If I Had A Soundtrack To Life, It Would Go Something Like This...

For a blog post last year, I took a cue from Esquire magazine’s feature “Things I’ve Learned” and wrote about 38 things that I had gotten out of life to that point.

This year, I’m going a different route and sharing some song lyrics that would probably best suit my life…although I know that I’m leaving out many songs (some due to the mental slippage of old age, others because I can’t possibly put an entire song’s lyrics down…lol...that would take up way too much space), I figure that these are the ones that best represent me…they’re in no particular order so enjoy…

*This is the first quote I put in a journal after a relationship had come to a bitter end…and yes, I find that I did know how to pick up the pieces…eventually we all do*

“Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now- do you know how
Pick up the pieces and go home”

--Gold Dust Woman, Fleetwood Mac

*I remember hearing the first on the radio when it first came out (late 70s)…it always stuck with me and still applies…no matter what, if the situation isn’t working, you need to stop playing the game and walk away…the second just reiterates the fact*

“You always said, the cards would never do you wrong
The trick you said was never play the game too long”

--Still The Same, Bob Seger

“So go do what you like
Make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self doubt
Means nothing was ever there
You cant go forcing something if its just not right”

--When I Come Around, Green Day

*Just something meaningful below from one of my all time favorite songs*

“This city desert makes you feel so cold It's got so many people but it's got no soul And it's taking you so long To find out you were wrong When you thought it had everything”

--Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty

*This one’s pretty much how everyone should feel…find those that you appreciate in life and who reciprocate…true people will stick by you…and just be who you are*

“But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along
So if you cannot take my hand
And if you must be goin'
I will understand”

--Make Your Own Kind Of Music, Mama Cass

*The following are for when I feel lost…to remember where I came from and where I’m headed*

“Well it really don't matter much where you are
Cause home is in your heart
It's a feeling that you wake with one day
Some people keep running all their life
And still find they haven't gone too far
They don't see it's the feeling inside - the feeling inside”

--We Said Hello Goodbye, Phil Collins

“I'm just followin' my heart girl And it's followin' the sun. Lookin' for an answer I know may never come But I gotta chase my dreams girl Like a river to the sea Got to find a rainbow That's waitin' there for me”

--Born To Wander, Rare Earth

“When I think that I’m moving
Suddenly things stand still
I’m afraid cause I think they always will
And I’m looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I’m looking to know and understand
Its a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I’m almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle and
Sometimes I’m deep in despair”

--Looking For Space, John Denver

“Who knows how long this will last
Now we’ve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us”

--The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley

“That one last shot's a permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings
Life's a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings”

--Amazin’, Aerosmith

“Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I started out for God knows where
But I guess I’ll know when I get there”

--Learning To Fly, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

*The next ones are just there to help when I’m feeling down, trapped or frustrated*

“Kathy, I’m lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why”

-America, Simon & Garfunkel

“When I’m deep inside of me
Don’t be too concerned
I wont ask for nothin’ while I’m gone”

--Honesty, Billy Joel

“Why in the world would anybody put chains on me I've paid my dues to make it Everybody wants me to be What they want me to be I'm not happy when I try to fake it”

--Easy, The Commodores

“Seems I got to have a change of scene
Every night I have the strangest dreams
Imprisoned by the way it could have been
Left here on my own or so it seems
I got to leave before I start to scream
But someone's locked the door and took the key”

--Feelin’ Alright, Joe Cocker

“Been down so long
I been tossed around enough”

--Second Hand News, Fleetwood Mac

“There are times when all the worlds asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am”

--The Logical Song, Supertramp

“Oh, I've got something inside me
Not what my life's about
'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me
Over 'til my time, runs out”

--Taxi, Harry Chapin

*Some when I get tired of bitching about things and realize that you just have to take chances or make the changes…*

“Inside your heart
It's always raining
And you're oh so tired
Tired of your own complaining”

--That’s Not Love, Keb’ Mo

“Surely there must be a way
For me to change the shape I’m in
Dissatisfied is what I am
I want to be a better man”

--(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman, The Kinks

“One more chance to find the higher ground
One more chance before the curtains down
One more night to turn your life around again”

--Don’t Hold Back Your Love, Hall & Oates

“If time has taught me anything
You’ve got to learn to be the ball
And I can’t keep from laughing at it all”

--Nobody’s Fool, Kenny Loggins

“Living his life one day at a time And showing himself a pretty good time Laughing about the way they want him to be”

--Arthur’s Theme, Christopher Cross

“But there’s one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me wont defeat me
It wont be long till happiness steps up to greet me”

--Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, B.J. Thomas

“I made it through the rain
I kept my world protected
I made it through the rain
I kept my point of view
I made it through the rain
And found myself respected
By the others who
Got rained on too
And made it through”

--I Made It Through The Rain, Barry Manilow

*Some are work related…lol…but some can apply to anything…*

“We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”

--Hotel California, The Eagles

“Half life
Fake your claim
Falling asleep and waking up is the same
Half life
And half dead too
Work is for suckers and the sucker is you”

--Half Life, Local H

“I forsee terrible trouble
And I stay here just the same”

--Dirty Work, Steely Dan

*A few just are perfect in regards to the ideal relationship…*

“In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway
To a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution
Of all the fruitless searches”

--In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel

“I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float into the mystic”

--Into The Mystic, Van Morrison

“And I imagine you and me
Just taking shots at what we see
And if we falter
Shake away the dust
And just outlast them all”

--Whatever We Imagine, James Ingram

*Some relate to other people…*

“The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today
And black's white today
And day's night today
When most guys today
That women prize today
Are just silly gigolos”

--Anything Goes, George Gershwin/Cole Porter

“Men go crazy in congregations
They only get better
One by one”

--All This Time, Sting

“For unless they see the sky
But they cant and that is why
They know not if its dark outside or light”

--Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, Elton John

“You’re amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
while you can only wonder why”

--Common People, Pulp

*One just for fun…*

“And don't spend your time lookin' around
For something you want that can't be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true
The bare necessities of life will come to you”

--The Bare Necessities, The Jungle Book

*This one fits everyone I think…*

“What is the point of this story
What information pertains
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly
Into our hearts
And our brains”

--Train In The Distance, Paul Simon

*Just feeling nostalgic here…*

“I wanna go back
And do it all over again
But I can't go back I know
I wanna go back
Cause I'm feeling so much older
But I can't go back I know”

--I Wanna Go Back, Eddie Money

*And just when you thought you had it all figured out…probably my favorite lyric of all time…*

“Lay my head on the surgeon's table
Take my fingerprints if you are able
Pick my brains, pick my pockets
Steal my eyeballs and come back for the sockets
Run every kind of test from A to Z
And you'll still know nothin' 'bout me”

--Nothin’ ‘Bout Me, Sting

Hope everyone enjoyed the songs! ;)