30 November 2018

(SMS) Joey Landreth - Forgiveness

Art by: Mario Sanchez Nevado
It feels so hard to tell the truth
I keep it locked away
Up against the wall
Up against the night
It’s not fair 
It’s not right

 Can’t let go of your hand though 
Can’t let go of your hand...

    Forgiveness, I need this
   I wish I was strong enough to hold it
   Forgiveness, I confess
   Can’t bring myself to turn to the light

 Burning the candle at either end
It’s all that I can do
If I stop moving
Then questions loom
Drinks and pills 
To clear the room

 Don’t let go of my hand, though
Don’t let go of my hand...

    Forgiveness...

Is it
For me or for you or for them
I can’t tell

    Forgiveness...

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Well, I have this blog and, also as a way to promote it, I've created an Instagram profile. Some time ago I did a poll asking suggestions of songs to talk about. My cousin, Vinícius Duarte, suggested this one.

Forgiveness. We all need it. What is forgiveness? According to the Brazilian dictionary Michaelis, it is "remission of a fault, debt or sentence". But forgiveness, to be full, it mustn't start only from one to another. It must start from the inside. You must first forgive yourself, then you'll be able to forgive the other.

According to the song's composer, as seen in the video description on its official YouTube channel, In forgiving someone, you are not granting them freedom from your judgement but rather freeing yourself from your own judgement. Also, as he states, forgiveness is not something that you decided to give away, or something that you do to someone else, but rather an act that exists almost completely as an internal dialogue. It's only you.

We can see two examples of different situations in this song. The first is someone who's hiding the truth, not lying. A truth that brings some weight upon him/her, but s/he is afraid to tell because of a probable consequence. The other one s someone who has some kind of addiction, which seems to be related to drugs, but s/he is afraid to let go, because it makes him/her forget something.

Regardless of what makes you afraid of forgiving, mainly yourself, forgiveness is the best thing to do. It brings you back to the light. It makes you take out what weighs you down and kills your will to live.

I have an example from myself, not so long ago, when my life started to get better right after when I forgave what happened. I've been involved in a deep relationship with a woman. We were making plans for our future, till she vanished away from the map with no apparent reason. For about two months I tried to feed something that didn't exist anymore. I've tried to run after her, but forgot of myself. I forgot I was hurt. That I needed to forgive myself. To take away the bitterness so everything could be lighter. From the moment I wrote a letter, telling everything what I felt and was feeling, I don't know what it meant to her, but for me, it was like feeling free of something that was turning me in what I was not. In a first moment I didn't want to write/forgive. I was afraid of what could happen. It didn't seem fair what happened and how it happened. In other hand, I felt renewed. Everything seemed illuminated.

Forgiveness can be for anyone. Though, mainly, it has to be from you to yourself.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5pgLJgH2p2pN2v2yhvEWIn
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/track/515805412
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/br/album/forgiveness/1401837450?i=1401837654
YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zBHPreApWG4
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR0olzZY6x0

Reference:

Imagem:

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23 November 2018

(SMS) Dream Theater - Metropolis pt. 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper

The smile of dawn
Arrived early May
She carried a gift from her home
The night shed a tear
To tell her of fear
And of sorrow and pain
She'll never outgrow

Death is the first dance, eternal

There's no more freedom
The both of you will be confined to this mind

I was told there's a miracle for each day that I try
I was told there's a new love that's born for each one that has died
I was told there'd be no one to call on when I feel alone and afraid
I was told if you dream of the next world
You'll find yourself swimming in a lake of fire

As a child, I thought I could live without pain without sorrow
But as a man I've found it's all caught up with me
I'm asleep yet I'm so afraid

Somewhere like a scene from a memory
There's a picture worth a thousand words
Eluding stares from faces before me
It hides away and will never be heard of again

Deceit is the second without end

The city's cold blood teaches us to survive
Just keep my heart in your eyes and we'll stay alive

The third arrives...

Before the leaves have fallen
Before we lock the doors
There must be a third and last dance
This one will last forever
Metropolis watches and thoughtfully smiles
She's taken you to your home

It can only take place
When the struggle between our children has ended
Now the Miracle and the Sleeper know that the third is love

Love is the Dance of Eternity
________________________

Take a sit and prepare for a long story. To start with, it is 9 minutes and half of song, and even the instrumental part has something to tell. It is funny that this song, as a joke by the band, got in its name "part 1" and, because of this, later it made into an album's name as "part 2". It was the first Dream Theater's song I've ever listened to, nearly 2006-2007, showed by my brother. At that time I had not even a single clue of what it could mean.

A metropolis, according to the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa da Porto Editora (app), it is the main city of a country (free translation). In our lives, our main city is the emotional. Our lives are moved by three main dances. Dances which, in a certain way, shape who we are, how we think and act. The working title before release was "Crumbling Metropolis". In its release we have the "Metropolis part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper".

