More digging through the old mp3’s on a nearly forgotten hard drive for today’s “song of the day”…
This is the first version of the song that eventually became Song #312: “Freedom”.
I include it here for “historical purposes.” It will probably never make it to a CD. An I will probably never play it live. It does capture a certain feeling I had a lot in 1985…
I was working in a title insurance agency owned by some lawyers who seemed delightfully, blissfully free of any inclination to do anything other than use their legal knowledge to scam the system and make as much money as possible. I was 25, married (and already miserable), and looking forward to (kind of gritting my teeth actually) my first child being born and surrendering my big dream of getting my music “out” (whatever that meant).
In other words I was depressed, anxious and pretty cynical.
From a linguistic stand point notice that I was literally programming myself for a “long road to where I want to be”. I mean, it’s good to have a goal but how we communicate our goals and visions to ourselves actually is a form of self hypnosis. The saving grace of this song is the very last line which is a challenge that I continue to throw down like a gauntlet to challenge myself and everyone I come into contact with: “It’s time we took the chance to be alive.”
I much, much prefer the more empowered version that became “Freedom”. However, the message here is pretty clear, we have choices every day about who we are becoming. If we don’t like what we are currently experiencing we all have the ability to start taking the steps towards more of what we want and less of what we don’t want. It may take longer than we want. It may be harder than we think we can manage. But it is possible. Really.
I dare you. No. I double dare you. NO! I DOUBLE DAWG DARE YOU to be truly alive today!
Try it. You’ll like it. :o)
Let me know how that feels ok?
And please don’t listen to this song more than once ok (just once for “historical purposes”)? Please don’t share this song. Let’s just keep this little gem of negativity between ourselves ok?
For the happy ending check out #312 Freedom
Please click the arrow to play:
It’s A Long Road
Song #74 | March 1985 | CD: Nope. not gonna happen…
“You can be what you want.”
They will tell you that a lot
And you never really know quite what to say
Except that someday we will see
Just what we’ve all burned out to be
And boy oh boy that will be quite a day
You can preach and you can swear
You can do strange things to your hair
You can even grow up to be a child
You can run and you can walk
You can write your name in chalk
On the concrete of the playgrounds of the world
Refrain:
It’s a long road
To where I want to be
To where I will be free…
You can kill or you can heal
You can give or you can steal
You can even go to jail to practice law
You can wheel and you can deal
You can try hard not to feel
You can drive your car into the reservoir.
Refrain:
You can laugh and you can cry
You can sell or you can buy
You can lose your name and soul yet still survive
And all that I have left to say
Is that we die a bit each day
And it’s time we took the chance to be alive…
Refrain:
Copyright 1985-2015 by Mark Shepard. All Rights Reserved.
photo – Copyright: slavapolo / 123RF Stock Photo