Keith Urban--Love, pain and the whole crazy thing

Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing.

Song by song by song

Once in a Lifetime

Before I even listened to the first 8 measures of Keith's new single; "Once in a Lifetime Love," I have to admit I let out a long sigh and I rolled my eyes—ever so slightly.

I'm telling you this so you can brace yourselves for what music critics are going to write (if they haven't already); which is that this song (when it was a new single) is not his best effort, falling short of some of the more brilliant songs in his repertoire. You must admit the title alone is one huge cliché, yet a lot of Urban's songs/hits from other records have been anything but that: Who wouldn't wanna be me? Days go by, Rainin' on Sunday, Better Life and many others.

Push "play" and the first verse and chorus become cliché machines, spitting out Nashville boiler plate phrases just like professional athletes tell interviewers how they're taking things: "One game at a time." Of course if I had a nickel for every lyric, that connects eyes and touch, long shots- payoffs, tomorrow being a brighter day and leaps of faith, I could easily afford 2 front row seats from the most expensive ticket scalper in town when Keith tours again—and maybe I'll take you with me, because despite only being "whelmed" by the first single, I still love Keith Urban and will be there on my feet the next time he rolls into Detroit.

OK, after the first nonplussing verse and chorus, I'm adjusting the bass and treble to trying and optimize the sound 'cuz I know it's a hit—but it still isn't working for me. Now, with verse 2, things are a little different and become a tad clearer. The song starts talking in reality based rhymes and makes me curious to see where he's going with it, so I follow. His is a new spin on an old phrase, but there's brutal honesty in the line:

"Everybody's lookin' for what we found,

Some wait their whole life and it never comes around."

But then we're lead into another chorus, which, like the first, is lyrically banal and for my high expectations; and dare I add (in this company), weak. I say this as someone who, unlike many critics, had my brain spanked into admiration with other amazingly poetic lines from other songs. He's brilliant'; so please, no hate email.

Lyrically, this tune leaves me looking for something I can really sink my teeth into. But, what literally saves the song for me is how musically, he turns the common, phrase "Don't fear it now, we're going all the way," into a powerfully redemptive statement. It delivers a rhyming zap of rock-n-roll theology with enough conviction for even a know-it-all like me to believe.

With the exception of the mandolin, "Once in a Lifetime" is strongly reminiscent of U2 in their mega-hit days, with large, swelling chord progressions, a sweating drummer and guitars with cleverly inverting chords, affects and licks executed in Urban's masterful, precise fashion.

For my money, the song finally hits pay dirt during the bridge, when he puts me right there in a pew at the church. Suddenly, I feel the soft utterance of love's hidden truths. These are truths, which can only come from the adoring eyes of a woman while she creates a new memory with her man on their greatest day.

So what is finding a "once in a lifetime" love about? To me it's undoubtedly a KU, seed of promise; knowing for every dreamy lovesick man or lonely woman, a love exists somewhere. The idea that a true love may be out there for all of us gives us hope and sometimes hopes is a promise that is just not yet fulfilled. But for now it's planted in this simple offering, which has grown like a beanstalk as a favorite of mine.

In a rare private backstage moment, I spoke to Keith briefly last year about the new record and he expressed with enthusiasm that he was anxious to be working with Dan Huff again. If ever a producer and performer were to make beautiful music together, theirs is such the match. Huff really deserves a good amount of credit as well, as it was he, who in my opinion helped Keith perfect his own blend of guitar-driven, slick country rock that put him on the elevator after Golden Road.

Shine-

How can you not love a song, like Shine? Right now, this may be my favorite track on the whole record for a couple reasons. First, I'm instantly immersed in a great vibe from the moment it kicks in. Ya gotta love when a rocker like Keith can work a viola and cello into a tune like this (and a ganjo to boot). Many other country artists rely on big string arrangements, hoping they will give the song the "something it's missing." That's not necessary in this case.

Songwriting 101 tells you that a great tune will sound great whether played with an acoustic guitar, an old piano in your living room, or in a recording studio with all the top technology available. This is yet another example of how he and producer Dan Huff work so well together.