The first dance, as presented by the song, is Death, this which changes directly who we are. We get fond of people and don't want to lose them. Never! It is painful and creates disillusion, though it makes us stronger.

The second dance is Deceit. As children, and sometimes as adults, we are deceived. People lie. They make us suffer for things that, sometimes, are insignificant. E by deceit, we are turned into more critical beings. In this moment, the song prepares us to the third dance, and it enters in its instrumental part, which shows our fight, criticism, uncomfortableness and maturing. It evens seems our metropolis is almost crumbling, as the working title suggested.

Finally, the last dance, which is eternal: Love! Even though all problems we fight, each in a manner, in different ways, because we all are different, love pierces all and any pain. All and any suffer. And, if well nurtured, even after death, love makes people remember us. 

'But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ' Titus 3:4-7 NIV

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20 November 2018

(SMS) Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Originally posted on September 9, 2017.

Crazy, but that's how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe it's not too late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate

Mental wounds not healing
Life's a bitter shame
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

And once again the Facebook Memories bring me back to this song, though I always listen to it in a metal/rock playlist hahaha.

Though rock and Ozzy Osbourne are stereotyped as satanic, looking to this (and lots of other his lyrics), it's noticeable that is not. But who I am to reach his innermost and judge?

Talking about judging, it seems that every passing day we're judging and condemning each other. Unnecessary things. I can even mention Black Eyed Peas: where is the love?

It's never late to stop judging and to start loving. Even The Bible puts this in another way:

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5.44 NIV

"And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22.39 NIV

If we treat each other as ourselves, I, particularly, want my own good so, I'll try to treat who is next to me (or even far) the best way possible.

And if it's necessary, do craziness for good, not only yours, but for all mankind... go off the rails of your comfort and comodity.



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16 November 2018

(SMS) Randy Newman - You've Got a Friend in Me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do
It's me and you, boy

And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me



I wrote about this song back in 2011 (in Portuguese), when I was still a young grasshopper, at the high of my 18, and had no idea what I was doing. I just enjoyed talking about songs, even without thinking a lot what were their background.

This song, in Portuguese, had a good version (it is the one I grew up with). It differs in some points regarding the original, but it keeps its main subject untouched. and today I want to dedicate this song to a great friend of mine. Last Saturday he had his civil wedding, and today, later, he'll be in his religious wedding.

Great and loving friend. We were trying to beat our record of meeting at least once a year. Now, in 2018, we saw each at the least of 5 times HAHAHAHA. A friend that came up because of a municipal trainee program, around 2012/2013. He was under-grading Journalism and working with Educommunication (education and communication via radio/video), and I Arts in Languages, looking after the library and tutoring Portuguese/English. By the way, the reason I left that place for good, I guess it was his too. We feared for our lives that not even WiFi could enter any part of our body 🤦‍♂️.

Since that day, even though we didn't always talk, occasionally we were/are exchanging ideas of what we have in common and like. Not even to mention the countless tries to hang out to eat a simple fried dough or drink a cup of coffee together. I know I can lean on him when I need, and I also know he leans on me when he needs. I'm so sure of it because I was chosen as his best man on his wedding. Choosing a best man is not a random pick. Involves having a FRIEND, just like the song brings: a friend that fight the same problems together. There may even be smarter or stronger folks, but with the connection time created, it won't be anything that will split. 

Paulo, years have gone by since we first met, and today, at the day of your wedding, we're living another story together. This time, I hope, we don't need to run for our lives HAHAHAHA you've got a friend in me. Truly!

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9 November 2018

(SMS) Demon Hunter - I Am a Stone



It's hard to say that I'm back on a straight line
You see, my path is in fact just a fault line
It's in my blood, it's in my lungs and it won't die
I fight these words, I bite my tongue so I don't lie

Though it's me to blame
There is no more shame in me
I just feel the same
Immune to all this pain 
And the scars don't write a song for me at all

I am a stone, unaffected
Rain hell down unto me
Flesh and bone, unaffected
Your fool I will not be

I tried to see and believe in the short sight
Accept the burn of a vain and a half-life
And how you rest your faith in these for a lifetime
The hollow lie against my hope that I won't buy

Though it's me to blame...
And the scars don't write a song for me at all
No, your tears won't line a path for me to crawl

I am a stone, unaffected...

The waters rise above my eyes
I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
And when you think this is the end
You will find me there where I have always been

I am a stone, unaffected...


According to one of the many definitions on the Farlex Trivia Dictionary, the word stone from a Germanic base means "solidity" or "stiffness". The lead singer from Demon Hunter, Ryan Clark, once in a interview said this song can talk about positive and negative aspects of unyielding attitude. 

