We all have that one song that takes us way back to the good ole days. Growing up, music has always had a way of teaching us little lessons in life through the stories of the artists we have looked up to all our lives. I could go on forever about all of the songs that we all love, but I have chosen the ten below that I think many of us can agree have affected us in one way or another.
1. “Waterfalls” by TLC
This TLC hit was the group's way of expressing how people constantly chase after untouchable dreams without thinking of the troubling outcome. The first verse depicts a mother and son relationship. The "waterfalls" that the son is chasing after is to earn money and respect by dealing drugs and his mother knows in her gut this will end badly if he keeps doing this. The second verse explains a relationship between a man and a woman, and the man's "waterfall" is his abnormal obsession on being tempted by other women. This either means he is cheating on his girlfriend with someone, or the woman he is seeing is cheating on her boyfriend. Either way, he ends up contracting HIV and dies ("three letters took him to his final resting place"). What this song teaches us is that you must always think of how your actions can affect you, and the people you love because if you don't they can end up being very harmful.
2. “A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More ‘Touch Me’” by Fall Out Boy
The first couple of verses talk about how the guy in the relationship is finally taking the initiative and admitting to his mistakes, even though she’s not around to hear it. Throughout the song the guy is beating himself up about the fact that he did not fight for someone who he was afraid was out of his league, but it turns out she was the one, the narrator is always “late” to fixing relationships and so when he says, "I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late," he has to find a way to set a metaphorical alarm clock to remind him not to lose that chance to make things right. This Fall Out Boy era taught our teen selves a lot about mistakes and successes that we related to in the past (and still relate to this day), and with this song it teaches us never to take love for granted because what could be amazing for us might slip through our fingers if we don't reach out for it.
3. “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey
The song is about the common search for love and the fear of being lonely. The lyrics focus on all of the things we use to fill the void we may have in our lives so we don't feel that pain. Yes the world can feel lonely, but no matter what you must believe that it will happen.
4. “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child
This amazing song is supposed to be about a girl who finds herself happier out of her former relationship than she was in it and after breaking up with her boyfriend, she fears that she will feel unwanted and weak. Later on she finds that the break has given her inner strength and made her a stronger, wiser, more confident person than she was before. However this song has never always had to apply to relationships. It teaches us that no matter what awful tragedy happens to you, you can always find that strength and confidence within yourself and pull through. I mean come on, when has Destiny's Child NOT inspired anyone?
5. "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
This song has been that pick-me-up anthem for so many. The whole story of this song is about fitting in, and how you don't have to be the same as other people to be popular. The main character of the music video is a regular teenaged kid who feels pressured to try things like alcohol or drugs in order to be accepted by his friends. This song taught us, and still teaches others that while trying to make it through the tough trenches being yourself doesn't mean having to impress others. As long as you are happy and accepted for who you are, that's all that matters.
6. “99 Problems” by Jay Z
While the chorus "If you're having girl problems I feel bad for you son/I've got 99 problems but a b*tch ain't one" was defined by Jay-Z as when he is talking about b*tch he is referring to police dogs. Jay-Z tells a story in this song about tension he felt through experiencing racial profiling from a police officer who wanted to search his car for drugs. This song also talks about dealing with the critics and the aggressors in his daily life. The moral of the entire song, and the lesson we can take from this is, if you are ever in the situation of confronting an officer or someone of a certain level of authority, act with the utmost respect no matter what situation may come at you.
7. "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte
This punk rock jam talks about how growing up, the singer's family and peers and others that surround him constantly tried to convince him to "be this" and "do that" instead of going through life figuring out what he wanted and who he wanted to be. The lesson to be taken from this is to forget what society does and what has been done in the past. Don't follow the trend if it doesn't make you happy. You do you!
8. “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy
So it's pretty obvious what this song is about. This guy is caught sleeping around by his girl and the singer is trying to defend his actions that they don't mean anything and that it wasn't him (even though his girlfriend has proof). A lesson to be taken from this is no matter how much a man, or even a woman, cheats and tries to cover it up, they are only digging themselves a bigger and deeper grave. Long story short, DON'T CHEAT!
9. “Beautiful” Christina Aguilera
Ahhh this song. Now this one is wonderful because the song and the video are basically saying that all people are beautiful, no matter how different they may be. Regardless of your race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any other beliefs/differences that you may have, are all what make you beautiful (inside and out). The song encourages those people to believe in themselves and disregard any ignorances that may be thrown at them. A great reflection of that message is of course when in the movie Mean Girls Damien does a rendition of this song and doesn't let anything bring him down, not even a shoe.
10. “Graduation” by Vitamin C
Ok be honest, you started getting the feels just from reading the title of this song (at least I did...). This song is of course about graduation, taking that next step and getting us further into the real world. "As we go on, we'll remember all the times we had together" are the 12 words that remind us that no matter where we go in life, the memories we have of our dear friends to cherish will always give us strength. These memories will always also give us the reminder of the mistakes we may have made, and as we go on we will remember to be better people and remind others that may look up to us that making memories and even mistakes (good or bad) in those memories are a part of living life.
It is the gift of music, songs of the past present and future, that will always be a part of our lives and will always be there to guide us.
