Favorite Rock ‘n’ Roll Quotes

Music is therapy, but rock music is high octane healing. Not only is it meaningful, but it helps us process our experiences in powerful ways. Rock ‘n’ Roll has accompanied me through some troubled times. Perhaps the hardest thing to endure is deception, but when you must endure it from a person you love, it can be debilitating. One of the things I love about rock music is its honesty. It tells it straight.

I prefer lyrical music over strictly instrumental music because lyrics give it greater depth and more dimension. Furthermore, a well written rock song is a thousand times more ennobling than almost any church hymn. Great rock songs preach powerful sermons that don’t make you wish that you were fishing instead. Traditional hymns mostly teach us to wait on God to set everything right; rock hymns teach us to set things right ourselves.

I have selected ten quotes taken from great rock songs. I present them in no particular order. This list is far from exhaustive, but as you read through it, you may notice some common veins.

 

Be good to each other, okay?
-taken from City on Down by O.A.R. (link)

This isn’t actually a song lyric, but rather an introduction to the song in the live version recorded at Madison Square Garden. I love this line because not only does it demonstrate the peaceful nature shared by many rock artists, but also because the sincerity of the request led the audience to exclaim, “Okay!” I respect people who use their influence to spread peace.

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.
-taken from the same titled song by Neil Diamond (link)

The song was originally popularized by the Hollies, but Neil Diamond’s is the most soulful version that I could find. This line is an example of the figure of speech called a paraprosdokian which wikipedia defines as “a figure of speech in which the latter part […] causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part.”  I’m a sucker for clever ways of saying “be good to each other, okay?” Also according to wikipedia, the quoted line comes from an 1884 anecdote published by James Wells in his book The Parables of Jesus. A little girl carrying a child who was large in comparison to herself tells a stranger that she’s not tired because, “He’s not heavy; he’s my brother.”

I’d walk with my people if I could find them.
-taken from Deep Inside Of You by Third Eye Blind (link)

This song is about the extreme emptiness that results from giving everything you have to a relationship that doesn’t work out. Perhaps you’ve given it some of the best years of your life. They’re gone now and there’s nothing you can do to regain them, because you wrapped them up in hope and buried them deep inside of the person who just walked away. And speaking of walking, now that she’s gone, you’d walk with your people if you could find them but you can’t because they moved on with their own lives while you busy building something that you believed in. If only all hearts broke at once, then perhaps we could find each other again.

You bleed just to know you’re alive.
-taken from Iris by Goo Goo Dolls (link)

This song was written for the movie City of Angels. It’s about an angel that sacrifices eternal life to experience human love. Shortly after the transformation from angel to human being, his love is taken in a tragic accident. Although we (most of us anyway) haven’t fallen from angel status, we all experience pain so acute that we go numb. Sometimes we even engage in dangerous or ill-fated behaviors just to see if we have any control over our own lives. Are we simply playing out a script? Sometimes we bleed to find out.

All you need is love.
-taken from Love Is All You Need by the Beatles (link)

On a lighter note, this song reminds us that love is the most essential ingredient to life. I’ve often taken great comfort in observing that despite how odd someone may be, if he keeps trying, if he keeps putting himself out there, he eventually finds someone who loves him back. Sure we need oxygen, food, water, and a few other essentials, but without love none of those things matter.

The Nile used to run from east to west.
-taken from Spaceman by The Killers (link)

On the surface this song is about an alien abduction, but on a deeper level it’s about the confounding experiences of life and the difficulty making sense of them. Even when we exert great focus, meditation, and prayer, sometimes the answers we receive contradict our experiences. Sometimes people claiming to represent God eagerly give us answers and we struggle to make any sense of them. In this song, the subject addresses his GPS equipment for guidance and it informs him that “the Nile used to run from each to west.” What in the hell does he do with that information? He can clearly see with his own eyes that the river runs south to north. Does he trust his senses or his sensors? “The spaceman says, ‘everybody look down; it’s all in your mind.’”

I’m only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me.
-taken from Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five For Fighting (link)

Superman and Jesus are members of the same archetype. For instance, they both came from other worlds, were endowed with great powers, were raised by stepfathers, struggled to find their places in the world, and used their special gifts for the benefit of mankind. So, what does a man with great power need for himself? Only the same thing that we all need,… to find the power within ourselves to face and conquer our own inner challenges. In this song, Superman finds no joy in flying like a plane nor in being the larger-than-life hero who saves the day. He really needs someone with whom he can be vulnerable. He needs to find inner strength, more than outer strength, to bend steel beams.

And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but ‘hallelujah.’
-taken from Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (link)

This song is about a toxic relationship. After all, what could be more messed up than the story of Samson and Delilah, which the song references. God granted Samson great strength. He loved Delilah, but she used his love to discover his weakness and to exploit it to his ultimate demise. In this song, a man laments a love turned sour which once moved both him and his lover so powerfully. Instead of attacking her and making excuses for his own shortcomings, he has decided instead to focus on the goodness and grace of God. He was alright before her, and he’ll be alright again. Sometimes we forget that this life isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about doing it wrong, a lot, learning, and having nothing but praise on our tongue for the wonder of it all.

When you run into my arms
We steal a perfect moment
Let the monsters see you smile
-taken from Life Is Beautiful by Vega4 (link)

Life is full of ups and downs, but we never know when either will occur. Even when we experience good times, occasionally there is this ominous feeling that “the monsters” are preparing to strike. It seems like there are powerful forces working to separate us from our happiness. This quote reminds us to enjoy the good times and not to give into fear. Heartbreak and sorrow will occur, but we’ll hold on to each other anyway. “Life is beautiful. Our hearts – they beat and break.” The sorrow teaches us to value joy all the more.

If the children don’t grow up…
Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
We’re just a million little gods causin’ rainstorms,
Turnin’ every good thing to rust.
-taken from Wake Up by The Arcade Fire (link)

This song is kind of depressing, but I love listening to it anyway because it reminds me of the magical age of childhood. When we were young, we were anxious to grow up, but if only we could maintain that childlike optimism and joy then the world would be a happier and prettier place. Instead of being a million little gods turning good things to rust, let’s be a million little gods creating beauty and preserving the native good within us. We can and ought to protect children, but the only way to do that long-term is to protect the beauty of the child within ourselves.

Ariel Hammon
Author of JACK