“I can resist anything but the temptation from you." - Part 1

This quotation is from Ben Harper’s song Another Lonely Day and this song is my default song when I am feeling particularly disheartened.  The next few lines that follow are, “I’d rather walk alone than chase you around, I’d rather fall myself than let you drag me on down.”  I go to this song for two reasons.  First, I like the simplicity of it and if you listen to the clip you will hear that it is just Ben singing along as he plays guitar.  When I hear the tone of his voice, especially compared to other songs of his, the sadness, the loneliness, and even despair all of which can be heard over the simple guitar riffs.  I imagine that he was writing this song alone while dealing with the emotional lows of knowing he couldn’t be with the one he loved.  For me it is a reminder of the relationships that we get into with people that last longer then they should.  We hold onto to these relationships in the hope that something will change either the person in question or the circumstances, and all will be well.  Is the comfort of what is familiar that prevents us from letting go?  Or perhaps the fear of the unknown and putting ourselves out there again to possibly be hurt again?  Whatever our reasons, these relationships hold us back and weigh us down which ultimately prevents us from moving forward into new and potentially better places in our lives.  Romantic baggage is by far the most difficult thing to shed.

           

The second reason why I go to this song when I feel low is because there is still hope.  Even in the midst of his sadness and loneliness there is one key phrase that allows a speckle of hope into the song and therefore into his life.  He says, “…further long we just may....”  To me this phrase says that even though everything seems black there is still hope that this just may work out for him and his love.  This is certainly a message that we can all take away and to know that no matter how dark it may seem around us, no matter how we may think all hope is lost, there is always hope.  I have learned this truth on several different occasions in my own past.  In those dark moments of my life I put trust in God and prayed that there was more to life than what I was experiencing in those moments of despair and loneliness.  There is always hope especially in God, but for now…it’s just another lonely day.