From Tracie: This Is My Fight Song

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

This Is My Fight Song

I've been meaning to write something for Dean and Courtney's That's What She Said link up for weeks now, and today I'm actually sitting down to do it. The prompt is a line from Rachel Platten's Fight Song...

This Is My Fight Song

If I was to get very literal with you (the real meaning of literal - not the new ridiculous meaning where "literally" somehow means not literal at all), I would say my fight song for many years has been Be Wise, Be Strong, Be You. It is the song I put on repeat when I write hard things. It is the song I have sung, clung to, screamed, written out on paper when there were no other words, cried with, danced to, and shouted...
"If they shut one door then you open another
There's no telling where you'll go from here
And if they take your spirit keep your soul under cover
Make your path and just stay in the clear
So be wise, be strong, be you
There's nothing that you can't do."
- Be Wise, Be Strong, Be You - Cee Cee Michaela
I have a playlist on Spotify named "Tracie's Power Music" that is all of my fight songs. It is one of the few playlists I've taken the time to cultivate - only really great songs that are full of heart words make the cut. Songs that weave a mantle of strength around me.
"'Cause I have been where you are before
And I have felt the pain of losing who you are
And I have died so many times, but I am still alive
This is not the end of me, this is the beginning."
- I Belive - Christina Perri
What is my fight song in less literal terms? What is it that helps me to take back my life, to make me all right, to turn up my power, and make me strong? Words. Writing. This space.
"Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave."
- Brave - Sara Bareilles
If writing online is a poem that builds an incredible portrait of what it is like to be alive now - then this really is my fight song. Even thought this is the piece of me that I give to the world, it is also the piece I keep very much for myself.
"But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along."
- Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Mama Cass
In writing, I can be truly and honestly me in ways that aren't always so easy out there in daily conversation. I can take the time to be thoughtful. I can take chances and take flight.
"Get up and go
Take a chance and be strong
Or you could spend your whole life holding on
Don't look back; just go
Take a breath, move along
Or you could spend your whole life holding on."
- Go - Boys Like Girls
And maybe, on occasion, I can write the things that are in your heart, too.

Just like any good fight song.

What is your fight song? 

11 comments:

  1. I feel like I've had a lot of fight songs over the years, the first being "I Will Survive" - I was a very literal teen. There was also "I'm Free" by the Soupdragons, but now I just play that on the rare occasions I'm in the house alone.

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    1. There were a lot of days when I blasted the "I Will Survive" during my teen years, too!

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  2. I have never been a huge music fan. Sure I like music ok. I know I a fan of the 70's and 80's but if you asked me for a favorite group or to go see a concert...I wouldn't have an answer and it's not something I'd be excited to do. Recently, I have started to listen to music while write and it is awesome. It really let's you escape and helps fill you up. I love you words and story interwoven with the music. It's got me thinking about the songs I like and which one is me?

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    1. I'm funny about music - I know a lot of it...but I LOVE very little of it. A song has to work really hard to make it onto one of my playlists. Partly because I don't have the patience to sit there and build them (I do have a friend who has made a couple of awesome ones for me and she even adds to them regularly which is awesome).

      Sidenote: My husband has approximately 100 carefully crafted playlists with so many songs on them - it is impressive and a little scary.

      Love that you are starting to write with music. It really can put your head in the perfect creative space.

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  3. Music gets me pumped for life. I'm like you, I have songs for different occasions and my blog is sprinkled with songs that just fit.
    The songs/lyrics you chose to share are perfect!
    Love this>>If writing online is a poem that builds an incredible portrait of what it is like to be alive. And the Mama Cass Lyrics!! :)
    Thanks for sharing your fight songs with us at TWSS!!
    xoxo

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  4. This is totally changed over the years for me to be honest, as I am a huge music fan to begin with it. But I think one that always has stuck with me has been Billy Joel's, "You May Be Right", as I always seem to gravitate towards his music this song especially in rough times.

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  5. I love, love, LOVE that you have a playlist on Spotify for all of your "Tracie's Power Music". That is seriously genius and I might have to make a "Courtney's Power Music". Finding songs that speak to you and make you feel powerful and remind you to feel strong are so important. Music really can help us get through some of the toughest times in our lives. And then when we move on and survive the hard times; those songs become a reminder to us that we are powerful, that we are capable, that we can accomplish anything! When I was struggling to get pregnant my fight song was "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. I would sob every time I heard it, as I longed to be a mother. Now when I hear it, it is a true testament to the love I have felt for my boys before they were even born. Thank you for joining Dean and I at this weeks link up! XOXO

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  6. Ahh! So many people say "literal" when what they really mean is "coincidental" and it drives me bananas!

    Agree with you on the "Brave" one for sure (and love all the others you mentioned). Writing gives us a safe space to truly be ourselves (or, even cooler versions of yourself if you're me, ha!) and that's such an empowering thing.

    I also always have loved "Be Still and Know" by Steven Curtis Chapman. It's more of an understated fight song--reminds me sometimes to just "be still" and stop trying to win all the battles on my own.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Land of Hope and Dreams by Bruce Springsteen.

    Kate

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  8. I still use the old MP3 player for my playlist and it includes upbeat music. Writing online is vulnerability defined. I mean you are really putting yourself out there for the world to see. Keep up the excellent work.

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  9. I have several, and this one is a huge one for me this summer. Even the kiddo loves it. ;) I also love Brave, so I am not surprised you've included it here.

    Miss you, friend. Wish we lived closer so we could listen to music and sit together as we write.

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