I've been a fan of Crosby, Stills & Nash for many years and own all their albums (a time before CDs, MP3 players and whatever else is out there) from the 1960s and '70s.
One of their songs that really resonated with me was "Wasted on the Way," written by Graham Nash. The tune was released in 1982 and was their first Top 10 hit in about five years. I enjoy the song now more than I did when it was released.
To me, it's a song about reflecting on life as one grows older. And for many folks -- myself included -- there are always questions about things I could have or should have done, or perhaps, shouldn't have done.
The narrator begins by looking at his current life:
"I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started long before I did"
"And there's so much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away"
The narrator asks if you questioned what you were told:
"Oh, when you were young
Did you question all the answers
Did you envy all the dancers who had all the nerve"
That last line, to me, means those folks who had the courage to step out and do their own thing rather than follow the crowd.
"Look around you know
You must go for what you wanted
Look at all my friends who did and got what they deserved"
I've had my regrets along the way, but that's life. Sometimes I made decisions that seemed good at the time, but looking back, they weren't.
But there've been some good decisions I've made, just not enough of them.
I've regretted more decisions as I've grown older because I realize the sand in the top of the hourglass is slipping away.
Do you have time you have "wasted on the way?"
Maybe that's a reason life is often considered a journey that has many pathways to reach the end.
"Wasted on the Way" lyrics
No comments:
Post a Comment