We can’t escape the passing of time. So, instead of lamenting what we lost, the only way to not go mad about the paradox of life is to accept our reality and embrace the future and what’s next. That’s why, they say, the windshield is bigger than the rear-view mirror. But what songs can help us to understand this task? What is a good soundtrack for this lesson? Good question!
Videos by American Songwriter
Here below, we wanted to explore three songs that help us to look ahead and embrace the future instead of mourning the past and what we lost. Indeed, these are three classic rock songs for doing just that—for appreciating what’s next.
[RELATED: No Skips: 4 Classic Rock Albums You’ll Never Have to Fast-Forward]
“The Times They Are A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan from The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1963)
This song is both poetic and eloquent while also being literal. Here, Bob Dylan eschews the past and promotes what’s ahead. It’s both an important message and something that helped his career as he moved on from the folk genre and protest song movement to a more individualistic career. But that’s the point, we can’t live in the past. We have to push ahead and embrace the future. So, as he might say, it’s better to get busy being born than busy dying. And on this classic tune, he sings,
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
And you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
“Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles from Abbey Road (1969)
Written by the Fab Four’s lead guitar player George Harrison, this song is all about looking at the light over the horizon. He’s literally staring straight ahead at the oncoming dawn. As his famous band was crumbling and dissolving around him, Harrison retreated for a spell and, reflecting on what was happening, he wrote this song at Eric Clapton’s country home. He was famously frustrated with the state of the group and wanted some fresh air when it came to his musical future. So, looking ahead, he chose to embrace the oncoming light. And on the tune, he sings,
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s all right
Little darling
It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it’s been here
“Changes” by David Bowie from Hunky Dory (1971)
The message of this song can be easily discerned from its chorus. On it, the British-born rocker David Bowie tells us to turn and face the strange. It can be so easy to stay stagnant. But the one thing we know about life is it doesn’t. Change is the only constant. And on this classic tune, Bowie reminds us of that and encourages us to go with the flow rather than swim against the proverbial current. Indeed, on this 1971 offering, he sings,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There’s gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Photo by Chip HIRES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.