So I absolutely love this song! My father is a huge Kansas fan so it was always played in my home. This is me.
So enough with Supernatural let’s get back to the song.
Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas
So this song has been around long before Supernatural although I’m sure that is what most people now associate it with.
So my parents grew up in the ’70s and were big music fans, in fact my mom was a disco queen. Anyway, I got a lot of info on this song from my dad, as since he was around then he knew all the skinny on what was happeming in the music scene.
So when Kerry Livgren was writing Carry On Wayward Son, not only was he and the group under pressure from the studio but he was struggling with his own spirituality and religion. He felt there had to be something more, but didn’t know what. In 1979, Livgren became interested in The Urantia Book, a series of papers that claim to be a series of revelations written by supernatural beings. He later rejected the teachings, and once again found himself at a loss. Kansas went on tour with another band, Louisiana’s Le Roux, and he and one of the members, Jeff Pollard, would debate over what was the truth. Urantia or the Bible. Livgren ultimately was convinced by Pollard and became a Christian.
Livgreen wrote the piano, guitar, and the amazing lyrics. I just love this song as it just captures so much emotion of hope, despair, confusion, etc.
Now doesn’t that make its connection to Supernatural even better? I mean the whole theme of Supernatural is about these two brothers trying to figure out the what God, angels, demons, etc. all means. Trying to figure out their place in the world.
They actually weren’t going to use the song as a theme it just sort of happened. And its perfect as Dean and Sam Winchesters are from Kansas.
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Ah
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I’m dreaming,
I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don’t know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I’m like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune,
But I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more no!
Carry on,
You will always remember
Carry on,
Nothing equals the splendor
Now your life’s no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry,
Don’t you cry no more,
Isn’t that so painful? It made me think of this other quote:
And it made me the next song in our heartbreak countdown
7) Love Stinks by the J. Geils Band
Now this has always been one of my favorite songs, even before my break up. I think this is just a fantastic song as everyone can connect to it; no matter what age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or musical preference. Yep, this song crosses every boundary as all have been hurt by love.
It is one of the most famous songs by The J. Geils Band and was released in 1980. It has been covered numerous times, the most known and famous being Joan Jett, and Adam Sandler in the movie The Wedding Singer. The song was also featured in the films Love StinksandMr. Wrong.
There is no real analyzation needed as the lyrics are just a rant against love. The lyrics were inspired by J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf’s marriage to actress Faye Dunaway.
You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can’t win
And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It’s gonna make you cry
I’ve had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
Two by two and side by side
Love’s gonna find you yes it is
You just can’t hide
You’ll hear it call
Your heart will fall
Then love will fly
It’s gonna soar
I don’t care for any casanova thing
All I can say is
Love stinks
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
I’ve been through diamonds
I’ve been through minks
I’ve been through it all
Love stinks
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
My fav is always going to be The Wedding Singer though.
That’s right folks, its a another song in the heartbreak series. So after the initial sadness of a breakup, there is the anger that its over, only to have sadness come back, taking root in none other than the Heartbreak Hotel.
Day 5) Heartbreak Hotel
So this is a famous Elvis song, as I don’t really need tell you, I’m sure you know. The song was written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton. The song in itself is sad but the story behind it is even sadder. The lyrics are actually based on a suicide of a man who jumped from a hotel window. How horrible.
The single topped Billboard‘s Top 100 chart for seven weeks, and became Presley’s first million dollar seller, even going double platinum. It became a staple of Presley’s repertoire in live appearances, and was last performed by him on May 29, 1977 at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
Heartbreak Hotel recieved many awards through its lifetime: in 1995 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time“; and included it in their list “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”.
So the whole song is about a “Heartbreak Hotel” that is open for those who have recently had their heartbroken and need to be around others who are miserable to help them through it. It’s kind of that misery loves company deal. I liked listening to it, because it felt like others understood your suffering and were there for you.
Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
It’s down at the end of lonely street
at Heartbreak Hotel.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
And although it’s always crowded,
you still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
do cry away their gloom.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
Well, the Bell hop’s tears keep flowin’,
and the desk clerk’s dressed in black.
Well they been so long on lonely street
They ain’t ever gonna look back.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
and you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
to Heartbreak Hotel.
So if you remember my post back in Dec, I’ll Be Alright Without You, I talked about creating a post that listed my favorite songs to help one get over heartache/a breakup; namely what songs really helped me. Well previously I wasn’t in the best place to do it, but now that it has been like eight months since we’ve broken up I’m doing great and can totally handle it.
At least for the most part, like Audrey says in Sabrina, even if you are over things certain songs can bring back memories.
The other reason that I have decided to do this list is that I just had a friend go through a breakup and was really struggling, so I promised to put together a compilation for her that helped me through everything.
So actually instead of doing them in all one post, I decided to do a series of posts, weaving them through everything else, so that it isn’t one straight sobfest. I mean imagine trying to storm through constantly sad things?
After all:
So that brings us to the first song on this list
1) If It Means A Lot to You
So when my ex and I first started dating he gave me a bunch of CDs to listen to. And one of them was this CD by A Day to Remember. It was pretty fitting as I was away from Michael and a lot of the songs expressed how I felt about us being apart. In fact I used to listen to this song all the time pre & post-breakup. (I’m not sure if that is romantic or pathetic? Hopefully romantic) So the series is a little scattered, not all songs focus on being “homesick”, however If It Means A Lot to You does. I actually think it is the most powerful song on the whole list, and my favorite (as I connected the most to it).
This song took me the longest to write. It took almost a year, but it was another song that kinda stumped me. I really needed this song to say exactly what I wanted, and I finally got it there. We didn’t know if it would be on the record right up until the end of recording. I wrote it separate from the band, and I wasn’t comfortable changing things. It all worked out in the end, though. I think it’s the perfect end to this record.
– Jeremy McKinnon
So the premise of the song is that a guy has to be on the road away from home, and while he doesn’t want to leave his girlfriend, he has to go. He talks about how he knows things are hard and getting rough, but if she could just wait a little longer then he knows everything will be okay, that they will be able to work through everything. She, however, can’t wait. She can’t do it and breaks up with him. It is a heartwrenching song and even more so because it described EXACTLY how I was feeling.
So the song starts off with the guy singing to the girl that he hopes everything is going well with her and that he just needs to hear from her, anything to get him by the time they are apart. This was totally how I felt, because a few weeks before we broke up Michael stopped texting and calling me. I would ask him when he was free to talk/skype as I missed him and he would tell me he was “busy” ,”didn’t know his schedule”, etc. I mean I found some texts that I thought I deleted, but my phone saved (grr) and its pretty pathetic my responses. “Well just let me know when you are free, I miss you” and “Okay we can try to talk later”, etc. I’d like to say aliens momentarily took over my brain, but that’s not true. It’s hard to accept that someone you cared for and cared for you has just stopped liking you. You kind of go into denial about it. Of course I know now that I’m in my right mind, I should have seen the signs. After all:
So back to the lyrics and the song
And hey darling,
I hope you’re good tonight.
And I know you don’t feel right when I’m leaving.
Yeah, I want it but no, I don’t need it.
Tell me something sweet to get me by,
‘Cause I can’t come back home till they’re singing
La, la la la, la la la, Till everyone is singing
The next part is all about how he knows that if she can just wait a little longer, that he knows everything will work out and be okay. I wasn’t originally going to go home for Thanksgiving break as my aunt was getting married and my whole family was going to the opposite end of the state to do that, and Michael said he couldn’t get the time off to join my family. I however convinced my parents to take me home instead of right back to school as I wanted to see him, as I too thought that if he could wait until I got home we would be able to work through whatever was going on. That everything would be okay.
If you can wait till I get home, Then I swear to you that we can make this last. (La la la) If you can wait till I get home, Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past. Well it might be for the best.
