Why, Hello. Let Me Inundate You with a Long Post.

Song of the Day: Only Human by Tim McGraw feat. Ne-Yo

Alex Fletcher: It doesn't have to be perfect. Just spit it out. They're just lyrics. 
Sophie Fisher: "Just lyrics"? 
AF: Lyrics are important. They're just not as important as melody. 
SF: I really don't think you get it. 
AF: Oh. You look angry. Click your pen. 
SF: A melody is like seeing someone for the first time. The physical attraction. Sex. 
AF: I so get that. 
SF: But then, as you get to know the person, that's the lyrics. Their story. Who they are underneath. It's the combination of the two that makes it magical.

[from Music & Lyrics]

Ever have this debate with someone? I get into it all the time with my husband. Practically on a daily basis, as he only ever listens to the music, giving a bit of afterthought to the words after the 50th time listening to it. I am somewhat similar in that I mainly listen to the sound the first time, with few exceptions. But if I like what I hear, I listen to it again later, and pay attention to mainly the lyrics. There are those few songs that rivet my attention from the first note, that I instinctively love the sound of, where I HAVE to listen to the words at the same time. Most songs, though, like the one above, follow Plan A. To me, music is to lyrics as bread is to sandwich fillings, or as the cover is to the pages of the book: the music is the vehicle to deliver you the substance, the lyrics.

I wish I could say Only Human was one of those songs. We were driving home on Christmas night when we popped in Tim's Emotional Traffic album that my favorite mother in the whole world gave to me. Now, Tim McGraw is my favorite artist, hands down. He's a mellower-sounding country artist who is very versatile; he's done songs with Faith Hill (who is his wife, lucky man), Jo Dee Messina, Kenny Chesney, Def Leppard, Nelly, and Ne-Yo, among others. He's also dabbled in movies like The Blind Side. His voice is amazing. I love baritone/bass voices, but let's face it, falsetto is where it's at. I (now) have every one of his albums. ...To leave the bunny trail, here is my album listening process:

1. I let every song play through, making a mental note of the ones I like based on music and/or the lyrics I catch.
2. When I'm on my computer next (and remember), I pop it in and listen to the noted ones, this time mainly for the lyrics. Rip the ones that I still like and load them to the mp3.
3. If there's any in particular I really like, put them in my playlist on my desktop. Listen to while on the computer.

Only Human made the first cut, because I liked the sound. Then Ne-Yo hopped in and confused me, so I had to turn on the car overhead light to see who on earth was singing and blind the driving hubby and all that fun stuff. Investment.

So I get the CD into the 'pooter and listen to it again. The lyrics then grabbed my eardrums and haven't let go. Within a week, Only Human ousted She's My Kind of Rain (also by Tim McGraw) as my new favorite song. At least I'm consistent, right? The reason why: the song reminds me of myself and what I go through.

The kiss that never happened, the call that never came 
The hurt you masked by laughin', the one that got away 
It's all in a day of emotional traffic 
Stranded, broken and tragic 

Chorus:
Finding out you're only human is hard 
I wanna change the world but I don't know where to start 
And I am fool enough to believe there's hope among the ruin 
Finding out you're only human 

I tried to touch the sky and fell right to the ground (and I fell right to the ground) 
Did my best to fly but I just kept falling down 
So many hopes and dreams shattered 
Expectations broken and battered 

Chorus
 
Human enough to forgive, human enough to embrace
All there is
And I am fool enough to believe, to believe
There's hope among the ruin

Chorus

See, here's the thing. I catch myself all the time, in my head at least, acting out a 'savior complex': feeling the need and/or desire to be someone else's savior, if you will, through various means;  at the least, a good influence in their life. Not that it's a bad desire to be a good person and be there for the ones you love; of course that's good. I mean like somehow being a magnet for troublesome people (according to society) and trying to be what they need, so they see that life isn't really all that drab and unfair. Which you might think, "Gee, that still doesn't really sound all that bad", but it leaves you pretty vulnerable to getting hurt emotionally. It's also kind of a power thing. The way my daydreams end up panning out, the save-ee (??) is usually eternally grateful and such. Or I at least stop crimes and deaths from happening, or convince leaders to get along, or persuade someone to not chop down endangered plants and such. Ambitions, I has dem. It takes some pulling on the reins to realize that I can't do that all by myself.

Enter next point: another aspect of the song that describes me is the chorus. When you continually put yourself through above experience, you realize that you're only human. I daydream about such stuff so often that it's not even hard to realize I'm only human anymore. Although it's a noble thing to want to do, change the world one pessimist at a time, it's a lot of emotional turmoil. It sounds like I'm pessimistic too, but the way I'm thinking, I can really only be a catalyst; God has to do the work of changing their heart.

So, if you don't change the world that way, then how do you do it? Cue tons of answers: donate time/resources to organizations X, Y, and Z; hand out food to the homeless; become an environmental lawyer, translate the Bible into new languages; buy goats and chickens from those Christmas catalogs to be sent to African families; pay for a single mom's tank of gas; pray; etc. The entire list would wear out your already-tired-from-reading-this-post eyes. The list is probably so overwhelming that, if you're like me, you don't know where to start.

The good thing is, if you're still like me, then kept hope. The world continually tells us that there is none. Global warming is going to melt the ice caps and we're going to drown. China is going to take over the U.S. when we can't pay our debts. Someone is going to start a nuclear war. Technology is turning children into sloths. Obama is still in office. You know, that sort of thing. Yes, I agree that we live in a world that is in shambles (and sorry, Obama is not the reason; it takes a lot more than one man with a few executive powers to create a mess). I also say that there is still hope. Humans can create a royal mess rather quickly, but we can also clean one up. Maybe not as quickly, but it can be done. It takes effort from everyone.

Thoughts? If you still have non-fried brain cells left? Can you tell I've been waiting to write this for awhile?

~OHAA