“THAT’S ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT MUSIC. YOU CAN SING A SONG TO 85,000 PEOPLE AND THEY’LL SING IT BACK FOR 85,000 DIFFERENT REASONS.”
Lyrics are more than just the words that accompany a song. Sometimes they seem quite meaningless, and often times they are, but more often than not you will find that they are deep metaphors and usually trying to tell us a story about life. Lyrics are essentially poetry set into motion. They mean something different to everyone. They are interpreted by everyone differently. I had the opportunity to ask some of the staff here at NRG what their favorite lyrics are and why they have had such an impact on them. I found that I gained some valuable insight from doing so and I hope you will to. Here are the staff picks for favorite lyrics…
“I have these lyrics from a song called When You Died by a band called The Menzingers. The part that I selected is the chorus and then the last little part:
What I like about these lyrics is that he’s asking himself these questions, trying to understand why somebody so good could die and why not so good people get to stay alive. He knows he’ll never understand it, but he can’t help but fear the fact that he’ll never understand it, but he knows he’ll never understand it. So, it’s just kind of this terrible loop that we find ourselves in when people die. It’s about not knowing and just accepting that you’ll never know. The fact that it happens and everyone knows that it happens, but nobody knows why. It gives emotion to that. I also have another one I want to share entitled No Room In Frame by Death Cab for Cutie. It’s off their latest record and from the second verse into the chorus. It goes like this:
These lyrics tell the story of the demise of a relationship that was once great, but is no longer great. One person is being pushed out of the relationship amidst trying to keep it together. The other person is not putting in the mutual effort to keep the relationship going, so it’s falling apart. It is a hopeless situation. That last line I really like. I interpret it as him predicting that this exact same thing is going to happen again for them, with other people. It’s just really about accepting that although they are ending this relationship, another one will begin, and the same problems will recur.”
– Kyle McAulay, Staff Engineer
“My favorite lyric is this lyric from the song Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac:
The whole song is about this witch named Rhiannon who literally has the ability to fly. When they ask about who will be her lover, to me, it’s like they are questioning who is man enough to be with a witch? I find that I can relate to this song because I am a free spirit and being that I am a free spirit, I find it difficult to find someone who is the same, or at least a lover who can handle it. So, I think this song depicts my life the most out of any lyric. Another lyric which is similar in context is Witchy Womanby The Eagles:
I’ve always been one of those people who just jumps to something and I think there is magic in that. It’s actually how I got this job. I was recommended so I did a phone interview, and then I flew out the next day. I want to take advantage of everything and I don’t want to miss out on anything. So, I feel very witchy.”
– Jillian Burnett, Studio Manager
“I actually thought about this for a long time because I usually don’t focus much on lyrics. I focus on the composition, the beat, the vibe, and that’s how I judge songs that I like. However, there is this one song that I always sing, and it’s Swing Life Away by Rise Against. The lyrics just hit home for me. He’s basically just checking up on his girlfriend saying “Are we still doing this?” Life goes on, it’s such a routine and if you don’t check yourself and where you are in regards to the relationship it kind of falls apart. There’s one line specifically that I like:
That’s such a powerful line to me because love is work. From personal experience, I know how much work it is and I know that you’re going to have to slave until the end of your life to make it work. It’s worth it, though.”
– Kyran de Keijzer, Executive Assistant
“Having given it much thought, I have to go with Stop This Train by John Mayer. I think it’s a song we can all relate to because it gives us a medium for the sensation that life is fleeting. As we keep getting older, life seems to get faster and faster and we are unable to slow down the pace of life. I think what’s beautiful about the song is that it provides that understanding. The lyrics that I love most from the song are from the second and third verse:
It’s so haunting and so true. Especially, for me because I’m at this point in my life where I’m sort of approaching a quarter life crisis. So, it just speaks to that emotion of wanting to slow down life. Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. The older we get, life just seems like it goes by faster and faster. I also think he does a really good job at matching the lyrics to the music because if you listen to the song, his guitar rhythm kind of emulates a train track. Those lyrics really speak to my state of mind at this stage in my life.”
– Jacob McCaslin, Video Editor
“Majority of my favorite lyrics come from Rascal Flatts songs due to their motivational and inspirational nature. After my father passed suddenly, I found a lot of strength in the lyrics of their songs. My father was the type of man who lived his best life. He is the only one of his entire family to ever leave their small island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. He jumped a ship in Philadelphia and never looked back. Although he visited his family in Cyprus regularly, he made a life for himself in America out of nothing and even started his own business that he named after his father. After he passed, I gained a greater perspective from his life. My favorite lyrics come from the song When The Sand Runs Out from the album “Feels Like Today.” The chorus of that song is great, but I especially love these two lines at the end of the second verse:
I am the kind of person who believes that everyone should live their best life and that is exactly the message of this song and the message that I embody. I will never understand people who are content getting by doing the bare minimum in life. It’s disrespectful to me, it’s about respecting the life that we are given. To be a conscious, living organism on planet earth is God’s gift to Earth. We are God’s gift to earth. We all have the capacity to serve a greater purpose, our higher purpose and to really contribute to this wonderful community. Everyone deserves to live a life that is abundant and fulfilling, and everyone is able. Life is full of choices. I choose to live my best life day in and day out. To me that means being kind, loving, forgiving, present, and grateful, counting my blessings, cherishing my family & friends, taking care of myself, dreaming big, taking risks, and learning and accomplishing all that I can. Life is so short, so frail, and so precious. There is so much to experience while we are alive and well and so much you can do. Don’t take that for granted. Live your best life. Leave your mark.”
– Sophia Kamouyerou, Brand Ambassador
“My favorite lyrics come from American R&B singer/songwriter Jhene Aiko. She has a new song out right now called New Balance and the lyrics go like this:
This song in general just speaks to my soul because it seems to tell the story of what I imagine it to be like when you finally find the one. The whole time you’re searching for that person that you’re supposed to be with and then they come out of nowhere. It’s so fresh, it’s so new and it’s like a new balance is going on inside of you, hence the title of the song. You’ve found that person that you can finally have a real live connection with despite all the stuff you went through in your past and in your prior relationships. This one person trumps all of the hurt that you went through. If you listen to the song and listen to the vocals you will find that through the vocal production and arrangement, you’ll find it takes you on a journey. The song is very powerful, especially if you’re searching for love, yearning for love, or wanting to be with someone and you finally get that person. That’s one of the reasons I connect with this song, because I am one of those people who, like most people, is searching for the one.”
– Christopher Winston, Brand Ambassador
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