Round Here.

Lets take a break from love and talk about life. I don't think I've done that since my Drake post. Below is my first post on a rendition. I like it significantly better than the original. You should check both out and see if you agree.

PT Walkley- 'Round Here (Original- Counting Crows)

Step out the front door like the ghost
into the fog where no one notices
the contrast of white on white
And in between the moon and you
angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right
I walk in the air between the rain
through myself and back again
Where? I don't know
Maria says she's dying
through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don't know

Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates

Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand
she said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis
she walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land
just like she's walking on a wire in the circus
she parks her car outside of my house
and takes her clothes off
She says she's close to understanding Jesus
She knows she's just a little misunderstood
She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous

Round here we're carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here she's slipping through my hands

Sleeping children better run like the wind
out of the lightning dream
Mama's little baby better get herself in
out of the lightning

She says It's only in my head
She says Shhh I know it's only in my head
But the girl in car in the parking lot
says "Man you should try to take a shot
can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building
and says she's thinking of jumping
She says she's tired of life
she must be tired of something

Round here she's always on my mind
Round here hey man I've got lots of time
Round here we're never sent to bed early
And nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very, very, very, very late

I can't see nothin', nothin', round here. 
No, you catch me when I'm fallin'. 
You catch me if I'm fallin'. 
You catch me if I'm falling down on you. 
I said " I'm under the gun..." 
Round here. 
Man I said "I'm under the gun..." 
Round here. 
And I can't see nothin', nothin'. 
Round here

I remember searching long and hard for this gem. I first heard it in the movie Something Borrowed. I guess that's how I discover a lot of amazing songs that I wouldn't have heard otherwise. They're always amongst some of my very best.

What fascinates me most about "'Round Here" is that I still struggle understanding what it's about. It's defintely not one of those straight forward, on-the-surface songs that can be applied to a million and one circumstances. But even those songs have a detailed story behind them. The exact stories just didn't translate through the song, whether the writer did it on purpose or not. To someone standing on the outside, this song is a bunch of unrelated experiences and ideas squeezed into one song. But I know for the band that wrote it, (it was originally written by the band Counting Crows in case you missed that fact above), it means a little more than that... actually, a lot I'm sure. No matter what this song is about, I know it has a powerful backstory. And I don't dismiss its significance one bit just because I don't fully comprehend it. I assume that's why I listen to it so much. I think every time I listen I find a new way of interpreting it. I don't think I'll ever fully know what this song is about unless I sit down with a member of Counting Crows. And I think I'm okay with that.

If there's one thing that I know for sure, it's that this song was written so carefully, not to mention beautifully. And despite my lack of complete comprehension, there are lines that I really, really love.

"And in between the moon and you, the angels get a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right."

Rome, Italy. 2013

Angels are flying in this picture. I just can't see them. This is the most beautiful spot I've ever been to in my entire life, and if there's anyone that deserves to inhabitat it... it's them. This line means so much. I think it does for anyone who lives on this Earth and recognizes that it can be so loving, accepting, and beautiful yet so hateful and cruel at the same time. I've always considered angels to be somewhat omniscient. Of course not in all aspects, but definitely in a visual sense. I'm sure things are a lot more clear from up there ("up there" as in heaven), and I think Counting Crows would agree. I think the closer you get to Earth, the more cloudy things get; specifically the judgments and choices we make as a human race. Shame on us for slowly losing sight of such a thing. Crumbling. That word haunts me in this context. Although we're losing sight of wrong and right piece by piece, in probably the smallest fragments you could ever imagine, we are heading towards deterioration. Now that's going to take some time... for loss of judgment between what's wrong and what's right... and I'm not going to be around for it nor would I ever want to. But someone will. Some 7 billion people. And me being gone doesn't make it sound any better.

"Round here talk is just like lions. But we sacrifice like lambs."

Aracena, Spain. 2013

My first time seeing a lamb in the flesh. It brings me to this song. I think this line really represents us as people in general. Lions are firece, unbreakable, fearless and can't be touched. And I think that's how we often portray ourselves. We pretend we are a lot stronger than we really are and I think that's okay. But when you look at what you're willing to sacrifice, whatever it may be and for whatever reason, it really reflects what you're all about. Sacrifice is one of the hardest things to do. In reality, who really wants to give one thing up for another? We all want to take all that we can get without facing the consequence of losing something in return.

"'Round Here" is that one little savior that reminds me to stop and take a look at the world and the people around me. It reminds me to think beyond the surface, because there is always something there. Always.