Tuesday's Top Ten - Song Lyrics That Describe Me

"And you can tell everybody this is your song." - "Your Song" by Elton John

Anyone who has read my blog probably realizes that I love music. Today I thought I would share the top ten song lyrics that I feel describe me the most. Even if the whole song doesn't quite respresent me, if one or two lines mean enough, I will count it as one of my songs. Here we go!

1. I've got an Irish name and an injury/ A blessing and a curse cast down on me. - "Red At Night" by The Gaslight Anthem - This song could have been written about me. The things about myself that I feel are my biggest blessings can also be curses, and this song has a great way of showing that you can have the blues and still be hopeful at the same time. The first time I heard this song I had to immediately repeat it several times, just listening in awe. This really is my song.

2. Give me the fevers that just won't break/ And give me the children you don't want to raise. - "Bring It On" by The Gaslight Anthem - Brian Fallon did it again, he wrote another song that resonates very strongly with me. There have been several times in my life where I have taken care of children whose parents did not know what to do with them, did not spend time with them, and in the worst cases, did not want them. It kills me every time. I would gladly take those kids if I could, and I would also take their pain if I was able to so they wouldn't hurt so much. Bring it on.

3. The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned/ The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand. - "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan - I have written about this song before, but I have to include it because it fits me like a glove. I went about my formal education backwards, university for a year, transferred to a community college, took time off, went back, took time off, went back, and eventually graduated. Plus, I learned way more working and learning on my own than I ever did in a classroom. This song is kind of my anthem.

4. When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school/ It's a wonder I can think at all/ But my lack of education hasn't hurt me none/ I can read the writing on the wall. - "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon - Before my backwards college education, there was a crappy high school education, if you could call it that. It wasn't all bad, but for the most part I got nothing out of it, educationally speaking. I'm okay though, I rose above my public school education, and even do okay answering Jeopardy questions. And I rock at Trivial Pursuit. Success! ;)

5. Sometimes I'm up, Lord, and sometimes I'm down/ God's gonna trouble the water/ Sometimes I'm almost level with the ground/ God's gonna trouble the water. - "Crush" by The Horrible Crowes - Another masterpiece by Brian Fallon (part of his amazing album, "Elsie", with guitarist Ian Perkins), with lyrics adapted from a couple of old gospel songs. I can feel these words in my soul. I tend to be a very extreme person. I'm either way, way up, or very down, and the line "sometimes I'm almost level with the ground" is me at my worst. Going back to #1 on this list, my extreme emotions are both a blessing and a curse. I would much rather feel too much than not enough, but it can be a rough way to exist in this world too.

6. Come writers and critics/ Who prophesize with your pen/ And keep your eyes wide/ The chance won't come again/ And don't speak too soon/ For the wheel's still in spin. - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan - As an aspiring writer, these lyrics really strike a chord with me. Bob's words also remind me to seize the day, don't let opportunities pass you by because that might be your only chance, but don't rush into things. I made the mistake when I finished my first novel of submitting it to agents right away, way before it was ready, and I have now learned to finish out the process, complete my editing, and let the creativity flow until the words and story are as perfect as I can get them. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is a great reminder of what I need to do and what I have already learned along the way.

7. For twenty nine years we loved that line/ And I would take it easy if I had your mind/ But I'm a cannonball to a house on fire/ And you're slow like Motown soul. - "The Spirit of Jazz" by The Gaslight Anthem - Yes, a fourth Brian Fallon song, but I can't help it, his music is that meaningful to me. These lyrics dscribe how I can't take it easy, even though I would like to sometimes, and how my mind always feels like it's ready to explode from too many thoughts and ideas racing through it. I'm just not a calm person, but that's okay. I wouldn't be me if I were "slow like Motown soul". That's such a cool line!

8. But it don't snow here/ It stays pretty green/ I'm going to make a lot of money/ Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene/ Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on. - "River" by Joni Mitchell - I love snow and it rarely happens around here. The lines in this song about making a lot of money and quitting this crazy scene hit a nerve with me too. I don't think I will ever be wealthy, but I have dreams of making enough money writing where I don't need to do anything else but create more books, articles, and poetry. And sometimes I, like everyone else out there, just wish for an escape, a river to skate away on.

