Lyric Lover

I am a music lover! Honestly, don't know what I would do without it - seriously. But even more than being a music lover, I love lyrics. I fall in love with a song based on the lyrics. Lyrics are my poetry of choice. I have a few favorite artists simply because of their lyrical ability. One of them is Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. I think I could write a thesis on his lyrics. There is just something about the way he words things and his outlook on life in general that speaks to me. He can pack a 3 minute song with some of the post powerful lyrics you've ever heard.

I have mentioned before about how I would prefer to live in the past. I don't want to live in the past for any reason other than the fact that life was much more simple. I would prefer living in the 1950's or 1960's because of the way of life that existed then. I look around and see so much damage in the world today. It seem that people are just so much more careless and reckless. Obviously, I don't mean everyone- just in general.

Conor Oberst ties these two subjects together perfectly in his song, "Make War." In just a few lines he says everything there is to say about it... in my opinion. It really hits home with me every time I listen to it. He doesn't specifically make mention of the past, but he alludes to how quickly we let things change without even noticing and when we do - it's too late. I hope you'll see why I am so keen on Conor Oberst and his lyrics after reading them and giving it some thought.

"And so we've learned to be as faithless, 
stand behind bulletproof glass,
exchanging our affections through a drawer. 
And it was always horribly convenient
and happening too fast. 
You should count your change before you're even out the door.
Yes, you should"

I find these lyrics to be so powerful because they say so much about what we have become as a society. We walk around pretending  to be trusting and even go out of our way to be kind of our fellow man, but not without taking all the right precautions. Now, I'm not saying we should ever throw all caution to the wind and blindly trust everyone, but what kind of world has to have convenient stores lock the doors at night and put cashiers behind bulletproof glass? I am honestly lucky enough that my town doesn't do this just yet, but all the towns around me do. We can't trust that people aren't going to hurt us. We have taught ourselves to always have our guards up and we teach our children to do the same. That is just so sad to me. And what's even more sad is that the society we are live in actually breeds the kind of people that make these types of precautions necessary.

I think the most powerful line is, "and it was always horribly convenient and happening too fast." That sentence is so deep and thought provoking. We live in a world where convenience is placed above everything else. We're on the go constantly... so we ask how can we streamline life? Which in turn makes it more efficient but less personal? I'm not sure if that's the goal, but it sure seems to turn out that way. Our need to make things more convenient forces us to do things so quickly that I don't think we fully examine the consequences.

Technology plays a huge part in that, but it has, unfortunately, become a necessary evil. Social media has done almost as much to hurt this world as it has to help it. Some days I would argue it definitely has done more harm than good - even though I am so fond of the blogosphere? But that is too big a topic to discuss today.

I don't want to live in a world where we have to have armed guards at the schools and where every teacher has to have a gun in their desk. I don't want to live in a world where people feel the need to stockpile weapons.I want so badly to live in a world where we don't have to be nervous that someone is going to jump you at night. I want to live in a world where it's okay for the neighborhood kids to play outside until the street lights come on I want to live in a world where neighbors still speak, become friends, and actually trust one another. I want a world where it's okay to send your kid on their bike down the road to grandma and grandpa's house without having to worry. I long for a more simple time, when things weren't so scary. I long for the past - for a world that isn't so fast paced that humanity gets left in the dust.