do in terms of how it can advance your position ahead of the clock hands. Minor distractions, annoyances can seem earth-shatteringly frustrating, and God help your sanity if something doesn't turn out exactly according to plan. You can be driven up the wall with a feeling of "must do something, can't do anything." Your need to move, to win, can cause you to abandon some of your self-control, change your judgment, to make bad decisions. Every wait, every meaningless moment that you pause knaws at your mind, angers and saddens you.

The lines "I'm just killing time and time's killing me" have been bandied about songwriting for decades. That's 'cause they're what sticks to the wall. Everyone can identify with that sentiment, can find some place in their life where it's true. Combined with Zach's gruff voice and the beautifully haunting guitars, that perfect sentiment has finally found the perfect expression.

Sixx A.M. - Life Is Beautiful

You can’t quit until you try
You can’t live until you die
You can’t learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie
You can’t breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you’re the joke
There’s nothing like a funeral
To make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry
At my funeral

I know some things that you don’t
I’ve done things that you won’t
There’s nothing like a trail of blood
To find your way back home
I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral
To make me feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry
At my funeral

(guitar solo)

(spoken)Alive
Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry
At my funeral(/spoken)

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry
At my funeral

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry
At my funeral
--------------------------------------------
I think the last song I posted here was Sixx A.M.'s Accidents Can Happen. Funny that. I posted that at the end of just about the darkest day I'd ever had, and now here I am posting more Sixx A.M. at the end of one of my greatest weeks.

I really, really fear to hope. Always have, probably always will. I don't like getting let down, and that's happened a bunch. Somehow though, things are working out, and better than expected. Whether its fate or karma or my own sheer cussed persistence, things are going the way I want. Perhaps I should take another look at this hoping thing.

Just open your eyes
And see that Life Is Beautiful

Sixx A.M. - Accidents Can Happen

Don't give up
It takes a while
I have seen this look before
And it's alright
You're not alone
If you don't love this anymore
I hear that you've slipped again
I'm here 'cause I know you'll need a friend

And you know that Accidents Can Happen
And it's okay
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away

Take some time
And learn to breathe
And remember what it means
To feel alive
And to believe
Something more than what you see
I know there's a price for this
But some things in life you must resist

And you know that Accidents Can Happen
And it's okay
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away

(guitar solo)

I hear that you've slipped again
I'm here 'cause I know you'll need a friend

And you know that Accidents Can Happen
And it's okay
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away
You know that Accidents Can Happen
And it's okay
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away

So don't give up
It takes a while
----------------------------------------------
Don't know why I'm posting this song tonight. What I did wasn't an accident. It's six months in the planning. This just feels like the best song for me tonight, even though there are tons better that I'll be posting.

I quit my job today. I've been working there 2.5 years, I love my work, I get paid decent, and the people there are the only friends I have.

This summer I'm taking an internship and classes at school. Goal is to graduate in December, and this is the only way to do that. The only cost is all my friends and $5000 worth of income, and that pales in comparison to the friends.

I set this up, planned this out with the possibility of become better friends with the people I care about. Strengthen the friendships through distance, and I now see I was more than likely wrong.

It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away

Lifehouse - Hanging By A Moment

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm Hanging By A Moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now...

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm Hanging By A Moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just Hanging By A Moment here with you

There's nothing else to lose
There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world
That can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you....

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm Hanging By A Moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just Hanging By A Moment here with you

Just Hanging By A Moment (here with you)
Hanging By A Moment (here with you)
Hanging By A Moment here with you
--------------------------------------------
Exactly four weeks, twenty-eight days from now, I will have made the what I believe will have been the biggest mistake of my life. Bigger than not turning around 3 minutes earlier on my last day of work. Bigger than never asking "her" what her name was, and that's probably the single most galling mistake I can remember.

I don't know what I'm going to be doing, twenty-eight days from right now. Walking home? Running, trying to outrun my decision? Maybe just talking on the phone, and trying to explain this to a person I'm going to owe an explanation to? Part of me wants to walk across the street to the home of an old friend, and take her up on her long-ago invitation to get roaring drunk.

I suspect I'll be sitting here, like I am right now.
Typing.
Having made the smart decision.
Done the right thing.

I'm manipulating the situation right now. Doing everything I can to spin this in my favor. I ran a "long con" once, spent over a year manipulating a situation into one perfect lie that made me feel like crap, saved my brother's relationship with the rest of the family, and screwed up something I had wanted for a long, long time.

I've been planning this since January. Putting the pieces together, figuring out the angles, manipulating the people involved. If I can pull it off, this is going to be the greatest thing I've ever done, and will end perfectly for me. I WANT to do this. It's time for a change, to shake things up, and this is the ONLY way to get what I want.