A slower paced gem, it's a wonderfully placid segue to the rest of the record coming off the high-energy like the opener. The groove gives me the same "feel good" sensation of when the chorus hits in "Who Wouldn't Wanna be Me?" (Also co-written by Monty Powell and KU) It's not too much and not too little, but just right, musically and lyrically. I guarantee its "sway-ability" with lighters a-flickerin' at concerts will be high. Shine is the kind of song that reminds you to slow down and as you sing it loudly with the person next to you (no matter how crappy your voice may be) look 'em in the eye and smile. When the last note fades let them know how you're the silver lining of the dark cloud that's been hanging' over them. If he ever changes his live show and eliminates "These are the days" as a closing tune, I can completely see Shine as its replacement.

The gist of it? You'll know you're really in love (or rediscover it) when at the end of your long day, the person who might not have the energy or capability to change it will find a way to do so anyhow.

Love makes everything easier.

Stupid Boy

The title alone suggests this is a cut (assuming it had it not been on a KU or Sarah Buxton record of course) that's to be ignored, but it's awesome.

Had it have been anywhere else, I would have ignored it, simply because of the title, which strongly suggests it could have been written by one of the many angry young female singers who, (for reasons unknown to me), take up shelf space in record stores and miraculously have a positive market share for record companies. Creating and making new music is great and encourage by me, but I'm pretty sure there's better ways young celebrities can use their influence other than encouraging adolescent girls to get naked, get tattoos and add to their already job-debilitating body piercing. (OK—sorry for that rant).

Obviously, I KNOW this is not the case of co-writer Sarah Buxton, who originally recorded the song. Anyway, leave it to a couple of female songwriters (with some input from a male co-writer) to be pull this one off. Originally written by and recorded by Sarah, Stupid Boy was more of a statement about and to the man who did her wrong, telling him what a doo-fus he was. Keith's version shows the other side to the story as the brilliant juxtaposition of him singing it to himself, makes it work so well; amazingly well.

Instead of singing about Buxton's hurt, as she did when she spilled her guts, his voice is that of an apologetic fool who "had her heart and soul right in his hands." We've all been stupid when it comes to love, that is just—well, pretty much how it works. Boy meets girl, falls in love with her, becomes a doo-fus and treats her poorly because he's a doo-fus--- we all know the type.

It's no secret that love and relationships are complicated, but it's my belief they don't have to be. So this concludes part 2 of 6 as I whittle away at sharing my thoughts on this new record. Thanks to everyone who has responded to my posts and who has contacted me privately. Your stories and reflections are great to hear and your kind words are inspiring. A new KU friend shared some thoughts with me this week. She mentioned how Keith's music has an interesting way of forcing us to think about things we may or may not be aware of, or want to talk about. And this is good. I've heard stories of families who were separated and estranged for whatever reason only to be reconnected somehow through an event that involves music or a particular song lyric. Keith's "Song for Dad" comes to mind as one, as I've read about how much it's been plated at funerals. The one thing I think we never talk about as much as we should is death. But who really wants to?

It rang true for me in November when my high school band director died. His name was Richard Perkins and he taught music for 22 years at Dondero High School in Royal Oak Michigan. You would not be reading this today had it not been for his presence and influence in my life. More than teaching me to play an instrument, he taught me about discipline and respect for others. It wasn't about growing up and making a decent living, but more about being decent as you live. More importantly, he taught, told and showed me how much I mattered in this world.

He also mattered a lot to me.

Never married, he had no family in the area and I spent a lot of time with him at the hospital, rehab, the assisted living facility and ultimately, at hospice listening to our favorite composer, the incomparable Percy Grainger, on a portable CD player the last time I saw him before he slipped away. He was a man who shaped lives quietly and led his life the same way, without fanfare or expectations from you, other than insisting you tried and gave everything you did your best shot. He was only 63, barely retired and was looking forward to enjoying his retirement. Music was his life. This experience was yet another gentle reminder of the fragility of life around us. His spirit and love for music is something I proudly will carry for the rest of my life.

I mentioned this in my last post, but it holds so true I think it's worth mentioning again. As I've gotten to know Keith's music better I think it would be his belief that it's about faith and it's more than just being good to one another. Isn't it great that we have music to help us when we can't find the words?

Got it Right This Time

As I mentioned earlier, songwriting 101 tells you a great song will hold its own sound significance whether played in your living room on an acoustic guitar or piano or while recorded in a studio with all the top technology. Got it right this time is a prime example of that phenomenon. It reminds me also of when Phil Collins (Genesis) released his first solo record; "Face Value" in the early 80's. He recorded it at home and the intimacy and honesty of it was lightening in a bottle. So was Springsteen's Nebraska; (though stylistically the two records sounded very different) which was done on even lesser grade equipment. Both are hailed as incredible works.

