Inspirational Song of the Week: Ho Hey by The Lumineers

Weekly I like to share a song that has inspired or comforted me at some point in my life. Sometimes they work over and over again and other times they are simply played at the right moment in time.

I really find Ho Hey by The Lumineers to be a catchy song. No matter where or when I am in my day, I will stop to sing along with it if I hear it. I have definitely been caught dancing and or singing in a store more than once. One day when I stopped to look at the lyrics this part really jumped out at me:

So show me family

(Hey!) All the blood that I would bleed

(Ho!) I don't know where I belong

(Hey!) I don't know where I went wrong

(Ho!) But I can write a song

While I cannot actually write a song, I do understand the other sentiments being espoused. I feel like I have done so many things "wrong" in my life and that I don't really have a sense of belonging anywhere. It's taken me a long time to realize that all those "wrong" have landed me where I am and it's a pretty decent place to be. 

I'm not materialistically wealthy, but I have a lot more emotionally and socially than I ever thought I would. My basic needs, as well as some of my comfort needs, are being met on a daily basis. I am able to give back to others what wasn't given to me and that has made all the difference. So, while I get this song, I now mostly listen for just the beat.

Is there a song that you used to really identify with that has kind of fallen out of favor with you?

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Inspirational Song of the Week: Someone New by Hozier

Weekly I like to share a song that has inspired or comforted me at some point in my life. Sometimes they work over and over again and other times they are simply played at the right moment in time.

Hozier burst into my musical reverie with "Take Me to Church" & seems to continue in his orbit. Currently I am adoring "Someone New". Many of his songs are romantic or sexual in nature and while that alone is usually enough to pique my interest, the poetry of the lyrics is what really does it for me. From this one I love:

I fall in love just a little ol' little bit

Every day with someone new

There's an art to life's distractions

To somehow escape the burning weight

The art of scraping through

My husband and I have often joked during of the harder times in our lives that as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered. While it was mostly true, the distractions in life make it pass more smoothly without driving away your partner. Scraping through life had its charm at one time and I remember the immensity of the emotions whenever we got to experience something different than the hum-drum that got us from day to day.

What do you think about this song? 

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Inspirational Song of the Week: Try by P!nk

Weekly I like to share a song that has inspired or comforted me at some point in my life. Sometimes they work over and over again and other times they are simply played at the right moment in time.

One of my longtime, favorite artists that I discovered myself (as opposed to music I grew up with played by others) is P!nk. I have been a fan since her first publicly popular song "There You Go." It's really fun to go back and listen to some of her older stuff compared to where she is now.

Hands down though, my favorite album is The Truth About Love. The songs on this album speak to me all the time. I had it on repeat for 4 or 5 months after it released! 

The song that keeps popping out at me though is "Try." While the video should come with a trigger warning for domestic/partner abuse survivors because it is very suggestive, it has beautiful choreography & P!nk's signature emotive performance. The chorus is my favorite part:

Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna die
You gotta get up and try, and try, and try

To me, I see this as a daily challenge. Life is tough & likes to take us down whenever it gets a chance. We just have to be willing to get up and rise above it all. The most important part about falling off a horse is getting back up on it. I find strength in the melody & hope in the lyrics of this song.

What do you hear?

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