Music, like art and dance, fuels our souls and sets our hearts aflame. Everyone and anyone can be touched by a simple melody and move to a catchy rhythm. More often these days, though, we are caught up by the beat and forget about the actual words. It's difficult for artists to seamlessly blend these two together and come up with a final product that will really take off. No wonder musicians and bands like Ed Sheeran, Queen, Styx, Linkin Park and John Mayer are regarded as masters of the music scene, just to name a few.
My fellow John Mayer fans out there know that its John's subtlety in telling a story or sending a message with his lyrics that make us stop and think, "Damn, this is pretty deep." His attention to evoking emotion paired with his legendary guitar skills make him a notable artist ever since his introduction in the early 2000's.
Here are 24 song lyrics by John Mayer through the years that are too good to not appreciate:
1. Song: In Your Atmosphere
"Wherever I go, whatever I do
I wonder where I am
in my relationship to you
Wherever you go, wherever you are
I watch that pretty life play out
in pictures from afar"
2. Song: Gravity
"Just keep me where the light is"
3. Song (Cover with Buddy Guy): I've Got Dreams To Remember
"I know you said he was just a friend
But I saw you kiss him again and again
These eyes of mine, they don't fool me
Why did he hold you so tenderly?
I've got dreams
dreams to remember"
4. Song: Wildfire
"Don't get up just to, get another you can
drink from mine, we can't leave each other
We can dance with the dead
You can rest your head
On my shoulder if you want to get older with me"
5. Song: Stop This Train
"Once in a while, when it's good
It'll feel like it should
When you're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark"
6. Song: Edge Of Desire
"Young and full of running
Tell me where's that taking me?
Just a great figure eight
or a tiny infinity"
7. Song: Vultures
"Wheels up
I've got to leave this evening
Can't seem to shake these vultures
off of my trail
Power is made by power being taken
So I keep on running
to protect my situation"
8. Song: Wheel
"I believe
that my life's gonna see
the love I give
return to me"
9. Song: If I Ever Get Around To Living
"If I ever get around to living
I'll take the end of every day
Tie it up to every morning
And sail away, away"
10. Song: Come Back To Bed
"You can be mad in the morning
or the afternoon instead
But don't leave me
98 and 6 degrees of separation from you, baby
Come back to bed"
11. Song: 3x5
"Today I finally overcame
trying to fit the world inside a picture frame"
12. Song: Neon
"I can't be her angel now
You know it's not my place to hold her down
And it's hard for me to take a stand
When I would take her any way I can"
13. Song: Another Kind Of Green
"Move into someone else's place
and stare into some other's eyes
And slowly only come to realize
That you didn't need another kind of green to know
I'm on the right side with you"
14. Song: Covered In Rain
"She mentioned something about it being for the best
I can't say I disagree
It's killing me
So now I'm standing facing west
tracing my fingers round a silhouette
that I haven't gotten used to yet
But it's the brightest thing I got
When I'm covered in rain"
15. Song: Why Georgia
"It might be a quarter life crisis
or just a stirring in my soul
Either way I wonder sometimes
about the outcome
of a still verdictless life
Am I living it right?"
16. Song: Belief
"Belief is a beautiful armor
But makes for the heaviest sword
like punching underwater
You never can hit who you're trying for"
17. Song: The Heart Of Life
"Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way it should
But I know the heart of life is good"
18. Song: Good Love Is On The Way
"I'm done with broken people
This is me I'm working on"
19. Song: Love On The Weekend
"Down there below us, under the clouds
Baby, take my hand and pull me down, down, down, down
And I'll be dreamin' of the next time we can go
into another serotonin overflow"
20. Song: I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
"Who do you love?
Me or the thought of me?"
21. Song: Heartbreak Warfare
"I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight
Let's just fix this whole thing now
I swear to God we're gonna get it right
If you lay your weapon down
Red wine and ambien
You're talkin' shit again, it's
heartbreak warfare
Good to know it's all a game
Disappointment has a name, it's
heartbreak, heartbreak"
22. Song: In The Blood
"I can feel the love I want, I can feel the love I need
But it's never gonna come the way I am
Could I change it if I wanted, Could I rise above the flood?
Will it wash out in the water, or is it always in the blood?"
23. Song: Dreaming With A Broken Heart
"Do I have to fall asleep with roses in my,
roses in my hands?
Would you get them if I did?
No, you won't
'Cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone
When you're dreaming with a broken heart,
the waking up is the hardest part"
24. Song: Split Screen Sadness
"So I'll check the weather wherever you are
'Cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight"
Some critics argue that John Mayer's career peaked with the release of his 2006 album, Continuum. Rather than staying stagnant, he has delved into new sounds and travels in a unique musical direction with each record. What isn't understood is the fact that music does and should grow with the artist. John's lyrics showcase the evolution of his music and him as a human being through the years. That's how good music works.
I encourage all of you to find an artist or artists out there whose music truly speaks to you. Music that makes you feel something. A timeless collection of songs that you can whip out when you're overcome with joy, sadness, anger, loneliness, hopelessness and all the other gripping emotions that bind us as a species.
That's why I chose not to include my own interpretations or present my own feelings underneath these lyrics. Songs make us feel however they do. And that's the beautiful thing about them.
"Music is the literature of the heart: it commences where speech ends." -- Alphonse de Lamartine
