Keep, keep, keep
Keep pushing this higher
I've been living uptight
(Take it easy right now)
Like a moth to the fire
Like I'm losing this fight
(Take it easy right now)
From the day we're born
We are scarred and torn
We've been scared to sing out loud
But we don't care no more
Because we know life is short
We don't care who hears us now
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it out
Let it out
Got, got, got
Got me walking on a wire
Got me shaking at night
(Take it easy right now)
When my soul gets tired
Feel like I'm losing that fight
(Take it easy right now)
Come on, let it out.
Are you holding on?
Are you up against those ropes?
Cause I know how it feels to lose hope
Are you holding in?
Well come on, let it out
Take a breath and let it out
Behind the Song:"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?"
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
On our tour this fall we have been showing the movie as our opening act. After the movie, during our set we take the time to answer a few questions from the audience. Last night, in Colorado, we had the following question: "Any advice for a musician who knows he's supposed to play, but is not sure how it'll pan out."
The question is not an uncommon one. Love, (even the love of music!) is a risk for all of us. What does the future hold? The fact is, none of us know "how it'll pan out." The fear of failure exists because it's a very real possibility. I was reminded of Robert Frost's thoughts on poetry.
"In each line, in each phrase the possibility of failure is concealed. The possibility that the whole poem, not just the isolated verse, will fail. That's how life is: at every moment we can lose it. Every moment there is a mortal risk."
So why continue? Why sing at all? Your fears are real. You will fail. Not always, but sometimes. The critics will continue to earn their employment. Not only this, but sometimes the critique will come from the inside. Your friends and family will not always understand you.
I sing because of joy. For me the joy far outweighs the risk of failure. Joy is the motivation for my songs. Even in a song of anger, or mourning the loss of a friend- I find joy in expressing the isolated seas within me- bringing them to the surface with a melody or a word. Often the communal experience that exists when we play our songs live, finds its beginnings in lonely, isolation.
--
Jon Foreman