For all you Ben Rector fans who play his songs on repeat, you’ll be happy you clicked on this article. For those of you who haven’t heard Ben Rector’s music before, where have you been?! His songs are all about youth, adventure, and love. What more could you want for those rainy days and road trips? From all the times I’ve listened to his albums from Brand New to Something Like This, I’ve learned a thing or two about the person I want to be. Here are just a few little reminders about what is important in life according to Ben Rector:
1. Dance With Me Baby: "I've a thousand miles behind me and a thousand more that I have yet to go."
Not to be too cheesy, but life is a journey. You don't always know where the road will take you, but this song is about having someone dance with you and join you along the way. You have so much time ahead of you, so don't focus on all the miles behind you.
2. Wanna Be Loved: “‘Cause we just wanna be loved, and when it’s said and done, there’s no one above a little love.”
Love fixes so many things in our lives. It makes life worth living to have a little
bit of love, no matter who or what it is for.
It’s certainly true that nobody is above love.
3. Making Money: “Making money, it isn’t easy, and it sure won’t make you happy, so I think it’s funny we’re so concerned with making money.”
This is one of the main lessons I’ve learned as a broke
college student. Money isn’t everything,
and it won’t solve all of your problems.
Sure, food is happiness and money buys food. But there are more important values in life
than material things. Sometimes it takes
a little reminder.
4. Sailboat: “I feel just like a sailboat, I don’t know where I’m headed. But you can’t make the wind blow from a sailboat.”
When you’re going through tough times in life and the mystery of the future seems too overwhelming, just remember that God has you under control. You can’t control everything in your life, and sometimes you just have to keep moving forward no matter the speed of the waves.
5. Life Keeps Moving On: “We’re better off the sooner that we find that life is mostly what we choose to see, ‘cause whether or not I’ve got what I want, life keeps moving on in front of me.”
In other words, life happens the way it happens whether we want it to or not. One of the best lessons you can learn is to be happy with what you have. Make the best of life’s situations, and you’ll find yourself more content with whatever comes your way.
6. Wildfire: “When you love someone they’re gonna hurt you. When you love someone, they’re gonna burn you. But don’t let that burn you down.”
Love won’t always be easy. You might encounter heartbreak in life, but you’re still a person of value on your own. Try your hardest not to let it bring you down because there are more fish in the sea whether you believe that right away or not
7. Note To Self: “Don’t let yourself worry quite as much. It’ll end up fine enough, it always has up until now.”
This song has more words of wisdom than just these lyrics. If you have a chance to listen to the whole song, I recommend it. It is so important not to worry though. You can’t get anywhere farther or faster if you worry, so keep that in mind.
8. Like The World Is Going To End: “Every tragedy is that we can’t see it; we can’t see it until time is running out.”
So often we don’t realize a good thing until it’s gone. Bring back the YOLO motto, and take every opportunity you can to live a full life while you’re able.
9. 30,000 Feet: “I’ve walked into harder times, I’ve walked out the other side. It seems like you end up getting what you need. Yeah, looking down from 30,000 feet, life’s been good to me.”
One of my favorite songs is 30,000 feet. There is nothing like flying in an airplane, looking down and reflecting on life below you. Distance can sometimes make you see what matters most. Events and people will come and go in your life, but they shape the person who you are today. Be thankful for what life has thrown your way, and take advantage of a little distance every once in awhile.
10. More Like Love: “It’s the one thing around here we don’t have quite enough of, so I just wanna look a little more like love.”
I believe the purpose of life is to leave a lasting impression on someone else. Change someone’s life by showing him or her what love is. Treat everyone with compassion, and you will see love in return because, like Ben says, we don't have quite enough of it.
11. Beautiful: “How do we end up like this; living lives that we don’t care about? Too busy fixing things on computer screens while the grass grows green.”
We’ve come a long way as a human race, but we lose sight of what’s right in front of us when we’re so lost in our phones or our online lives. Take time to appreciate the little things like the outdoors and genuine time with others. There’s a huge world out there that we don’t even know about because we don’t take the time to step outside our doors. Put down your screens at some point today…but not before you finish reading this article, of course.
If you learn nothing else from reading these lyrics, know that life should not be taken for granted. Each day is a gift and an opportunity to start fresh. One day when you’re glued to your phone with your headphones in, look up Ben Rector and listen to these words in his voice. They’ll be stuck in your head for days, but at least you’ll remember that life is a trip worth taking.
