Gabrielle H
Period: 1
September 15th, 2011
Song Essay
“Well I know what’s right, I got just one life in a world that keeps on pushing me around, but I’ll
stand my ground…and I won’t back down.” –Tom Petty
You only have one life, and you don’t know how long it’s going to be. What do you want to do
with it? Will you give up at every challenge you face, or will you fight back and stand tall? I have
learned a lot about perseverance from the music I listen to, and it empowers me. I live my life to the
fullest and always give my best no matter what the circumstances. In life you can’t give up, when
the going gets tough, be tougher and push on.
I really like the song “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty. The song gets straight to the point of
never giving up. It is an encouraging song to listen to, especially when faced with a tough situation.
First of all, this song is about perseverance. For example, “No I won’t back down and I’ll stand my
ground.” He uses this line many times in the song to make the point of not giving up in life.
Secondly, Tom Petty says he won’t give up no matter what situation. For instance, “You can stand
me up at the gates of hell but I won’t back down.” Basically, he’s saying no matter what he’s dealing
with or how people around him act, it’s not going to affect him. Another good point he makes is
standing your ground isn’t always easy, but you just have to push through. A good example of this is
when he sings, “Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out and I won’t back down.” Life is going to be
hard but that doesn’t give you a reason to stop and quit. Lastly, I really enjoy this song and its
message is valuable, and I will continue listening to this song to encourage me not to give up.
The song “This is the Stuff” by Francesca Battistelli is one of my favorite songs. You will have
problems in life, and all those problems are for a reason, that is what this song is about. To start,
Francesca sings about the lame things that happen in life. For example, “I lost my keys in the great
unknown, and call me please ‘cause I can’t find my phone.” Let’s just face it, shit happens, but what
if it happens for a purpose. Maybe to help us grow and learn from our problems, rather than run
from them. The second thing that’s great about this song is remembering all the good things in your
life, instead of the bad, “This is the stuff that drives me crazy, this is the stuff that’s been getting’ to
me lately. In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I’m blessed.” She’s basically saying when
the hard times come, we forget about all the good things in our lives. I think it’s so great to think
about your blessings instead of your failures, personally, it’s a more positive outlook of life and
brings joy. Thirdly, this song talks about trusting and believing everything is going to turn out for
the better. “This is the stuff that gets under my skin, but I’ve got to trust you know exactly what
your doin’. Might not be what I would choose, but this is the stuff you use”. Having complete control
over everything in your life is impossible. Sometimes you just have to trust in stuff that’s out of your
control. I love this song because it encourages me when my life isn’t going as planned. It shows me
that my problems aren’t the end of the world, and they do serve some purpose.
“She said he said live like no tomorrow” -Switch foot. My favorite song of all time is “Gone” by
Switch foot. This song is about living as if today was your last day alive, as if you would die by
tomorrow. First off, this goes with the Carpe Diem theme of seizing the day, before it’s gone. For
example, “Don’t say so long and through yourself wrong, don’t spend today away, cuz today will
soon be gone”. This song emphasizes the idea of not getting in fights and holding grudges against
people because you never know what the last thing you say or do to them will be. Another line in
this song says, “Where’s your treasure, where’s your hope’ if you get the world and lose your soul”.
This simply means you can have all the riches on earth but when you die you won’t have them
anymore, so were they really that important after all, or were your friends and family and
accomplishments your true treasures? We aren’t permanent on this earth, so we have to live
everyday as if it were the last. Lastly, this song says “We are not infinite, we are not permanent”.
This is true, we are all going to die someday. He’s inquiring to live life because it doesn’t last
forever. “Gone” is a perfect carpe diem song, and I will listen to it to remind me what really matters
after all.
All the songs I listen to have a common theme of seizing the day. I really learned a lot from
looking at the lyrics of the music I listen to. I would suggest everyone does the same to learn
important messages from their music. If your music doesn’t reflect your values, why do you listen to
it? Life is short, don’t waste it. Live like you were dying and chase your dreams. I will continue to
learn and grow and truly live my life, and I hope everyone will learn this lesson.