The Power of Song Lyrics

Even those who are shy to admit it have probably done it. Some of us have grown out of it. I have seen my own father doing it, and many of us love doing it when we get a bit tipsy, especially on holiday when nobody we know will see us.

Singing out loud, be it to yourself, in a mirror with a hairbrush, or a holiday karaoke (guilty of all charges) is something most of us have done at some point in our lives. You might have a song that is guaranteed to get you humming along in the car, singing in the shower, or, when on holiday with a bunch of girls up on the stage belting out Madonna's Vogue. I was a lot younger then, and now I tend to keep the singing between me, the family, and the neighbours. But the one common thread here is not the choice of outlet. It is music. Songs and their lyrics.

I am a member of a great facebook group, and Friday is poetry day. I am no poet, but I like checking in and seeing people's efforts. This week, I started reading one of the poems, and realised that I already knew the words. I couldn't remember from where, but the words were so ingrained in my mind that it took me straight back to my younger days when I was an angry teenager who listened to nothing but Guns and Roses. The song was Civil War, and even without the music the words themselves meant something to me, brought up memories of school camp, first boyfriends, and really bad dress sense.

Yes, the music counts, but now I am thirty two instead of thirteen, those words still take me back to a certain time, a certain feeling. All in the space of six words: Look at your young men fighting. When words are put together well they contain a certain kind of magic. 

But sometimes, even as a writer, there are other people that have already done it so well that it is their words that become a part of my life. Axl Rose's words are my youth, Sylvia Plath's poetry will always take me back to my A-Levels, and John Denver has been immortalised in the memories of my wedding.

So this time I will share another writer's words, and the video link is below if you want to see it exactly as it was intended. But it is not the music that has sunk itself into my life, rather it is the words of this song which will always take me back to an unforgettable moment in my history.

This one's for you bro xx

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I...

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you