I read where one critic said this song was raw. If you asked me, the most overused adjective ever used to describe a sing with minimal production is "raw." I think it's a bad one for a few reasons. First, I don't know about you, but when I think of raw, I think of food. The Food Network junkie that I am, there are few raw foods that are great. Vegetables and fruit, yes, but eating meat, poultry, bread and fish raw will put you in the hospital. So why there's an obsession with critics to use that word, I'll never know. (if you're ever in Michigan, I'll cook for ya and bend your ear about music all night and nothing will be raw).

I think Got It Right This Time is a simple, but great tune. It's sparse, honest and actually the first tune Keith Urban has recorded that sounds, well—like urban music! This is more like a lost Stevie Wonder gem than something you'd expect from an Australian country rocker, don't you think?

It's widely accepted and understood that urban music comes from black recording artists. Back in the 90's John Michael Montgomery had a slew of hits, like "I can love you like that," "I Swear," and there may have been more, I can't recall. Anyway, the urban group, Boys To Men, made those songs mega-hits again in a completely different genre! I'm using this as a comparison to how "Got it right" has that same feel.

So back to Songwriting 101. . .A strong example of this is how a few years ago my good friend, author and musician, Stewart Francke, told me about seeing James Taylor when he toured and played in several major cities symphony orchestras. Face it; a lot of younger people (no offense to anyone) might not have been open to it as a "valid" musical experience, as it was too "soft." Yet, JT played some songs by Gershwin, Kern and Steven Foster, all incredibly romantic and lush.

Ask anyone who knows what's what about music and its origin and he or she'll tell you how Foster essentially created what we now know as "popular music." Pop Music. The point Stewart made to me was musical subtleties like dynamics, pure musicianship, harmony, melody, possessing a working history of the form and understanding of the art of arrangement are so absent from most of what we hear today and always hear on KU records.

God Made Woman

My good friend Stewart Francke (geeze, I'm using him a lot tonight) said it best in his essay "Chicks and Dough," in the prelude to his boxed set "The Works 1995-2000" when he stated: "Behind every successful man is a woman in shock."

Amen, brothers and sisters.

Francke, much like Urban makes records for reasons other than those most celebrated pair of rock and roll incentives.

What man in his right mind who loves women or who's ever loved a woman (there's a big difference) could not relate to this? Equally, what woman would not be floored by the compliment, if sincere? There's a fine line he treads in this song, as anytime you mix direct quotes from the Holy Bible, someone is bound to take offense. The same holds true for the extreme feminists who can become an equally riled bunch. Most times it's justified, as women are not a "topic" or a "body" to be subjugated, at least that's what I believe. I've not yet heard about this happening and I hope it doesn't, because this song was done tastefully, respectfully and creatively.

When the song was written, I don't know if the intention was for the writers to pay homage to the great Bob Dylan or not. But immediately, I recognized the "Nah nah nah" refrain of the song as a melody taken verbatim from the chorus of a semi-hit for Dylan around 1985 from his record called "Infidels," called Jokerman. Naturally, I'm dating myself with that observation. Of course I could try and convince you I was really musically advanced for my age and when that song came out I was only 2, not 20.

Used To The Pain

It's ethereal like a dream, but has some nightmarish qualities.

This sounds to me like a lost Fleetwood Mac gem, circa the late 1970's, both musically and lyrically. It's reminiscent of some of Lindsay Buckingham's incredible songwriting style and lyrical complexities done in a way only Keith can pull off with his guitar chops. Try playing this one side by side with "You can go your own way," and maybe you'll see what I mean.

Beyond that observation, this is probably the darkest song he's ever written or co-written and it haunts me for a couple reasons. Musically, it seems to have a dramatic determination to it, which artist's usually only use with something they are earnest about or when they want to be taken seriously. I do not doubt his sincerity at all. This song holds the gripping, pressured; necessary urgency needed but displays it in a very somber way. He wastes no time sinking his teeth with words that demand your immediate attention "And so I wrote this song for you," and by the time the chorus hits we've really got something to chew on.

And every step I take, I feel a little less afraid of givin' into love.

Yet, the next line is a little confusing to me, as presumably after the previous statement, you'd be apt to believe he's warming up to the idea of the commitment he's been unable to make or unwilling to keep.

