In about seventh grade if you asked me who my favorite artist is and/or my favorite songs (not necessarily by that artist) I would've told you that I love Taylor Swift, especially "Teardrops on my Guitar," "Sparks Fly," Love Story," and almost every other song on her "Fearless" and "Taylor Swift" albums (however, not all of the songs). I loved her style which was more country than pop and this was probably the first real exposure I had to any artist that could be remotely considered a "country singer." Another favorite artist I had in seventh grade was David Archuleta.
Ninth and tenth grade brought a love of Kelly Clarkson, Christina Perri, and P!nk (Pink). If I started a list now of all the songs of these artists combined that I liked during this time it would take forever and wouldn't even scratch the surface of songs that pop on the radio that I haven't heard in a very long time and all of a sudden squeal with joy over how much "I love this song!" Just this last year has also brought a renewed love of old Taylor Swift songs that I haven't listened to for a long time as well as an admiration for songs written by Rachel Platten and Alex Boye.
Now, the songs that I love the most and can relate to more are, "Just Like Fire," by Pink, "Sit Still, Look Pretty," and "Hideaway," which are both by Daya, and "You Can't Win" by Kelly Clarkson. These four songs are going to be the main subject of a couple different posts, spaced out across this blog, posted at different times because if I talked about all of them in one post, no one would ever read the post.
For today, I'll start with "Just Like Fire." The first time I heard this song and recognized how amazing it is was when the credits started rolling on "Alice Through the Looking Glass." It gave me goosebumps listening to it that day. I realize that everyone will have a different reaction and experience depending on the song and genre, which I respect. But this song is very empowering. Some of my favorite lyrics are,
"And I'm walking on a wire, trying to go higher
Feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars..."
"Just like fire, burning up the way
If I can light the world up for just one day
Watch this madness, colorful charade
No one can be just like me any way
Just like magic, I'll be flying free
I'mma disappear when they come for me..."
"So look I came here to run it
Just 'cause nobody's done it
Y'all don't think I can run it
But look, I've been here, I've done it
Impossible? Please
Watch I do it with ease
You just gotta believe
Now, I will explain why each part of this song relates so much. The first stanza copied above, "And I'm walking on a wire, trying to go higher..." Everyone has had a time in their life where there is a lot of pressure and for my that time is now (and if you haven't had a time like this yet, watch out--it's coming). That line ends with, "Feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars," which I relate to Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye who feels surrounded by a bunch of phonies, or people pretending to be something they're not. Sometimes it feels like there is no one to talk to, surrounded by phonies or people who pretend to care and/or understand when they don't. How do you trust people like this?
The next stanza talks about "lighting up the world for just one day" which I would interpret as making your mark on the world, as small or insignificant as it may seem you might as well go out with a flash bang, doing something to impact those around you (hopefully for the better). We all have our own madness and it is unique to each and every one of us like Pink says, "No one can be just like me anyway."
The third stanza above is probably my favorite part (probably mainly because it's fun to sing or rather say). To rephrase it in my own words, "I came here to make some changes, just because no one else has managed it doesn't mean that I can't, you think I can't but this isn't the first time I have faced a challenge. Impossible? Please; step back and watch me do what you can't."
I love this song because it's about life and how crazy or hard it can be and if you stick through it, it'll be fun showing off your skills and your talents, just enjoy the ride because life is shorter than it seems but so worth it, even with the really, really hard patches.
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