So then we have the girlfriend’s response that she just can’t do it anymore, that she needs him. As much as I hate what she does to the guy at least she gave a reason for why she was breaking up, I just got the “I don’t think you’re my future bride” response, which was like pulling teeth trying to get him to say anything why he broke it off.
And hey sweetie, Well I need you here tonight, And I know that you don’t wanna be leaving me Yeah, you want it, but I can’t help it. I just feel complete when you’re by my side, But I know you can’t come home till they’re singing
La, la la la, la la la, Till everyone is singing. La, la la la, la la la.
If you can wait till I get home, Then I swear to you that we can make this last. (La la la) If you can wait till I get home, Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past. Well it might be for the best.
So in the next part she tells him she can’t wait its over. And he freaks out, like is this really truly happening? How can this be my life? Let me say that everytime I hear that part my heart stops just like when Michael said he wanted it to be over.
And he is in shock at how this can acutually be happening. Yep, I felt that too. And just like the singer in this song, I did not want to be “just friends”. I personlly don’t believe and can’t understand how one can go from being so much more to “just friends”? How can you watch the person who just rejected you pick up their life and move on, while you sit in heartbreak and try very slowly to work past the pain? I sure don’t know.
You know you can’t give me what I need. And even though you mean so much to me, I can’t wait through everything, Is this really happening? I swear I’ll never be happy again. And don’t you dare say we can just be friends. I’m not some boy that you can sway. We knew it’d happen eventually.
La, la la la, la la la, Now everybody’s singing. La, la la la, la la la, Now everybody’s singing. La, la la la, la la la, (If you can wait till I get home) Now everybody’s singing. La, la la la, la la la, (Then I swear we can make this last) Now everybody’s singing.
La, la la la, la la la, (If you can wait till I get home) Now everybody’s singing. La, la la la, la la la, (Then I swear we can make this last) Now everybody’s singing. La
Now some of you may be wondering why I started off with such a sad song instead of a more empowering or forget you song. Well I believe that you need to allow yourself to grieve the end and that listening to something sad helps make things get better.
So even though this song (and Hey There Delilah) still make me sad as the feels are just so much, it was still hepful listening to this over and over to help voice my feelings about the breakup.
So that’s the first of many songs, and they do get empowering, you just have to wait for it.
So as I have mentioned in past posts, I love the film Sleeping Beauty. I loved the characters, (I wanted my own Prince Phillip); the music, the artistic style, the story; everything.
In fact my very favorite character of all time was Aurora. I just loved her character so much. Now I know a lot of people don’t like her and think she is lame, but you know what she was actually pretty cool.
1) First of all she was separated from her parents and had to grow up with people who didn’t really know how to do normal things.
I joked that Merryweather probably made everything, but now that I think about it, Aurora was probably the one who had to do a lot of cooking. This means she was very level-headed, modest, and had a frugal mindset. She also was going to be an awesome ruler as she actually know what it is like to be a peasant and can help those in her kingdom.
2)She is very smart. When she meets Prince Phillip, he’s trying to hang out with her and she is like, “No, I don’t know you.” In fact what she does is very smart, she invites him to her house to meet her “aunts” right away. This way she won’t be off alone with him.
3) She accepts her reality pretty quickly. When she finds out that she is actually a princess and has to get married and rule the kingdom, she deals with the news pretty well. I mean she does cry, but she handles it much better than me. I mean she could’ve totslly pulled a Princess Mia and take off, but instead dutifully accepts her crown and role in life.
4) Plus I just love the story of her and Prince Phillip. Here she has been dreaming about a type of guy for-ever and it actually comes true. She meets the man of her dreams and the two dance the time away in the forest.
Yep, I just love how sweet the two are. 🙂
Plus:
In fact it was the last fairy tale produced by the studio until The Little Mermaid (1989). It took over ten years to get everything done and was the second-biggest grossing film of 1959, just behind Ben-Hur(1959).
Well, that’s it. This is the end of our 30 Days of Disney. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and that it reawakened your love for Disney.
janeaustenrunsmylife 