Believe me when I say it gets better every day, once you get used to the pain.

So it asks a tough question; why would something be getting better only if we are asked to "get used to" the painful aspect of it? The answer? (as if you didn't already know) love, falling in love and losing love are all painful things. But why?

This song talks of the ying and yang of love and what's worse; the pain of being alone or the pain of indecision. It's the centerpiece of the record when you look at the "Love, pain and the whole crazy thing" naming of the CD as a whole. Let's break it down.

Love

To me, a hopeless romantic, it seems like love should be about exuberance, joy, violins and flowers. And sometimes love is. It seems falling in love can occur with all those "Me too's" as you and your date talk all night, realizing how much you have in common. And sometimes falling in love is just that.

Pain

Breaking up with someone, just plain hurts. For a while, there's only the losing of love feeling that remains and sometimes it's hard to move one way or the other. It doesn't seem so difficult to manage until it happens to you.

The Whole Crazy Thing

As we get older and look back on our lives, we begin to make sense of those painful times because in losing something, a new opportunity is created for something else to grow inside of us. Either you eventually move on and accept the loss or you don't. Bruce Springsteen said it best in his lyric from Tunnel of Love; "You've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above."

And the impossible thing you can't realize until much later is sometimes it takes us getting lost to figure out who it is we really are.

TU Compania

OK, this song was annoying to me the first time I heard it largely because of the bothersome, rhythmic chick-chick a chich-ahhs that are like nails on a blackboard to me. I've still not warmed up to it and can only imagine it made the final cut because of the great instrumental licks and the ganjo pickin' and pluckin' like the old bluegrass inspired days. Pass.

Won't Let You down

I read in an interview with Keith how he even admitted this lyric was un-original. Un-original? It's old and overused in both country and pop music these days. This is part of why I'll not back off on my stance of how this is a good album from Keith as a whole, but is slow to move me beyond the places I found myself during "Be Here." If you think I'm overly critical, it's largely because I can only compare this to his other, more poetic words. Sorry, but "I won't let you down" and "I'll catch you when you fall" are just weak.

However-

This song moves along quite nicely until he hits the line: "And if you lose your way on some rainy day, just look above and I will be the sunshine breakin' through." At that point it shifts into a new gear; turbo, overdrive, high octane or whatever you want to call it. Suddenly becomes a song with no brakes.

What saves this song is the redemptive way he sings it because he makes you believe it. Turning a simple lyric the way he does gives me hope that on his next record, especially after what he's been though as of late, we will be blown away. Until then, we still have this one to enjoy for a while and see how he works the new songs into the live show.

Can't Stop Lovin' You

By now, almost everyone who's read a review of the new CD knows Leo Sayer and Phil Collins both had huge success with "I Can't Stop Loving You," decades apart, with two totally different arrangements. Sayer, who's known for his numerous whimsical pop tunes struck first with it in the late 1970's. His version was, well. . . quite successful, but it lacked heart and left me a bit was hollow. (Or maybe it was his multi-colored rainbow suspenders that ruined it for me).

Phil Collins, a great influence on me as a drummer and songwriter when I was a musician had an amazingly well produced, slick version (in 4/4 time rather than the ¾ or 6/8 time signature, depending on where you went to music school). His version had the guts Sayer lacked in his. In PC's version, his voice resonated soundly as it drove his trademark, crushing drumbeat. He nailed it with gusto and it went to #2 on the AC charts a few years back. Keith's version has guts and soul and heart--- and a weeping guitar solo that's as sad as it is triumphant while evoking the true emotion of the lyric through the fret board.

The third time will surely be a charm and has #1 written all over it if his label decides to release it as a single, which they're should consider as it is perhaps the most "country" sounding cut on the record. I love this tune more and more each time I hear it. The writer behind this gem? Billy Nicholls. Don't worry, he hasn't heard of you either (:

True story. A couple months ago I left church feeling reverent and a bit somber. It was one of those golden autumn days where wind gusts shook the trees three blocks at a time. Leaves blew across the roads in bushels. It was the time of the year when you knew Mother Nature was up to something and could bring a change in the weather at any minute. Sparrows flew in delicate, reckless flocks and October's clinging murmur seemed to fade more each day.