It does, however, involve some loss of control. And I know what I'm going to do - not what I want to do, I'm going to do what I've always done. The smart thing, the nice thing, the right thing. And I'll hate it, and I'll live with it.

This song rings true for me in several ways, and a couple of lines really stand out to me:

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
...
Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
...
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into

Son of a...this all sounds so emo.

Damn it, I don't care.

27 days to go now.

Lyrics Double Header: Johnny Cash - What Is Truth

The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What Is Truth?"

A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What Is Truth?"

A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What Is Truth?"

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What Is Truth?"
------------------------------------------------
My brother made a mixtape when he was six. I remember sitting on the duplex living room floor picking out songs with him. We put it together from my dad's old records, big records from cardboard boxes, singles from plastic cases. That tape persisted for the longest time, I think the last time he played that he was fifteen or so. Tape's been a part of my life for the longest time, and this was, I think, the second song.

The reason I post this tonight is because I'm wrestling with a question very close to the premise of the song. Not "What is truth?" but "What is our duty to the truth?" Do we have an obligation to tell the truth, a duty to be exercised at all times? Is it worth destroying relationships for? When a person is unredeemable, does telling the truth even matter? Can a person ever be unredeemable? What is truth worth, at what point is the human cost not worth it?

And when I close my laptop and sit here, staring off into the darkness, I'll remember sitting on the living room floor with my brother. And I'll hear Johnny Cash saying "What is truth?"

Lyrics Double Header: Johnny Cash - Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you Hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you Hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
-----------------------------------------
Yeah, I know, it's not Johnny Cash, it's Nine Inch Nails. Yeah, I don't care. I only listen to the Johnny Cash version.

The music video is touching. It shows him eating and drinking, alone, surrounded by wealth, remembering his life on the road, and more importantly, his wife (who'd recently passed away).
It's desolate and sad and it really is the picture of a man at the very end of his life. Very sad. I think, watching it now, that he would've given everything he had, and everything he'd ever been, to have his wife back again.

The way the song is played, it's completely haunting. Just that guitar, the piano, and his voice, all building to this crescendo at the end. It's relentless, just keeps driving. Meanwhile, the video goes into overdrive showing scenes from his life interspersed with scenes of crucifixition. Strange, but it works.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Snow Came Down

A railway station
On a long forgotten line
No destination
But it always leaves on time
He buys his ticket
As the train prepares to leave
Don't want to miss it
On this night Christmas Eve

He stared into the night
No expectations
He watched the world go by
Without a sound
He saw the city lights
Arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The Snow Came Down

No conversation
As the snow fell from the sky
His consolation
That the world is well disguised

He stared into the night
No expectations
He watched the world go by
Without a sound
He saw the city lights
Arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The Snow Came Down

He stared into the night
No expectations
But in his heart he wanted to believe
That somehow someone would be waiting there
Upon this Christmas Eve

And when his train it pulled into that station
He saw there was a single pair of tracks
Within the snow and leading to that Station door
And he followed those steps back
And on this night of our salvation
Where dreams that have been lost
Can there be found
They walked away together
On that Christmas Eve
While all that night
All that night
The Snow Came Down
--------------------------------------------------
The song is about a lonely rich man who's been set up to meet his old girlfriend at a trainstation. He doesn't know this, he just knows to be there at a certain time. His train arrives at he sees her footprints in the snow, and they are reunited on Christmas Eve.

I love this song. The anguish with which the singer describes the man's journey is heart-wrenching. The instrumentation is incredible, little musical...I can only describe them as bookmarks...are hidden throughout the song, little repetitions that are so cool to find. And the writing is superb - I love how the end of the song is just the chorus rewritten multiple times. TSO has always had a way with words, going back to their Savatage days. They're some of the best wordsmiths in music.

December 10th has a very special meaning for me. Something that changed my life - sort of - happened on December 10th 2 years ago. This very day, 2 years ago. I've written it up, maybe someday I'll get around to telling y'all about it.

Last year, I believe it was on this date (but if it wasn't, I beg your forgiveness, I suck at remembering dates), a similar scene happened with me as described in the song. Falling snow, Christmas music, waiting to see Her.

Unlike the song though, She wasn't there.

Rod Stewart - No Holding Back

I'm probably dating myself here, but I VIVIDLY remember when the album this next song is from (Vagabond Heart) came out. That were a LONG time ago.

