What are your Personal Anthems?

[Nyaricus]

So, I'm obviously a musically-inclined kind-of guy, and I was wondering if I was the only person to have a set of "personal anthem" type songs - songs that really get your goat, and really strike a cord in them. Songs that maybe bring you back to a special place, or think a certain thing, or remember a relative who's gone, or a person who betrayed you, or whatever. Something that 'clicks', if you will. It doesn't have to be a positive anthem, either - I know I hold more then my fair share of negative ones.

Please post, if this applies to you, a short list of your personal anthems; it would also be great if you could post a reason why this song is a personal anthem of yours. Please feel free to post snippets (only, please - whole songs clog things up a bit) of the tracks if it helps

My list:

I by Taproot:
This song is about change, and it always makes me think back to the good ol' days when I was young. The chorus is almost a mirror of my life:

I hate myself sometimes
I love myself
contradictions a way of life
happiness is healthiness is wealthy

Laid to Rest by Lamb of God:
I have had, in my lifetime, many people (friends and family) betray me. I'm a trusting person; likely too much for my own well-being. A couple years ago, when I was in the pit of a deep depression, I made a decision; I said, "screw those people," and decided to step forward in my life. This song is an statement: I'm not going to be pushed over by anyone anymore. And I'm going to do it by being the honest, good person I've always been - I'm just not going to put up with crap anymore.

I'll chain you to the truth, for the truth shall set you free
I'll turn the crews of vengeance and bury you in honesty"

No Sex by Limp Bizkit
Sadly enough, a LB song makes the list. However, it's likely their best, most emotional song in their catalogue. My ex who I went out with with for over 2 years is what this song brings up. The relationship deterioated terribly, and this is what we wrought:

"Went too fast, way too soon.
I feel disgusted and you should to.
Its no good when all that's left is the sex.
The sex.

Ohne Dich by Rammstein
About the same ex-girlfriend as before; this is such a sad little song, and it just makes me think of how much I wish she could've worked out, but hot I knew it was futile:

"Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein
Ohne dich
Mit dir bin ich auch allein
Ohne dich
Ohne dich zähl ich die Stunden ohne dich
Mit dir stehen die Sekunden
Lohnen nicht"

"Without you I cannot be
Without you
With you I am alone too
Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still
They aren't worth it"

World So Cold by Mudvayne
This song reflects the abuse I went through as a kid. It got me through a lot of rough nights.

"Why does everyone feel like my enemy,
don't want any part of depression or darkness.
I've had enough, sick and tired,
bring the sun or I'm gone"

Okay, I think that's enough for now Anyone else care to share?

cheers,
--N

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Reveal & I did threads similar to this awhile ago.

 

[sedarfairy]

Okay, I think that's enough for now Anyone else care to share?

cheers,
--N[/QUOTE]


Well, I missed the other posts of this nature, so time for me to chime in I guess

1. Hard2Handle by the Black Crowes...I'm not sure this one takes explanation. Its a jaunty sexy song and it fires me up.

2. She by Elvis Costello...It is a yearning, passionate song. It depicts the emotions I've alwyas wanted to feel from someone. I'd love to be somebody's "SHE." Of course, I think life has forced me to give up on that. I'm not sure real relationships are that earth-moving.

3. Goodbye my Lover by James Blunt...I just went through a messy break-up with someone that made a lot of promises and then decided to regress to his childhood again.

4. Imagine by John Lennon...I have a bad habit of wishing things were better than they are.

5. Crazy by Patsy Cline...it sums up every bad relationship I've ever had.

6. Lets give them something to talk about by Bonnie Raitt...I love a good rowdy sexy song. I live in a small town and everybody has an opinion. Sometimes you just have to let them talk.

 

[Ferret]

One that immediately comes to mind, that I played in my head one time, when I was gettign a bit down, and I do it whenever I feel like giving up, is I Can Climb Mountains by Hell is for Heros:

"Cos I can run, I can hide
I can take a world of pain in a stride
And I don't need fairy tales to pretend
And I don't need heroes to depend on
I can heal, I can regenerate
I can give birth and I can meditate
And I can hate, I can love, I can ----
I can see the view below from the top "

It just makes me think: Right, I can do this, watch me.

Also because I swear I had a deep seated need for 'justice' (read vengeance), Chapter Four by Avenged Sevenfold:

"Raise your head and taste the courage
(the one of light)
Fall from grace, unholy night
I've come here to kill you,
won't leave until you've died
Murder born of vengeance,
I closed my brothers eyes tonight..."

And on the same sort of lines as above, Megalomaniac by Incubus:

"If I were your appendages
I'd hold open your eyes
So you would see
That all of us are heaven sent
There was never meant to be only one
To be only one"

This just strikes me as so true....

I can't think of many others to be honest, lots of songs make me feel lots of quite strong emotions, often expressing themselves (embarressingly) as tears... :\

 

[papastebu]

This song is kind of a description of my reaction to the girl I was with when I met my wife.


