Well, I don't know if this is relevant to the objectives or visions of this blog, but I feel that perhaps the positives outweighed the negatives leading me to this post which I do feel have some emotionally personal connection to me.
Well, for those of you who ask "Bon Jovi who?", you may need a crash course to introduce you to one of the best loved rock band of the past 3 decades. With album sales in excess of 100 million, you've got to admit there must be pretty charming to obtain such an impressive figure, or is there more than meets the eyes?
Go down to any night club in any part of the world, and chances are you will hear "It's My Life" or "Livin' On A Prayer" (possibly both) being played sometime during the night. And when (note the word "when" not "if") it's played, you can bet your bottom dollar that the crowd will sing along when the chorus comes along.
So, why am I putting the spotlight on this New Jersey rock band? Well, for may reasons actually. if you look through their catalogue of songs, you'll see that despite of their early bad boy rocker image, a lot of their lyrics reads of messages of encouragement and faith.
Post September 11th, Bon Jovi decided to record an album which he dedicated to the American people which was entitled "Bounce". The album was named as such in tribute to the ability of the American people to bounce back from such a devastating attack.
They have also lent their support to a number of aid concert most notably when they joined Sir Bob Geldof in singing "I Don't Like Mondays" at Live Aid 1995. Habitat For Humanity has also benefited from exposure and publicity derived from the band as the music video for the song "Who Says You Can't Go Home" featured the charity.
My first experience with Bon Jovi was when I spent my allowance for two weeks on his album, These Days. I remembered excitingly popping the cassette into the player the moment I got home. And it was at first sight, or rather more accurately, first sound. I remembered singing along to "These Days", "This Ain't A Love Song", "Hearts Breaking Even" et al.
So, it came down to checking out if anyone else had the cassettes from Bon Jovi. Being the so called "dark ages" then, there was no YouTube nor Google to check them all out. If we were unable to get our grubby hands on one, we eventually resorted to mailing letters for them.
Our intended addressee were the DJs for radio shows such as "The Choice Is Yours" and "Tuesday Night Rendezvous" on the local network. We'd all then dutifully sit by our radio with a blank cassette in the deck ready to press the record button when our song came on. Prety primitive eh?
Well, here are a summary of some of his most inspirational songs;
Livin' On A Prayer;
She says: We've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot
Ohh We're half way there
Woah... Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Woah... Livin' on a prayer
Some may take offense to the fact that the word "swear" is used in the song. However, I believe that the song needs to be seen from the context that it speaks of how a couple needs to be together even in times of crisis. It is that love that binds them together and of course the reference to living on a prayer tells of their faith in the Almighty.
Heaven Help Us
Heaven help the child who never had a home,
Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.
Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day,
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away,
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl,
Heaven help us all.
Now I lay me down before I go to sleep.
In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
And the mighty from the small,
Heaven help us all.
I think the lyrics for this song says it all. The helplessness that we face in our daily lives of which we offer to the heavens for assistance...
Keep The Faith
Faith: you know you're gonna live thru the rain
Lord you got to keep the faith
Faith: don't let your love turn to hate
Right now we got to
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Lord we got to keep the faith
Again, another song asking the masses to keep the faith despite the adversity and troubles that stare at them in the face.
Rich Man Living In A Poor Man's House
It took some time to figure it out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
He might be down, but he ain't out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
Every night at five when work lets out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
He arrives at 9 as the work bell's ringing
Hits the grind but his heart is singing
Some men live for money
Some men live for work
But it's a real man, a richer man who knows what love's worth
This song painted the image of a man who works extremely hard for his family which includes 7 young children. Despite all the difficult he faces financially, he is cheerful as he comes home not to a a house overflowing with material wealth but one of which love is of endless supply... Don't we wish we can feel the same everyday?