9. Now we see everything that's going wrong/ With the world and those who lead it/ We just feel like we don't have the means/ To rise above and beat it/ So we keep on waiting/ Waiting on the world to change. - "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer - This one surprised me, because John Mayer is one of the last artists that I thought would ever write a song I could relate to so much (I am not a fan), but he did. I have always been troubled by the things that are wrong with this world, the injustices that people face every day, but like the song says, how can we beat it? The Baby Boomer generation changed the world so much, with the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Lib, all of the protesting and amazing, inspirational music that came out of the Vietnam War era, but what has Generation X done? Man, I really hate that name. It's like we don't even know where we belong or what we're doing. And maybe we don't, because there is still a lot of change that needs to happen, but how?

10. And I don't really care if you think I'm strange/ I ain't gonna change. - "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - No, I never had a bad reputation, but I have also never cared what anyone thinks about me. If someone doesn't like me, fine. If they do, that's great. I'm not one to go along with the crowd, agree because I'm afraid to disagree, or try to be "normal". I like being different, a non-conformist, and voicing my opinion, even if I'm all alone in my beliefs. I'm not going to ever change that either.

So, do you have any song lyrics that fit you to a tee? Do you share any of mine? Drop me a comment and let me know. Thanks for reading! :)

The Horrible Crowes "Elsie" review - 5 Stars!

"I remember everything at night/ Every breath of this house's creaking/ I'm familiar with the cold and the windows and the doors/ And the sound of my heart beating/ Beating in and out of time." - "Behold the Hurricane" by The Horrible Crowes

I know I don't normally give reviews, but today I couldn't resist. My sister says I am obsessed, and maybe I am, but hopefully you'll check out this record and understand why.

Chances are you haven't heard of The Horrible Crowes, the side project of The Gaslight Anthem's frontman, Brian Fallon, along with his good friend and guitar tech Ian Perkins. But you should. To quote William Miller in "Almost Famous" (best movie ever!),"The guitar sound is incendiary. Incendiary. Way to go." Actually, this whole album is incendiary. From the slow, somber "Last Rites" - the perfect prologue to the record - to the poetic "Behold the Hurricane", to the astoundingly gritty "Mary Ann", a perfect combination of Bob Dylan meets The Clash with some gospel undertones thrown in. Then there's the breathtaking "I Witnessed a Crime", my favorite track on this album. I don't have enough words to give this song justice, and we all know I have a lot of words! There are the obvious Bruce Springsteen (think his solo stuff, like "Nebraska") and Tom Waits comparisons that Fallon's fans expect, but "Elsie" is a masterpiece in and of itself. As I said, incendiary.

This album is like a distant cousin of Gaslight's Springsteenian rock with a punk twist. Yes, there are similarities, like the lyrics that read like poetry but you still can't help singing along to, but "Elsie" is much deeper, more mature, and dare I say more impressive than anything Brian has done to date, and I'm saying this as a huge fan of TGA. I can't wait to see what Gaslight's new album will hold next year, and I hope Brian and Ian have plans for a follow-up to "Elsie" under The Horrible Crowes name, because the world needs music like this, songs that embody all of the emotions people feel but don't always know how to express.

In addition to the lyrics from my song of the day, here are a few more to show you that you need to check these guys out in case you aren't already convinced.

While I get my last rites/ Read by a thief. - "Last Rites"

Nobody else waits on you/ When your hands shake like the breeze/ When your mind is a permanent dream. - "Sugar"

I guess the moon had had it out for us/ And the night and stars, the same/ Everything she touched turned to stone or died, eventually/ Or was never seen the same again. - "I Witnessed a Crime"

I've been known to wear a fine black suit and a murder of a tie. - "Go Tell Everybody"

And lonely my sisters, could not describe/ All the good things gone wrong. - "Cherry Blossoms"

I heard a ghost in our willow/ Must've lost his lover somewhere. - "Lady Killer"

Sometimes I'm up, Lord, and sometimes I'm down/ God's gonna trouble the water/ Sometimes I'm almost level with the ground/ God's gonna trouble the water. - "Crush"

Never trust a stranger/ With a diamond on his tongue/ I taught you once, baby/ I thought by now you/ Would've known. - "Mary Ann"

My love, my love/ You're the sting of the scorpion/ Consider now, the angels/ A little lower than you. - "Black Betty and the Moon"

When my footsteps have hung in your hallways enough/ For you to be truly haunted/ When your blood counts its losses. - "Blood Loss"

I met you, in the upper room/ Of a house where I slept with the angels/ From Hell and from Heaven/ Some for haunting and some for guarding. - "I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together"