An anthem is defined as a rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body, or cause. I think that someone’s personal anthem could be the song that really speaks to them. Or one that defines their outlook on life. Or maybe it’s a reminder of who they are – or who they want to be.
I recorded my own version of this song with a friend in his studio a couple months ago. If you ever recorded before, you know that you have to do take after take after take. Needless to say, I had a lot of time to ponder the lyrics. And it was then that I realized what my anthem is and has been for years: Learning to Fly, by Tom Petty.
Learning to Fly is my anthem because the lyrics fit with my attitude towards life. I’m just going to keep going, keep making the decisions that feel right at the time and see where I end up. I’ll spare you my full lyrical analysis of the song, but a couple lines really stand out. “I’m learning to fly/But I ain’t got wings”, to me says that he’s just starting out but he doesn’t know what he’s doing yet – but he knows that’s OK. And then “Some say life will beat you down/break you heart/steal your crown.” I couldn’t tell you how many times people have told me that, after college, life just sucks. You work a job you hate to get by and it doesn’t get any better from there. Personally, I think that’s complete crap. Life is what you make of it, and even if I don’t know where I’m going or how I’m going to get there, I’m going to know where I belong when I find it. And it’s going to be awesome.
This song is full of hope for me. I mentioned it was what I listened to as I left my home town for the first time, well it’s also the song I went back to when I graduated from college and when I was laid off from my first “grown up” job. For all of these signposts in my life, it’s the song I go back to as a reminder that everything is going to be OK, even if it doesn’t always go the way I think it will.
Thinking about my own anthem got me wondering if anyone else has figured this out too. So I asked two of my dearest friends, Cassondra Lea Meyer and Nick Holmes if they would share their anthems with us. Here are their responses…
Cassondra Lea Meyer
This is my anthem…You want to know why? Well, to tell you the truth, you’d have to meet me. Anyone who has, they’d know that I’m impulsive, spontaneous and just outright crazy!
I never want to look back on life and wonder if I didn’t live it to the fullest, what path I could have taken or even worse, regret. The only think you should regret is the regret itself. Every choice you make is a learning process. And the only way to learn is to throw yourself at every opportunity. If it happens to be the wrong one…Well, live and learn. You get up, walk on and live up the next day. It’s like Elbert Hubbard said, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
This song screams the message of being free and following your dreams. I don’t care if I’m broke the rest of my life as long as I’m humble. Yes…I’m not going to sit and tell you I don’t like money. It’s a necessity and survival tool in this world. However, it cannot run your happiness. Greed is a rising epidemic in our world.
Run forth and live…just live. There is nothing more precious and delicate as life itself. Try to wake up everyday and remind yourself you are alive.
Nick Holmes
There are two things I’m bad at: definitions and deadlines. Perhaps if I understood “definitions”, I would be better at “deadlines”. But as they say: when it rains, it pours. That has no meaning in this context, I just needed a transition.
When I was asked to think of an anthem of mine, I did what I usually do when asked to do something, I completely over-thought the question. What one song defines my entire life? My existence? Makes me look cool? It’s a tough question.
As I was thinking of the best answer anyone has ever given to that question, I realized what song I had put on without thinking at all. It was my “go to” and has been for several months now. Tin Man, by Future Islands has been played more on my iPod and any other one I can think of…right now.
I wouldn’t say that this is the one song that defines my existence, but it is one that has resonated with me since I first heard it. The combination of the upbeat rhythm, well written melody and the way Sam sings the lyrics with such honest conviction.
Certain lines have always stood out to me, such as, “Time goes by/and you’ve got a lot to learn/in your life” and “hearts/locked inside/and I’ve got to find the one/that’s just right.” And how the song seems to build up to Sam singing, “I am the tin man!” is incredible. I had the chance to see them live and I was blown away. It was one of the most honest performances I’ve seen in a long time.
“Tin Man” is definitely on my list of you-haven’t-heard-this?-Man-you-need-to-check-it-out-right-now songs.
