Letting Go

Ratpasta

I decided last year right before my son was born to give a gift to my wife, my unborn son and myself..  That is I was going to let go of a lot of the baggage that I had been carrying around for years. 
     Old relationships that had gone horribly wrong and the built up anger as a result, things that people had done to me in the past - I have this horribly amazing memory for things of this nature and it does nobody that loves me any good.  Why?  Why do I hold on to all the negativity in my life?  I have no idea.....because it's easier perhaps.
    .... and this includes horrible things that I have done to other people.  The best you can do is to apologize and make that person understand that it's sincere and then you have to leave it behind. 
   A lot of this is stupid and Im doing my level best from now on to concentrate on the future and forget all the BS of my past.

     Music is a huge part of my life and very therapeutic for me.  "Singin' seems to help a troubled soul" as Johnny Cash sang it - so I use a lot of music to help me through this kind of thing.   So if posting these songs and lyrics helps even one person, it's makes it worth the time.

here is the short list; links posted below (im too tired to figure out how to link or embed....)
- Rise Against; This is letting go
- Tom Petty; The best of everything
- Great Big World - Say Something
- Jackie Green - Write a letter home

I was a punk rocker for so long, its almost like I forgot why I go into it in the first place; anger.

The first song is a punk song, so if you're not into that kind of thing just read the lyrics.... this song is pivotal for me in taking massively negative energy and trying to transform it into energy for moving in a better direction for my family


Rise Against; This is letting go

https://youtu.be/FsI9l6yyXuU


Once upon a time I could take anything, anything.
Always stepped in time, regardless of the beat
I moved my feet, I carried weight
What I could not do I faked
I dug seeking treasure
Just to wake up in an early grave
So I stopped right there and said

Go on alone, 'cause I won't follow.
This isn't giving up, no this is letting go
Out with the old dreams I've borrowed
The path I carve from here on out will be my own
The path will be my own

This is the part where the needle skips
And the chorus plays like a sink that drips
A syllable repeating, like a warning we aren't heeding
Until all of a sudden we noticed it
When the wheels brace and the tires grip
A map we've been misreading
A defeat we're not conceding
Until now
There must be some other way out

Go on alone, because I won't follow
But this isn't giving up no this is letting go
Out with the old dreams I've borrowed
The path I carve from here on out will be my own
A path to take me home

(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)

The wind died
The whole world ceased to move
Now so quiet
Her beating heart became a boom
We locked eyes
For just a moment or two
She asked why
I said "I don't know why,
I just know"

Go on alone, 'cause I won't follow
This isn't giving up, no this is letting go
I made most of all this sorrow
I tried to brave this discontent, but now I'm through

Tom Petty; The Best of Everything

https://youtu.be/ELBC3fJOANM

She probably works in a restaurant
That's what her momma did
But I don't know if she ever really
Could put up with it
Or maybe she sings in a nightclub
Cause sometimes she used to sing
But I don't know if it ever
Amounted to anything

But listen honey,
Wherever you are tonight,
I wish you the best of everything, in the wo rld
And I hope you found
Whatever you were looking for

Yeah and it's over before you know it
It all goes by so fast
Yeah, the bad nights last forever
And the good nights don't ever seem to last
And man, we never had the real thing,
But sometimes we used to kiss
Back when we didn't understand,
What we were caught up in.

Wherever you are tonight,
I wish you the best of everything, in the world
And I hope you found
Whatever you were looki ng for

Wherever you are tonight,
I wish you the best of everything, in the world
And I hope you found
Whatever you were looking for

A Great Big World; Say Something

https://youtu.be/ApHmlRl1aKU

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one, if you want me to
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all

And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye

Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
And anywhere I would've followed you (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Say something, I'm giving up on you

Say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something...


Jackie Greene; Writing a letter home

https://youtu.be/fqIrXRk_xVk

Cigarettes are burning down to my fingers
In my motel, where the smell still lingers
From the night before...
With a ten dollar w**** who didn't even know my name

The tv says nothing, nothing to me
And i feel so low in the highest degree
Like a tree with no root, like a gun that don't shoot
Like a dog outside on a chain

And theres no use for me to sit here an moan
Many a man has been more alone
And i might feel better if i write a letter
If i write a letter home

Yeah i heard the news bout' that ol gang of mine
They're all getting married, they're all doing fine
They're all getting older, and needin' a shoulder
That's easy to lean on...

But as for me, i'm half way to denver
How long has it been? i just can't remember
It all starts to fade, cause' the life that i've made
Is the life that i dream on...

And there's no use for me to sit here and moan
Many a man has been more alone
And i might feel better if i write a letter
If i write a letter home

Now i can't help but to be who i am
Though i've let many women slip from my hands;
I've let them all go, why? i don't know,
It just made me feel like a man

But what i know now, though it may be too late
You've got to love someone and let go the weight
You've got to make do when you find love that's true
This now i understand...

And theres no use for me to sit here and moan
Many a man has been more alone
But i might feel better if i write a letter
If i write a letter home
If i write a letter home

thebanich

That is an awesome gift to give!

Everytime 'Say Something' comes on I get a lump in my throat and want to go cry. I also love that Rise Against song.

Ratpasta

Glad to see you guys appreciate awesome music


B-)

angelashly

I love Say Something @banich4eva
My DD alwasy sings it, but says mommy this song makes me sad

missymo

My kid also sings that song, @angelashly. The first time she heard it she said, "I'm never giving up on you, Mommy! What's giving up mean?" Lol.

It is such a sad song, and probably easy for the majority if humanity to relate to.

angelashly

@missymo I love hearing her little voice sing it. She usually tells me she is going to sing the girl one and me the boy part :-S

Ratpasta

There are a couple themes that I try to carry with me through the day...... which may or may not lead to arm tattoos to remind me every single moment -

This isn't giving up, no this is letting go
I tried to brave this discontent, but now I'm through

___________________________________________________________

But what i know now, though it may be too late
You've got to love someone and let go the weight
You've got to make do when you find love that's true
This now i understand


yesterday for me was particularly difficult, and these songs really helped me