Something I Need
I hate one
republic.
Wait.
Wait.
I spoke to soon, let me rephrase.
I actually love one republic.
One moment please, that’s not what I’m getting at, so let me try again.
I hate that I love one republic as much as I do.
Yes, finally, that’s what I have been trying to say all along.
One
republic’s music is great. They don’t have a particular sound which makes it
difficult to confine them to a single genre, the lyrics of their songs are
incredible, most of their videos are very interesting and yet I seem to have
a problem with the band, why is that?
The problem
I feel lies in the fact that their songs make you think, they make you want to
get up and do something.
I have been
very honest with the posts on this blog, but the stupid things that I have done
after listening to their songs are secrets that I will carry to the grave.
Not the
grave maybe, but definitely to my deathbed atleast.
Alright,
alright. I’ll give you one example.
The song ‘I lived’
is one my favorite songs by the band. The words are basically a calling to the
people of the world to do the best that they can with their life, its good
advice. But for a man completely unaccustomed to running with 5 minutes left to
catch a plane which was just about to leave the gates it meant doing everything
physically possible to try and make it.
Spoiler
alert.
The man
slips and falls right next to the gate, he coughs uncontrollably trying to
catch his breath surrounded by a crowd incredibly paranoid about swine flu and yes, the
plane leaves.
Ok, so the
song doesn’t literally ask people to do silly things, but that’s what I’ve been
trying to say, one republics music tends to have that affect on people.
‘Something I Need’ is a song from the their album ‘Native’.
While the
song itself is beautiful, it’s the music video that this month’s blog post is
dedicated to.
Let’s start
from the beginning.
We see a man
sitting on a park bench reading a book very intently. Standing close by is a
very pretty girl feeding the ducks in the pond. She waves at the man who
initially can’t believe that the girl is interested in him but after a while he
gathers himself and starts walking towards her.
Before he
reaches her though, he sees a giant, angry looking dog that chases him down the
street and leaves him badly injured.
Bleeding and
bruised he makes his way to a newspaper stand and reads about the dog which turns out to be a rabid animal on the loose. The girl appears again. This time
he almost holds her before the Alsatian comes roaring back at him. He struggles
to fight the dog back but he doesn’t break loose and the dog prevails.
The video
now cuts to the funeral service.
Our hero is
lying in his coffin, and weirdly enough he is still holding on to the book he
was reading initially.
Someone, presumably a close friend or a relative walks up to him and takes away the book.
Someone, presumably a close friend or a relative walks up to him and takes away the book.
The girl
appears again holding the dogs on a leash and she lets them loose.
The dogs dig
into our hero, but he doesn’t resist (he can’t, he’s dead remember) but surprisingly, he is brought back to life.
He smiles as
he awakens to seeing the girl and the video ends.
You can
watch the complete video by clicking on the link below.
To me, the
young man represents a every other person in the world with an apparently
impossible dream, the book he holds on to is like a set of rules that he has
made for himself over the years that are serving as a roadblock to going after
what seems to be ‘out of his league’. The dogs stand for his fears that he
harbors inside which threaten his very existence and show up every time he
decides to take a step towards changing his life.
Instead of
standing tall and facing his fears he runs away whenever he is confronted by them
and his fears eventually consume him.
Even in
death he holds on tightly to his little rule book, till someone comes and
forcibly snatches it from him. To me this scene symbolizes all the people in our
lives who work tirelessly to remove the curtains from our eyes and help us see
things clearer.
With the
book gone and no other option left but to face his fears the young man realizes
that what he thought would kill him actually ends up breathing life into him.
Like the man
in the video it’s not uncommon for us to hold ourselves back from doing
something that could make a major difference in our life because of our doubts
or fears, but the truth is that many of these uncertainties are often founded
on rules and policies that we make up for ourselves that don’t lead us anywhere
but keep us from going after something that could potentially make us happy.
If there is
something in the world that you feel you need, you must go after it with
everything you have. You may encounter fears of all different kinds and shapes,
some real some made up, but the truth is that you are always bigger than your
fears, no matter what.
And I guess
what the best part of going ‘all in’ even if you fail is that you will find something
invaluable in exchange, which is closure, and you will never have to look back on your
life and wonder what should’ve, would’ve or could’ve been.
Don’t run
from what scares you, if you do you’ll never stop running. Stand tall and face
them, and you will realize they have no power over you or your future.
Until next
time.
TGV.
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