A friend of mine called up
Said "I finally had some luck
Could I have a minute of your time
I met a girl last night
And try as I might
I can't get her off of my mind
She walked through the room and right then I knew
I finally found somebody for me
But to tell you the trut
I don't know what to do
Should I go ahead or wait and see"

I said "Give it all you got
No Holding Back
Let a light in your soul
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than to never love at all
Than to never love at all"

Now I'm the kind of guy
Who's normally quite shy
On romance I don't know a thing
But when she led me to the floor
I'd never danced before
Suddenly my feet had wings
I know that she wants me
I want her too
But I'm so confused I can't think straight
I feel so alive but on the other side
Should I go ahead or should I wait

I said "Give it all you got
No Holding Back
Let a light in your soul
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than to never love at all
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than to never love at all
Than to never love at all"

So when the music starts to flow from your hearts
Like the coming of an early spring
When the river starts to flow
Between you soul to soul
May no man ever come between
Die in her arms if she wants you to
Be thankful for each passing day
When your eyes collide
Let your spirits fly
And pray to God it's here to stay

And I said "Give it all you got
No Holding Back
Let a light in your soul
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than to never love at all
Give it all you got
No Holding Back
Let a light in your soul
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than to never love at all
Than to never love at all
Than to never, never love at all
Ain't it better to lose in love
Than never love at all
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Short answer is no. Looks like we've got time for the long answer. Hell no.

Bon Jovi - Walk Like A Man

He said 'sit down son, we gotta talk'
I said 'it’s my life, I’m gonna do what I want
I’m not gonna crawl, I'm gonna walk
Walk right out that door'

He said 'I used to be a lot like you
Theres nothing you’ve done that I didn’t do'
I laughed and said 'Dad I’m bullet proof
We’ve been through this before'

I couldn’t believe it
There was a tear in my old man’s eye
When I was leaving
He tried to say goodbye
He said

Stand tall when you stumble
Stay proud when you’re humbled
The lessons you learn won't be the ones you plan
Every step up that mountain
Will be more than worth counting
But when you walk through the valley
May you Walk Like A Man

I’ve seen a couple of miles on a gravel road
Been taught a couple things that I didn’t know
Now I even got a kid of my own
Starting to sound a lot like me
I learned a little thing called sacrifice
Given up on dreams, lost a couple fights
All anybody wants is a better life
And something to believe

Stand tall when you stumble
Stay proud when you’re humbled
The lessons you learn won't be the ones you plan
Every step up that mountain
Will be more than worth counting
But when you walk through the valley
May you Walk Like A Man

(guitar solo)

I couldn’t believe it
When the tears came to my eyes
It isn’t easy
Standing on the other side

I said 'sit down son, we gotta talk
Hey it’s your life, you’re gonna do what you want
I won't say crawl before you walk
Cause I heard my old man in my mind saying'

Stand tall when you stumble
Stay proud when you’re humbled
The lessons you learn won't be the ones you plan
Every step up that mountain
Will be more than worth counting
But when you walk through the valley
May you Walk Like A Man
And when you go on without me
Walk Like A Man

Walk on

(guitar solo)

-----------------------------------------------------
Fantastic song. In an age where fathers (and men) are denigrated and derided as outmoded, stupid, lustful, and out of touch, and honor is no longer considered to be worthy of a second's thought, it's nice to hear a song about a meaningful father/son relationship that imparts some profound wisdom.

Reminds me of my dad. He told me on a car trip once:"Don't worry about making people happy. What other's think of you doesn't matter. Your mom and I, not so much. Anybody else, not at all. What matters is what you think of yourself."

May we all have the courage to walk like men.

Brian McFadden - Demons

Have you ever been lost in a different world?
Where everything you once knew is gone
And you, find yourself powerless
With everything that exists
You’re numb

Will I ever break free?

I search my world but I can’t find you
You’re standing there but I can’t touch you
Try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I’m a stranger
Paralyzed and you don’t seem to care
The Demons in my dreams

If you become a nobody
Blind, to your family
Who would you be?
And life has gone into reverse
Re-living every hurt along the way

Everything that you fear
Is calling you and drawing near

I search my world but I can’t find you
You’re standing there but I can’t touch you
I try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I’m a stranger
Paralyzed and you don’t seem to care
The Demons in my dreams

Wake me up and let’s go
I’m about to explode

I search my world but I can’t find you
You’re standing there but I can’t touch you
I try to talk but the words are just not there
I can feel a sense of danger
You stare at me like I’m a stranger
Paralyzed and you don’t seem to care
The Demons in my dreams


The real video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSeHmAUt9Rc
The Lost video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtkX4FUrJQ

Love this song. Very atmospheric. An interesting communication of the feeling of missing someone.

John Lennon - Imagine

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
-------------------------------------------------
John Lennon was one sick puppy. Pretty song, but this is like that dreadful 60s tune Share The Land, except that this is one of the most influential songs of all time. I offer it as proof positive that John Lennon was either a depraved individual or whacked out of his head on some really fun medications.

An absolutely hateful song. I wish it had never been written.