Do you ever feel like you don’t want to be yourself? You’d rather be blind to reality and pretend to be someone else for the day? Or maybe the year? Or maybe even your whole life? Its completely normal to want something different than what you already have.
“We needed a tutor, so built a computer and programmed ourselves not to see. The truth and the lying, the dead and the dying, there is only one way to be” (these lyrics have been taken from a 1971 Demo recording, so depending on what version you listen to, the lyrics may vary).. You can take those lyrics any way that you want, but when you dig down to the core of it, you can’t deny that it tells it like it is. The world loves to be blind to those who are real, craves to put on a mask and pretend that everything is perfect, but in reality, there is only one way you can be, and that is to be yourself. Those lyrics are from the song Be Yourself by Graham Nash.
Graham Nash’s lyrics have always been known to be deep and meaningful, ranging from love ballads to more upbeat songs proclaiming the freedom of the world. One of my favourite parts of this particular song is when they sing “Be yourself, Free yourself” because during the recording session, he gathered people from around the studio into the recording room, regardless of whether or not they had any vocal talent, he had them all sing. He let them be themselves and encouraged each one to sing their heart out! Now, if he had told them to sing in their best operatic voice or grungy voice, they probably would’ve sounded awful, because they weren’t being themselves!
The lyrics carry on to say “Don’t theorize, look in their eyes, are they telling lies? The ones that they learn on T.V. What a way to be free”. What a way to be free, right? Living life in a choke-hold by the media, being fed only lies of what is right and what is wrong. The media tells people that the best way to be, is to be somebody else. Does anybody else see what’s wrong with this picture? Why would you be born you, if you were meant to be somebody else? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being yourself.
“Look in your eyes, they can’t tell lies…” The eyes are the window to the soul, right? When you look into your own eyes, what do you see? Yourself? Or is it the photoshopped, recreation that the world says you should be? I can’t tell you that there won’t be struggles with being yourself, but life certainly won’t be perfect if you’re not yourself. It will just come back and bite you in the butt.
I hope you enjoy this week’s song and put it on repeat, just like I do! Graham Nash is the artist to go to, when looking for deep and meaningful songs, with a raw, hippie edge to it. If you liked this song, also consider looking into his work with CSN (Crosby, Stills, and Nash) or CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young)!
Hi! My names Hannah! There’s not much to say about me, aside from the old adage “I love to write” or “music is my passion!”. I’m basically just a die hard fan of old music and a firm believer that music will take part in healing the world. I graduate high school this year and I have absolutely no idea what direction my life will take me in but I’m trusting God and following His lead. I’m beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to write a few guest posts and share a little about my passion! So grab a cup of tea, settle down, stay a while, and enjoy your read!
Defying Shadows 