Monday, November 9, 2009

Time for Musical Monday!

Yay!  Today's random spin on the mystical shuffle wheel came up with "Wasted on the Way" by Crosby, Stills and Nash, off their Greatest Hits album.  The song was originally released as a single in 1982 and was included on their album Daylight Again that same year.  Off to the side there is the music player widget that will now play this song in addition to last Monday's song, and below are the lyrics:



"Wasted on the Way" - Crosby, Stills & Nash

Look around me
I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way it used to be

I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started long before I did

CHORUS:
And there's so much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away

Oh when you were young
Did you question all the answers
Did you envy all the dancers who had all the nerve

Look round you now
You must go for what you wanted
Look at all my friends who did and got what they deserved

So much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away

So much love to make up everywhere you turn
Love we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away
Let the water come and carry us away

One thing I like about doing Musical Monday is that I get to really listen to a song that I actually own but have (well, probably) not given critical attention.  I'm sure I have listened to this song before because I've listened to the whole album all the way through, but until I sat down and really listened to the song I don't think I could have picked it out of the crowd.  Like many of CSN's other songs it has a nostalgic feel to it and a little bit of that country twang.  It's not in the least bit overbearing; it's relaxing, and makes me feel like I should be in a rocking chair out in the sun, dozing with a cat on my lap.

As to what the song's about, I think that it's talking about getting what we want out of life.  The first stanza essentially says from the speaker's point of view, "My life's a lot better than it used to be, but I wish that it hadn't taken as much time as it did for me to realize how to make it that way".  The second stanza starts off asking the listener whether or not they think and doubt too much ("question all the answers") and whether or not they fear too much to realize their dreams ("envy all the dancers...").  It then very bluntly says "go for what you wanted" (the past tense is interesting; the listener has apparently deferred their dream, ala the poem), and in a conversational tone talks about the singer's friends.

The chorus talks about the time that has been wasted, either by the singer or listener or anyone else really; I don't think it's really specified.  Based on the context, I think that this time was so wasted in doubt or indecision early in life, before the one so wasting had a clear idea of what they wanted.  While "water under the bridge" generally means "to forgive and forget an old dispute", here I believe that it's referring to regret: possibly in regards to the time that was wasted and the ways in which it was wasted.   The later switch from "time" to "love" doesn't change much in the way of meaning, but it definitely gives us a clearer picture of what the singer is talking about: by so including love, he insinuates that in his life and possibly the listener's it was love that was missing in the earlier wasted time, and that it is love that we want most.


One thing that confuses me is the line "Let the water come and carry us away".   Such a phrase usually indicates some kind of surrender to life, a giving up, a going with the flow that seems at odds with the rest of the song.  Perhaps what he is saying in this moment is that life is not a fight.  Maybe he's saying that you don't need to struggle against the tide of life to get what you want, but just realize that you're perfectly capable of going straight there and getting it.  Such a thing may be just as easy as letting the water carry you away.  In this way, I don't think that the water can possibly continue to represent past conflicts or regrets like it does in the previous line: while the song definitely has an emphasis on looking back into the past, I don't think that it's talking about being so absorbed in that regret as to be carried away by it.

Whether or not I'm full of it in my interpretation, I think my message is a good one.  I mean, realizing what we want is one of the hardest things to do, but once we know what we want actually getting it is very easy.  I think that a lot of people think that this is the other way around, thinking that they do know what they want and being confused about why it's so elusive.  Many of my friends right now are kind of in that confusing transition stage where it's time to think about what to do with their lives and they don't quite know where to go.  I was there too, but I was able to make a decision: once I made the decision, the actually getting where I'm trying to go became much clearer.  I hope you know what you want too!

5 comments:

B.J. Thompson said...

I suppose those aren't 45s on your playlist, huh? (tee hee)

Cordially, (If Not Entirely Sober!) MsBurb

High Chief Mucky Muck of
Burb's Buck & Buntline Inn (B3)

http://burbsbuckandbuntlineinn.blogspot.com/

2nd Official Tate-LaBianca Murders Blog (TLB2)

http://2ndofficialtate-labiancamurdersblog.blogspot.com/

Home of the Bucky Award for the Best Blogging Bloggers in Webland!

Stephen said...

Nope, I think my playlist is of a higher caliber :-)

B.J. Thompson said...

Hey Stephen, I have now bestowed upon you the Superior Scribbler Award!
Just go to my site at B3 (http://burbsbuckandbuntlineinn.blogspot.com/) and snip clip the award picture and then head on over to the blogspot "The Musings of Ug" to view the requirments for accepting this award (http://themusingsofug.blogspot.com/2009/11/take-bow.html).

Congrats from all of us co-scribblers at B3!!!
Cordially, (If Not Entirely Sober!)
MsBurb
High Chief Mucky Muck of
Burb's Buck & Buntline Inn (B3)

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