This song began playing as I started my drive home through town. As if on cue, I drove slowly down the road and noticed a woman, probably in her 20's, walking slowly on the sidewalk. She was clutching her purse in her chest as if it would provide the kind of comfort that at times only the human touch can bring. Though she didn't see me, as I got closer she stopped walking and I sensed something wrong (and I didn't know why) I slowed down just enough as I passed her and in my rear view mirror, I could see her crying as the line "I saw you walk across the road, for maybe the last time I don't know," was sung. It was like a scene out of a Meg Ryan movie.

As the song played out, the lyric became clearer to me in a way I could visually relate to; like real time music video unfolding in front of me. Suddenly, I was caught up in the true emotion of the song and really felt the quandary the lyric posed. As I circled around the block to pass her once more as I thought about rolling down my window to see if she was OK, but by the time I was approaching again, a young man had appeared out of nowhere next to her. He wore a black leather jacket and was tough looking, but was clearly wiping tears from his eyes. As the guitar solo was wailing on and on, he put his arms around this woman; the song providing the soundtrack of the moment during this starkly real circumstance. She was biting her trembling lip as I drove by. Her purse was on the ground while the wind blew her hair every which way. Tears flowed down her face and her arms held onto him as though her life depended on it.

Long past midnight I thought about it again. I was desperate for sleep but it could not be found. Then I began to wonder if it really happened or if I only imagined it. I'll never forget the way she was clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Then it hit me; maybe it did.

Was I just in the right place at the right time to see this rare drama unfold? Maybe, but the reality is trying to live without someone but realizing we can't is an occurrence that's all too familiar. Some of us pretend to do it every day and get good at it while some of us toss and turn all night, hoping the next morning will bring something to push us beyond it. And sometimes as we struggle it seems like changing the past might be an easier option.

Faster Car

Since the vinyl LP went the way of the dinosaur, so too did the way many full-length recordings (records, albums, LP's) were recorded. Another way to think about it is how when rock and roll first started in the 50's all the songs were "singles" based, or what was know as a 45 rpm record. The record companies cranked them out as fast as they could, often releasing more than one at a time by an artist as it drove sales figures. (i.e. The Beatles in April of 1964, when they held the top 5 positions (#1 Can't buy me love #2 Twist & Shout #3 She loves you #4 I wanna hold your hand #5 Please please me) today a record company will release a single, let it run its course on the charts until it peaks and dwindles before releasing another one, usually about 2 and one half months for a top 10 hit.

Faster Car is pure fun, would make a great single and a even great dance-remix and I'm sure will be included in the new tour and will be a crowd favorite. Then again, what KU tune isn't? It almost reminds me of some of the whimsical Brian Wilson lyrics in a classic Beach Boys way though musically sounds nothing like them. The Beach Boys most popular subject matter? Cars and girls. I think Faster Car is KU's first "car song," though someone can correct me if I'm forgetting one.

Today it's my belief marketing departments have more control and influence than they had in the old days and that's why the industry is often odious. Traditionally A&R departments (artist & repertoire) were full of real "song people" who helped the artist in selecting what songs to record based on creativity and the merit of songwriting. Now, any boob with a drum loop, a downloaded sample and a microphone can record a "song," and fabricate a hit based on its sexual overtones or amount of skin on the CD jacket.

Today the industry puts a lot of weight on music videos, auditorium and call out research, movie tie-ins, and potential use in commercials etc. While I love Faster Car, it would not surprise me a bit if it took on a new life by way of a music video. Personally, I've never been a big fan of music videos. To me, a song is meant to stimulate your imagination and music videos take that away. As a result people now identify songs by videos, not lyrics. Faster Car is another on a long list of potential singles his record label may release. It's almost a sure thing. Fun, fun fun.

Raise the Barn

Not an unlikely pairing with Ronnie Dunn, this song is triumphant, almost like an arena rock anthem. I love how it pays homage to the country music that one was everywhere but barely exists today (square dancin', toe tappin', boot slidin' and who doesn't love a little hay rollin' once in a while?) That is one of the things I love about KU; the fact that he has a respect and reverence for traditional country and other roots rock. This became evident to me when I first saw him live. During the part of his set that was acoustic, he'd often break of into different tangents; like Dolly's "Jolene" or Dave Edmunds classic "I hear you knockin.'" Hey, what we think, we become.