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Someday I'll be Saturday night
I'll be back on my feet, I'll be doing all right
It may not be tomorrow baby, that's ok
I ain't going down, gonna find a way
Hey, hey, hey
Man I'm alive I'm taking each day and night at a time
Yeah I'm down, but I know I'll get back
Hey, hey, hey, hey man I'm gonna live my life
Like I ain't got nothing but this roll of the dice
I'm feeling like a Monday but someday I'll be Saturday night
A song about a very young soul who was forced to live on the streets where he has contemplated suicide as an escape from poverty and troubles life dealt him. However, not having the conviction nor strength to commit suicide, he emerges from his personal hell with new determination that he'll be fine eventually and he's not going to give up on living again. Possibly a contender for Befriender's official anthem, if they dig rock... :)
Welcome To Wherever You Are
Maybe we're different, but we're still the same
We all got the blood of Eden, running through our veins
I know sometimes it's hard for you to see
You come between just who you are and who you wanna be
If you feel alone, and lost and need a friend
Remember every new beginning, is some beginning's end
Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life, you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here right now, you're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome, to wherever you are
When everybody's in, and you're left out
And you feel you're drowning, in a shadow of a doubt
Everyone's a miracle in their own way
Just listen to yourself, not what other people say
When it seems you're lost, alone and feeling down
Remember everybody's different
Just take a look around
Be who you want to, be who you are
Everyone's a hero, everyone's a star
When you wanna give up, and your hearts about to break
Remember that you're perfect, God makes no mistakes
I just had to reproduce this song in its' entirety as it was a song that touched me deeply in the past. Having undergone one of the lowest ebbs of my life, I chanced upon this song one day on MTV and it caught me hook, line and sinker.
Since then, whenever I have a bad moment, I try as far as possible to listen to this song and reflect back on the words which still resonate deeply within me.
Again, some may point out that no one is perfect as mentioned in the song. However, I believe we need to look at that line from the viewpoint that what God creates is good and is perfect in it's own way. Someone once told me about seeing perfection in imperfection. And I can attest that once you accept the imperfections as a part of something or someone that you love, that imperfection makes that something or someone perfect...
I could write about many many more songs from Bon Jovi, but due to constraints has decided to feature the few above. They are no angels but perhaps we should stop looking at the negative points in someone and focus on the positive as a first step towards acceptance and ultimately towards love...
Comments as always are welcome... Do share any suggestions on future topics as well... Have a blessed weekend and a Happy Labor's Day to one and all! Cheers
Well, for those of you who ask "Bon Jovi who?", you may need a crash course to introduce you to one of the best loved rock band of the past 3 decades. With album sales in excess of 100 million, you've got to admit there must be pretty charming to obtain such an impressive figure, or is there more than meets the eyes?
Go down to any night club in any part of the world, and chances are you will hear "It's My Life" or "Livin' On A Prayer" (possibly both) being played sometime during the night. And when (note the word "when" not "if") it's played, you can bet your bottom dollar that the crowd will sing along when the chorus comes along.
So, why am I putting the spotlight on this New Jersey rock band? Well, for may reasons actually. if you look through their catalogue of songs, you'll see that despite of their early bad boy rocker image, a lot of their lyrics reads of messages of encouragement and faith.
Post September 11th, Bon Jovi decided to record an album which he dedicated to the American people which was entitled "Bounce". The album was named as such in tribute to the ability of the American people to bounce back from such a devastating attack.
They have also lent their support to a number of aid concert most notably when they joined Sir Bob Geldof in singing "I Don't Like Mondays" at Live Aid 1995. Habitat For Humanity has also benefited from exposure and publicity derived from the band as the music video for the song "Who Says You Can't Go Home" featured the charity.
My first experience with Bon Jovi was when I spent my allowance for two weeks on his album, These Days. I remembered excitingly popping the cassette into the player the moment I got home. And it was at first sight, or rather more accurately, first sound. I remembered singing along to "These Days", "This Ain't A Love Song", "Hearts Breaking Even" et al.
So, it came down to checking out if anyone else had the cassettes from Bon Jovi. Being the so called "dark ages" then, there was no YouTube nor Google to check them all out. If we were unable to get our grubby hands on one, we eventually resorted to mailing letters for them.
Our intended addressee were the DJs for radio shows such as "The Choice Is Yours" and "Tuesday Night Rendezvous" on the local network. We'd all then dutifully sit by our radio with a blank cassette in the deck ready to press the record button when our song came on. Prety primitive eh?
