Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Marcie’s Lyric Picks Vol. 3: Getting To Know You


Many Trance songs speak of how we are affected by the people in our lives. I have invited Sameer Mohamed, aka Birdman, to be a guest on “Lyric Picks” today. We will look at how trance lyrics address the comings and goings of people in our lives. It is fun to dig deep and discuss the meaning of a song with another listener. We may never figure out what the writer truly intended, but we will grow to know each other through the conversation. I can always count on Birdman to make me stop and think, and he is just one example of the amazing people I have met around the world through a shared love of music! I hope you will enjoy this column, as we welcome you to join our conversation as well.

1) Jes – People Will Go

“People will go
People will come”


Birdman: I think the lyrics above summarize the crux of the matter I am trying to convey today: People come into your life for a reason, and people leave your life for a reason. Personally I believe each experience or social encounter in life is a learning opportunity, either about you or the other person involved. It is up to the individual to find the lesson implicated. The individual needs to introspect, understand and analyze to allow growth from the experience.

Marcie: I read a quote recently that goes right along with this, Sameer! It’s from a book called ‘Practicing The Power of Now, and says, “…if you accept that the relationship is here to make you conscious instead of happy, then the relationship will offer you salvation….” This quote has altered my perspective about my own relationships. Relationships are not meant to fill every void I feel in my soul. They aren’t meant to ‘complete’ me. They are meant to make me aware of my journey through life and to allow me to focus on the here and now, instead of dwelling in the past or worrying about the future. I am grateful to the people in my life who grab my attention and help me accept and fully experience the here and now.

2) Arnej feat Josie – Strangers We’ve Become

“We fell so hard, so young
look at the strangers we’ve become”


Birdman: Off the cuff, it would seem that the lyric speaks only to the aspect of people leaving your life. Well it does in a sense, but I think we need to look prior to the incident of friends becoming strangers. Looking back to our youth, there would be many an instance where we would deem ourselves as not with the best of manner and behaviour. Ultimately, the petty childish behaviour and traits from our self or the other party involved led to a breaking tie in a friendship. I think now as adults, we should ponder the variables of our youth to allow ourselves not to fall into the same traps of “friendship” again.

I believe that an incident is only a mistake when you do it for the second time around. Use the experiences of the people who are out of your life as an assessment criterion of those you now allow in, and on the same note, adjust traits of yourself from the past that pushed people away – to allow people to let you into their life.
Marcie: Everyone deserves a chance. We are all very busy, and it’s impossible to meet and know everyone around us. I don’t think every relationship is meant to last forever, but every interaction teaches us something we can carry forward.

3) Mazzy Star- Into Dust

“It was you breathless and tall
I could feel my eyes turning into dust
And two strangers turning into dust
Turning into dust”


Marcie: For me, this is about fleeting moments with others, and how losing someone important can make us feel we have lost everything we are made of.

4) Cor Fijneman ft. Melissa Mathes – Disappear (Cliff Coenraad & Thomas Hagenbeek Repimp)

“What are you waiting for?
I might disappear
I really need to know
I need to know”


Birdman: As human beings we are generally oblivious to what is good for us. The person we are searching for, the completion of our being and soul could be right under our noses. People are in your life for a moment, for a reason, do not let them disappear.

Marcie: When I hear these lyrics, I hear a desperate plea from a person caught up in a passionate entanglement. There’s desperation here, for while she is saying she may not be there forever, I think deep down she feels that she has no choice but to wait. She cannot turn off her emotions, even though logically she knows that she should walk away. Passion can lead us to traps that are not good for us, but are difficult to escape from. Passion can also illuminate our priorities, and cloud our judgments.

5) The Doppler Effect – Beauty Hides In The Deep

“A little pearl
Locked in a shell…
Beauty hides in the deep”


Birdman: A direct stem from the above, personally I don’t make friends or acquaintances – I make brothers and sisters. To find those people who are not of your blood yet they pulsate through every heartbeat of your being, is no easy feat. Their beauty hides in the deep, it is up to us to find it – before they disappear.

Marcie: This is so well said, Sameer! I don’t always find it easy to like everyone around me, or to accept my own faults or the faults of others. We’re all human, with limits as to what makes us comfortable, and how close we allow ourselves to get to others. I like to believe that people usually have good intentions. Most people are more complicated than we give them credit for. It’s worth it to try to see people for who they really are. Often this is how we learn about ourselves as well.

6) Armin van Buuren feat. Jennifer Rene- Fine Without You

“You’ve made it clear now
This is the end
No more goodbyes and sympathies from me
All you still want is a physical thing
But you’ve taken enough from me”


Marcie: How much change do we accept in a relationship? That answer is different for everyone. I don’t find it’s healthy to allow myself to become drained from too much more give than take. I think these lyrics are about reaching our bottom line, where we decide we won’t give up any more of our energy to save a relationship.

7) Kirsty Hawkshaw Meets Tenishia – Reasons To Forgive (The Blizzard Remix)

“I focus on the positive
Remember why I live
Thank you for reminding me
Reasons to forgive”


Birdman: Again as humans, we have flaws. A sad one is finding a reason to forgive. If a person is out of your life due to a breach of trust or promise, we need to look past the nostalgia, and not find a reason to forgive. Trust is earned.

Marcie: I see what you’re saying here, Sameer. If someone has proven untrustworthy, then we shouldn’t be naive and allow them to regain our trust only to hurt us again. I agree that the lyrics address how difficult it is to trust, but I also think forgiveness is helping Kirsty find a way to trust again.

I think forgiveness is something that can be granted without giving others a free pass to hurt us. In my mind, forgiveness is meant to liberate ourselves from the suffering that comes with holding on to our pain. When we forgive someone, we are not condoning their actions. We are not seeking reconciliation. We are forgiving in order to gain an inner peace that comes from taking our life experience less personally, and we are moving forward with a positive outlook on the future.

Thanks to Birdman for taking time to discuss his feelings about lyrics with me. Thank YOU for joining in as readers! Let’s keep getting to know each other.

Stay tuned for more of Marcie’s Lyric Picks right here. For more thoughts straight from your favourite Artists on their own lyrics, check out “Marcie presents Behind The lyric” at MUGASHA

Monday, November 22, 2010