So Much Fire
By the Floating Men


I ain’t nothing but ribs, knees, and elbows
I’m way too young to be dry, brittle and cold
I’ve been wondering how I let her hurl me into madness
I’ve been wondering how she bled the child in me away

I’ve been hammering boards over the windows
I’ve been nailing the doors to the frames
I’ve been wondering how I let her fill my heart with lightning
I’ve been wondering how she led a long haired boy astray

Chorus: No, I’ve fought to the man for the last time
And I don’t understand how a girl so much like rain could breath so much fire

I’ve been tapping the walls listening for angels
I’ve been eyeing the halls spying for ghosts
And in a shadowy dream I see her barefoot on a glider
I try to beg her for peace, but I’m just to vague and far away

Chorus:

And in a shadowy dream I see her barefoot on a glider
I try to beg her for peace, but I’m just too vague and far away
Chorus:
She breathed so much fire
How could she see through the flames?
How could she see through the flames?

This song describes me making the decision to straighten up and try a different way.


Fade To Gray
By The Floating Men

I can’t trade another day in the shade for a night on the town
All this whiskey and risky behavior is wearing me down
(What are you dreaming of?)
Hell a shack in the woods would be more than enough
(What are you dreaming of?)
This ain’t no way to live or to try to find love
(Slow down) I want to live where the sunlight lights
(Slow down) Feather light on my face
(Slow down) I want to leave all this neon and vice
Before the fire inside me dies and finally fades to gray

I had a car—it’s still parked in the yard—I can’t give it away
But I can walk to the bar and the market ain’t far if I can bear the light of day
(What are you dreaming of?)
Hell, a dollar to spare would be more than enough
(What are you dreaming of?)
This ain’t no way to live or to try to find love
(Slow down) I want to live where the sunlight lights
(Slow down) Feather light on my face
(Slow down) I want to leave all this neon and vice
Before the fire inside me dies and finally fades to gray

Oh no, don’t let it fade to gray
Oh no, don’t let it fade to gray
Oh no, don’t let it fade to gray
Oh no, don’t let it fade to gray

Girls will maul you and promise to call you then run away
Hell, I blew all my bread on some redhead it turned out that she was a he anyway
(What are you dreaming of?)
Hell, a red-blooded girl would be more than enough
(What are you dreaming of?)
This ain’t no way to live or to try to find love
(What are you dreaming of?)
I’ve been tainted and tattered and tarnished enough
(What are you dreaming of?)
This ain’t no way to live or to try to find love
Maybe not-so-curiously they're on the same album.

 

[Kurashu]

Dead to Fall - Corpse Collector

Every needs an awesome theme song.

It Prevails - An Anomaly & All That Remains - The Air That I Breath
I might be mortal, and I might fall, but I'll get right back up because I have my own beliefs and dreams riding on my back, not to mention a handful of other people's as well.

And as I rise up I always fall to the ground...

Even though I shall fall I will always stand up, dress the wounds, breathe in the air, this is who I am, I am an anomaly...

I am a mortal man
But I'm not falling, I'm not broken
I am a mortal man, but I'll
Hold tight to my beliefs

August Burns Red - Barbarian
We have little time, have some fun and enjoy life every now and then.

There is so much more to life than your stupid desires.
Nothing is everything and everything is something.
Confused? Troubled?
Find the meaning is looking through the vivid transparencies.
Dance the night away because tomorrow we will look back and talk about good times now gone forever.

The Acacia Strain - Whoa! Shut it down!
Certain people just grind my gears and sometimes, I wish they were buried alive.

Who are you again?
Remind me, because I don't care.
I hope you like this; I really hope you do.
I hope you like it as much as getting your face busted in with a hammer.

Throwdown - Burn
Every now and then, you need to unleash some anger and destroy something.

Time has come for you
The time for all of us to
The time has come for you
To burn everyone and everything that said you were nothing

 

[Lorgrom]

For the good side of me
Behomian Raposidy by Queen

For the eveil side of me
Behind Blue Eyes by The Who or Limp Bisket

 

[death tribble]

Mad World by Tears for Fear and Hymn by Ultravox.
Because I was contemplating suicide at the time and these songs got me out of it.

 

[lurkinglidda]

No Rain by Blind Melon - because I identify with that bee-girl
Just a Girl by No Doubt - cuz I am
Best Friend by Queen - fell in love with my husband to this song
Sweet Child O' Mine by G&R - reminds me of my daughter
Cult of Personality by Living Color - always got me pumped up prior to swim meets in high school.

 

[Mycanid]

Ya know Nyaricus ... this is a tough one to answer. Often for me the music that hits me deepest are not lyrics-based. Doesn't the definition of an anthem include lyrics? :\

Anyway ... I will write down a few of the melodies I thought of that were expressive of me:

1. The immediate one was "The Little Brown Island in the Middle of the Sea" ... it is a Scottish aire played on a fiddle. If you have ever had the chance to be at sea amidst the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland you will be amazed when you hear this. The composer was somehow able to arrange the notes in such a way that exactly paints an image of not only being at sea on a ship, not only being off the coast of those islands, but even what goes on in the soul then.... I wish I could explain it better.... But there is something there that really touches something very near the core of my being ... at least as I understand myself.... Do you know what I mean?

2. Another one is a folk song sung by the people of the country of Georgia (near the Caucuses mountains on the east coast of the Black Sea). It does have lyrics. In Georgian the song is called "Hela Megruli". It is a song of a cart driver singing to his oxen about how life is a laboring under a heavy load for many. It is beautiful and melancholy. If you have never heard Georgian folk music it is impossible to convey by words. Hearing it live is another experience entirely. Singing it ... words fail....

I think that will have to do for now. Maybe if I can think of other things that have hit me hard like these I will post them too.