We've all been through hard times in our lives. We've all been scarred. And time after time, we start to harden our hearts for feelings, emotions, speech. It's our "safeguard" against everything and everyone. It can even rain hell unto us, nothing will affect, because we are solid on what we believe or are.

Sometimes it is okay to create this shield, be introvert, don't speak too much. But it is not okay just keep to yourself. Just like the previous song I wrote about, I Walk Beside You (Dream Theater), you should and must have someone by your side to open your heart. Someone to pull you out of troubled waters.  It is not the end. We can't be unaffected to what's happening in our surroundings. Of course, we can't be a fool for anyone. 

Finally, don't be immune to pain. They are who we are! As I heard friends talking, every scar has a history. Remember the past. It is a remembrance, so you don't commit the same mistakes in future. Breath new life. 



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2 November 2018

(SMS) Dream Theater - I Walk Beside You

There's a story in your eyes
I can see the hurt behind your smile
For every sign I recognize
Another one escapes me

 Let me know what plagues your mind
Let me be the one to know you best
Be the one to hold you up
When you feel like you're sinking

 Tell me once again
What's beneath the pain you're feeling
Don't abandon me
Or think you can't be saved

    I walk beside you
   Wherever you are
   Whatever it takes
   No matter how far
   Through all that may come
   And all that may go
   I walk beside you
   I walk beside you

 Summon up your ghosts for me
Rest your tired thoughts upon my hands
Step inside this sacred place
When all your dreams seem broken

 Resonate inside this temple
Let me be the one who understands
Be the one to carry you
When you can walk no further

 Tell me once again
What's below the surface bleeding
If you've lost your way
I will take you in

    I walk beside you...

 Oh, when everything is wrong
Oh, when hopelessness surrounds you
Oh, the sun will rise again
The tide you swim against will carry you back home
So don't give up
Don't give in

    I walk beside you...



I have a close friend which, recently, was surprised with a gift that left him speechless (and I can imagine that he's still have now words). He's the kind of person that is always ready to help, and even take from his own comfort in favor of any other, known or not. In the moment he was surprised with the gift, it was one of the few times, in about 8-10 years of friendship, that I saw him cry. I had the opportunity to live in the same house as him for about 1 year and a half, and that was a time of great learning.

You'll rarely see him upset or feeling blue. The smile is always present in his life, which makes him a dearly being for everyone. Though, during all this time of living and as friends, it was clear that he is also a human being with his pains, sad moments, delusions. I'm happy because of our friendship, in different opportunities he told me his anguishes and I could be a helping and trusting hand. Where he "summoned his ghosts", as the song says.

Although we're not living in the same residence, we still have a huge partnership and friendship. An ironical example of this is, while I was thinking and writing about his short text, he asked me some help in which options he should choose when formatting his personal computer HAHAHAHA

We all need and helping hand where we can trust and open our hearts. Nobody is made of iron. Not even Iron Man. He also needed somebody to open his heart. We all have the key to our sadness, even though not immediate: having someone to listen, helps to ease the pain.
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1 November 2018

(SMS) Stratovarius - Learning to Fly

Originally posted on August 30, 2017.

Life will go on
Soon it is gone
It's bigger that we can conceive
Wink of an eye
A thousand years
Into eternity we shed our tears

I'm changing,
Rearranging my destiny

Learning to fly
Touching sky on my way
Learning to fly
High above the sorrows
To a new day I fly

Not where you stand
Nor where you are
It matters only where you look
To take the good
With (all that's) bad
It is the only way to go

The minutes
The hours
The years
Run fast


August 28, 2011... a memory on Facebook... a game I've been into (yeah, I was into silly games) had a topic about "one song", and there it was STRATOVARIUS, LEARNING TO FLY.

Just seeing the name made me miss the old times. Missing times I was learning lots of things in my life and fighting a great sadness and dilemma, until suddenly this songs pops to me, giving a kind of light on my way. I thank Sayuri for showing me it! And it's funny that even after years without listening to it, I could remember all the musical details hahaha

I wasn't pleased by just taking a short part of the song to focus in. This song, besides being short in lyrics, it's enormous in its meaning as a whole. Still remembering that same time, I wrote on August 15 of the same year about this song. Some thoughts have changed (come on, if nothing changes in 6 years, that's a problem) but most part of the original took its place.

We always have problems. It'll always be the same old boring thing to put us down, mostly when everything is going right. For real, we have to learn to fly. We have to learn to face our problems. We have to see that THERE IS a solution for things. We have to follow the path to a new day, indifferent to time.

The answer may happen now or in years. It doesn't matter. Get closer to relatives and friends. They are the biggest backup and support one's can have, since our life is short and nothing from what we have conquered physically in this world will be take to eternity.

CARPE DIEM!!!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NIV

PS: the song starts sing near 1:07, and this gorgeous Timmo Tolkki's Finnish band, works with clean vocals only.


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