Sunday, September 27, 2009

Is it too Much to Ask?

I'd like to, just once, bump into the man who wrote this song in his home town. His lyrics and style are just a bit different and always provoke thought:

Funny the Way It Is
Dave Matthews Band

Lying in the park on a beautiful day,
Sunshine in the grass, and the children play.
Siren's passing, fire engine red,
Someone's house is burning down on a day like this?

The evening comes and we're hanging out,
On the front step, and a car rolls by with the windows rolled down,
And that war song is playing, "why can't we be friends?"
Someone is screaming and crying in the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
Somebody's going hungry and someone else is eating out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song

The way your mouth feels in your lovers kiss
Like a pretty bird on a breeze or water to a fish
A bomb blast brings a building crashing to the floor
You can hear the laughter, while the children play war

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath his baby's being born

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing under me
It must've been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small. Remember how it used to be,
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars?

Watch the sky, the jet planes, so far out of my reach
Is there someone up there looking down on me?
Boy chase a bird, so close but every time
He'll never catch her, but he can't stop trying

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath his baby's being born
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's broken heart becomes your favorite song
Funny the way it is, if you think about it
A kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out.

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing under me
It must've been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small. Remember how it used to be,
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars?

There is no embed code for this song on YouTube, but you can go take a listen for yourself. I hope you're having a good weekend.

10 comments:

Kathleen said...

I've adored Dave Matthews for years, thanks in part to my kids' fixation on him when they were in their teens. Some of his early tunes and lyrics are so raw and poignant, and the more I listen, the more he grows on me. So what about this particular song captured your imagination?

Stephanie V said...

Life is funny, that's true. So contradictory and this song does a good job of bringing that home. Would we have it any other way? Without opposites, does anything have the same flavor?

clairedulalune said...

Wow Rudee, I have never heard this song, but the lyrics ring very true. Thanks, I am going to have a listen!

willowtree said...

Or maybe not...

Renie Burghardt said...

I love the lyrics. They fit todays world quite well. The world has gotten smaller indeed!

Going to have to listen to it. Thanks Rudee. Hope you're enjoying the mountains.

Anonymous said...

Love Dave Matthews, this one is a gem. Thanks for posting it, made my night.
XXXXX

sandy said...

The lyrics are great I'll go take a listen when I'm finished here.

Joanna said...

I've never heard of him but I'm going to look him up. These lyrics say so much.

Jane said...

Great lyrics and so true. Hadn't heard of The Dave Matthews band until I moved to the US. Now I love their music.

Brenda said...

I like Dave Matthews also and both of my kids listened to him, which was rare because they had different tastes in music when they were teens. Hope you are having a great time Rudee!