A great song can easily be judged by how influential it is when you connect with it the first time your hear it and how it never grows old no matter how many million times you listen to it. It’s always relevant to you.

Last Tuesday was a big day musically for me as three of my favorite artists released records. And while this isn’t ‘New Music Monday,’ I can’t help but talk a little bit about a song on one of the albums that made me breakdown a little and think about where I’m at in my life. In a gross understatement that only my wife will get, this has been a ‘busy’ month.

So this is about a song. Listening to it has restored the value and energy I have in my faith and my perseverance as a person. Everything I do has purpose and my effort and belief will be reward despite the disruptions along the way. You see, new employment opportunities, selling the house that both of my children have always known as home, not having a new residence for a destination, and just growing up and trying to be more responsible has really wore me down lately.

Before I go any further, those of you readers who receive email updates, I strongly recommend going to the actual ourowncountry.blogspot.com to get the audible aid in the form of music. And if I can off one more piece of advice…..turn it up LOUD.

I’ve literally listened to this song a hundred times. Each time the result is tears of joy. This is what I’d define as the reason for music. That is; music is what emotions sounds like. If you’ve been following the chronicles of my family and our never-ending life-changing decisions, you know that we once again at a crossroads. And while I have support in every corner of my life, I find that at the end of the day, the accountability for success falls squarely on my shoulders. Lately, I’ve worried greatly about letting everyone down in my house. I look at Son #1 and wonder how can mix his life up like this.


While occasionally you get to make decisions where there are clear successes and failures, typically, our life-changing decision don’t carry the simplicity of these results. They take years to truly evaluate their ramifications. But despite all of the ambiguity in these decisions, I’ve always tried to do my best to evaluate the best answers to our complex problems. And for the first time in my life, I am scared that I risked too much.

Enter Authority Zero and “Get it Right.” Succinctly, it captures what I’m feeling in sound. Twisted thoughts, contrived truths, and misled observations. Here I sit; trying to make the best decisions I can and worry about getting it right. I keep poking my head into harm’s way. I’m scared as hell that I’m going to screw this up and my family will resent the torture I’ll be putting them through. Just the other night after work, I sat with Son #1 on my lap and asked him if he trusted that I would do what is best for him and his brother. I started to break down as I muttered out the question. I couldn’t breathe and I could feel my anxiety begin to creep in to my consciousness. As I sputtered out the words in between tears, Son #1 leaned in closer to me, smiled that big cheesy smile, and said yes, he trusts me.

To cap off the emotion which is gushing like a BP oil spill in the Gulf, this song is like and old friend who knows just what to say, sometimes what not to say, and when and where to say or not to say it. “Get it Right” put a definition on how I’m feeling and how I carry along. Of course my description of the song and my emotions are somewhat irrelevant tot the reader. As with emotion, music is also extremely personal and wildly introspective. But how great is it to have something so esoteric, yet so poignant that connects with you and makes you feel a little more comfortable with the discomfort of life?


Right now, I’m just hoping someday I’ll get it right.