It's these varied influences that helped shape his style, which is still evolving today. He's a well-rounded student of rock and country music. The musical climate for someone his age growing up in Australia in the 1970's was not much different from how it was in American. I think of his music as a hybrid of usually smart pop tunes with catchy melodies and often poetic and meaningful lyrics---like what was predominant on American airwaves in the 1970's (The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Fogelberg, Chicago, Springsteen, Dylan, etc.). Though he's seemed predictable at times on this new CD, I've forgiven him and am trying more to just enjoy what I hear rather than analyzing it. It's hard, because that's what recovering musicians like me do!

KU has filled a big void of the 30-45 year old demographic of people who grew up listening to rock and roll in America. Popular music went by the wayside for them in the 90's when America's top 40 turned to rap and they needed something with a musical backbone that still meant something lyrically, something to cling to in the changing field of new names, one hit wonders and pretty faces. Thank God for KU.

I Told You So

Which one of us has not been faced with the awkwardness of an unexpected visit or phone call from a former lover? And how many of us secretly would really savor a good "I told you so," once in a while, especially at the expense of the one who left us. There's brilliance in the chorus: "Don't say that you're sorry and I won't say I told you so." They are very common and complete thoughts on their own. Yet I've never heard them blended so eloquently by a songwriter before and connected the way he does, underscoring while realizing the acceptance of love's imperfect consequences.

Of most songs on his new CD, KU sounds most "like himself" to me in on "I Told You So." It's a song in his comfort level without any surprises, consisting of a catch melody that has not strayed much from the KU, guitar driven style he's created in his body of work. It's a rocker with instruments galore (ganjo, accordion, fiddle, tin whistle and Uillean pipes) all blended among the traditional guitars, bass and drums.

Love does grow foolishly sometimes which is why the words "for better or worse" are really the glue of wedding vows. Sadly, since TV and other media forms have created a newer and higher American fascination with celebrity romance, the institute of marriage has become so cheapened today. Its no wonder people treat it like a leased vehicle. Hollywood, MTV and the dilution of societal values desecrate the sanctity of marriage each day. The sadder part is that we allow it to go on.

My parting thoughts on love as a single male today? You have to give your love a voice if you want to make love stay. Vince Gill was right when he said: it's not really love if it tears you apart. Love never broke anyone's heart.

Everybody

The song, "Everybody," reminds me of how we're more alike than we are different: We live a good part of our lives by instinct, feel and express emotions differently and are all warm blooded. No, this isn't about science (next to math, history, geography, social studies and English, science was my worst subject) this is largely a few thoughts of mine about us--- everyone who's a KU fan.

This is a simple song of comfort, longing and belonging. It's nothing new, complex or grandiose, it's just an idea advanced by truth. To me it's about how we frequently feel like we're walking through this broken world alone, yet seldom realize we don't have to. Hopefully we're smart enough or lucky enough to love and be loved between our giant leaps of faith and each hesitant step into the dark, daring night we often face. And everybody needs somebody, sometimes.

You don't have to find your own way out. You've got a voice let it be heard.

Everybody—what's in a word? It's an across-the-board concept, meaning no matter whom you are, how stupid you've been, how overweight, rich, popular, funny, joyous or heartbroken you feel, you're in. It's an all-inclusive category, as some things in life really do pertain to everyone.

At any time in our lives, we have no way of knowing if we are experiencing something for the first time or for the last. Everybody reading this comes from a different place, yet we all live on a planet washed each night at dusk by the same blushing sky and everybody reading this has something in common because of music. Music does something more than just entertain the masses; it's a source of comfort and something we can love and hold onto, no matter what, in this often slippery world.

Music by definition is "The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre." But to me it's so much more. It's a conduit of souls, a breeding ground for love and is often spiritual, regardless of what you believe in. Music is a phenomenon of place because often when we hear a great song it has the power to take us somewhere we can't point to in a room or find on a map. And everybody needs somebody, sometimes.

As we grow older, people, places and things we love can suddenly be ripped from our lives without mercy; it's unavoidable. Today the world changes too quickly and too frequently for many of us, disrupting our plans and derailing us from our chosen course. Good people with fragile lives are continually expected to pick up their pace each day in order to keep up with America's obsession with speed, convenience and youth. Why is it nobody is obsessed with patience and understanding?

So don't give up now you're so close to a brand new day.

We all live in a world where the light at dawn gradually pushes its way up through the night's heavy darkness; we awaken to resume our lives in a new day filled with opportunity. This immense and repetitive pattern of dark and light is nothing short of a new birth--the ceaseless chance at making things right again and again for everybody.