Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Music that Moves Me: Nickelback

The radio or my iPod plays almost around the clock at my house. I love music - and I'm especially drawn into music with lyrics that speak to me. All kinds....sappy love songs, proud country ballads, even the occasional politically-charged rap tune. So from time to time, I'll share artists and lyrics I'm listening to.

Hot on my list of favorites is Nickelback. They have so many great songs with messages I could listen to everyday. In particular I think three songs are awesome: If Everyone Cared, If Today Was Your Last Day, and one of their newest, When We Stand Together. The last isn't widely available in the US, but you can download it in Germany.

Here are some of the lines from If Everyone Cared that sum it up:

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

Wouldn't it be great if everyone DID care? Loving, sharing, swallowing our pride... these remind me of the basic life lessons in Robert Fulgham's classic "Everything I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" (awesome book, I'll need to review that in another blog, in case you've never read it).

In If Today Was Your Last Day, Nickelback challenge us to examine the quality of our lives:

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

And part of the message in Nickelback's When We Stand Together is again reminiscent of Fulgham, who reminds us we should hold hands when crossing the street. Here are a few of their lines:

They tell us everything's alright
And we just go along
How can we fall asleep at night
When something's clearly wrong

When we could feed a starving world
With what we throw away
But all we serve are empty words
That always taste the same

We must stand together
There's no giving in
Hand in hand forever
That's when we all win
Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah
That's when we all win

These guys are fantastic musicians who've been rolling out chart-topping albums since 1995, so unless you live in a cave, you've probably heard their music on the radio. Next time, take a listen to the lyrics and be reminded to live a little better.

Update, November 2013
I won tickets to a concert on the Hits Tour with backstage passes from the local radio! What a fantastic treat!


1 comment:

  1. Little update on the most awesome luck: Today I won concert tickets from Radio Mülheim with a Meet & Greet - I am so incredibly excited!!

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