Well, here are a summary of some of his most inspirational songs;
Livin' On A Prayer;
She says: We've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot
Ohh We're half way there
Woah... Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Woah... Livin' on a prayer
Some may take offense to the fact that the word "swear" is used in the song. However, I believe that the song needs to be seen from the context that it speaks of how a couple needs to be together even in times of crisis. It is that love that binds them together and of course the reference to living on a prayer tells of their faith in the Almighty.
Heaven Help Us
Heaven help the child who never had a home,
Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.
Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day,
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away,
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl,
Heaven help us all.
Now I lay me down before I go to sleep.
In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
And the mighty from the small,
Heaven help us all.
I think the lyrics for this song says it all. The helplessness that we face in our daily lives of which we offer to the heavens for assistance...
Keep The Faith
Faith: you know you're gonna live thru the rain
Lord you got to keep the faith
Faith: don't let your love turn to hate
Right now we got to
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Lord we got to keep the faith
Again, another song asking the masses to keep the faith despite the adversity and troubles that stare at them in the face.
Rich Man Living In A Poor Man's House
It took some time to figure it out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
He might be down, but he ain't out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
Every night at five when work lets out
He's a rich man living in a poor man's house
He arrives at 9 as the work bell's ringing
Hits the grind but his heart is singing
Some men live for money
Some men live for work
But it's a real man, a richer man who knows what love's worth
This song painted the image of a man who works extremely hard for his family which includes 7 young children. Despite all the difficult he faces financially, he is cheerful as he comes home not to a a house overflowing with material wealth but one of which love is of endless supply... Don't we wish we can feel the same everyday?
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Someday I'll be Saturday night
I'll be back on my feet, I'll be doing all right
It may not be tomorrow baby, that's ok
I ain't going down, gonna find a way
Hey, hey, hey
Man I'm alive I'm taking each day and night at a time
Yeah I'm down, but I know I'll get back
Hey, hey, hey, hey man I'm gonna live my life
Like I ain't got nothing but this roll of the dice
I'm feeling like a Monday but someday I'll be Saturday night
A song about a very young soul who was forced to live on the streets where he has contemplated suicide as an escape from poverty and troubles life dealt him. However, not having the conviction nor strength to commit suicide, he emerges from his personal hell with new determination that he'll be fine eventually and he's not going to give up on living again. Possibly a contender for Befriender's official anthem, if they dig rock... :)
Welcome To Wherever You Are
Maybe we're different, but we're still the same
We all got the blood of Eden, running through our veins
I know sometimes it's hard for you to see
You come between just who you are and who you wanna be
If you feel alone, and lost and need a friend
Remember every new beginning, is some beginning's end
Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life, you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here right now, you're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome, to wherever you are
When everybody's in, and you're left out
And you feel you're drowning, in a shadow of a doubt
Everyone's a miracle in their own way
Just listen to yourself, not what other people say
When it seems you're lost, alone and feeling down
Remember everybody's different
Just take a look around
Be who you want to, be who you are
Everyone's a hero, everyone's a star
When you wanna give up, and your hearts about to break
Remember that you're perfect, God makes no mistakes
I just had to reproduce this song in its' entirety as it was a song that touched me deeply in the past. Having undergone one of the lowest ebbs of my life, I chanced upon this song one day on MTV and it caught me hook, line and sinker.
Since then, whenever I have a bad moment, I try as far as possible to listen to this song and reflect back on the words which still resonate deeply within me.
Again, some may point out that no one is perfect as mentioned in the song. However, I believe we need to look at that line from the viewpoint that what God creates is good and is perfect in it's own way. Someone once told me about seeing perfection in imperfection. And I can attest that once you accept the imperfections as a part of something or someone that you love, that imperfection makes that something or someone perfect...
I could write about many many more songs from Bon Jovi, but due to constraints has decided to feature the few above. They are no angels but perhaps we should stop looking at the negative points in someone and focus on the positive as a first step towards acceptance and ultimately towards love...
Comments as always are welcome... Do share any suggestions on future topics as well... Have a blessed weekend and a Happy Labor's Day to one and all! Cheers
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