Decide What To Be and Go Be It

There's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what's wrong and what's right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I'm frightened by those that don't see it

We went and saw the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks last Friday night and it was an awesome show.  They are even better live, and they put fantastic spins and twists on their songs that do not detract from the studio versions, which to me is a the mark of a great band.  The different vocal harmonies and the musicality was amazing, not to mention their energy, playing for over two and a half hours.

The entire amphitheater was on it's feet the whole concert, but the song "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Dreams" sparked a palpable emotional response that resonated through the crowd .  That caught me by surprise, because of all their songs, I had never paid much attention to that one.  It is a deep song, and everyone seems to get something slightly different out of it, even as Scott Avett has stated that it is about the temporary nature of life.

Something is wrong, most of us feel it, and this song taps into that in an existential way.

“Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise was written about the temporary nature of our buildings and our mentality,” says Scott Avett. “Accepting the temporary state we may be in. (Artist) Jason (Ryan Mitcham) with his landscape paintings, and some that I’d seen that he’d animated, dealt with the temporary nature of the world around us.”  (Music that Motivates)

Two more quotes about the song from the men who co-wrote it, Scott and Seth Avett:

Scott - "The "Darkness" song! I don't want to sell out the song, because some people will get other meanings from it, but the reference to darkness came from looking around and thinking, things look great but I don't know about this. 'Things look great, things and they sure are pretty and they sure are moving fast, but something does not feel right.' With all of the traveling we do, things can feel menacing at times when you are in a new town and around strange people, and that was written around one of those shopping center areas where I was like, 'This isn't working. It looks like it is, but I don't think it is."

Seth - "The phrase that anchors this song is "there's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light..." and that line refers to these frivolous times where the dark side of life is a lot of times romanticized and made out like it's just fun when really it will destroy a person."  (A Preacher's Life)

It's a powerful song, made more powerful by the artistry of the video.

* - I hate to have to say this, but I will delete any political comments.  This is about music and life, not politics.