I have a lot of things rolling around in my head right now that I want to write about and I’m not sure where to start so I decided to just pick something and go.
If you knew me as a young teenager, you would know that I was a fan of Rick Springfield. Yes… I know he can be seen as the epitome of the ‘80’s cliche, and yes… my original attraction was that of an 8th grade girl with a crush on a handsome Australian pop star/actor with catchy music that was easy and fun to sing along with. Most people are well aware of the early ‘80’s hits like “Jessie’s Girl”. But there is an album that came out in the later 80’s that had a different vibe. It came out after he had taken a bit of time off from recording. During that time he had gone through some significant changes in his personal life. “Rock of Life” was released in 1988 and didn’t do all that well on the charts, but for me it is far and away the album that has consistently spoken to me through all these years. I first heard these songs when I was 19 and yes they hit much different now that I’m in my 50’s than they did way back then, but there has been a constant resonance with this album for me. The subject matter is much deeper, introspective and contemplative than anything I knew from before. The songs touch on timeless questions that face all of us at some place or another in life. Universal themes like wanting something better for the future, but holding that in tension with our human nature to resist change. Subjects like the transition from youth to adulthood, crises of faith, seeking those answers for ourselves. Maybe finding them, maybe continually searching. Bringing to light the pretenses that we keep up to both hide and avoid our real problems. I think all of these things are timeless and are still relevant to the world we live in today. Lyrically and musically, to me, personally, this is his best album.
There are 3 or 4 of these songs that hit deep for me and I could talk about all of them, but for today I just want to focus on one of them. Below are the lyrics to a song called “World Start Turning”. You can click the link to hear the song. It’s just one example of the universality of themes addressed. In this it’s the disillusionment that America is a sort of “Promised Land”. The truth is that it isn’t and there are those for whom it may never hold all the promise that we are told it should. It’s a song about battling depression which so many people have to do on a daily basis. Rick speaks openly in interviews about depression being present in his life since he was a young teenager and how he really does try and hold himself to the promise he makes to himself in this song. That’s authenticity.
World Start Turning
I was born in the Southern Land
Yeah, a million miles from America
And whatever we wanted was just a matter of choosing
And I was raised in the Great White Way
Just like all those kids in America
And the T.V. taught us to win with no thought of losing (then I woke up)
This is the real world, the real town without pity
This is the real world, in the shadow of the city
This is the real wheel
You don't get too many spins
This is the real deal, not everybody wins
Just another soul lost in America
I was so frustrated and I got so lonely
It almost took a miracle to open my eyes
World Start Turning (turn into the wind)
World Start Turning (some things were never meant to be)
I've been standing on the beach
Crying to the raging sea
I was falling, falling
Heart start beating (turn into the wind)
Heart start beating (some things were never meant to be)
Made a promise to myself
I'll never get that low again
We were taught if man believes in
What he wants in America
It's only a matter of time, just a matter of seasons
But I walk through the houses of dreams that died
I see the ones still trapped there the ones that tried
But spent the rest of their lives wondering why
And searching for reasons (and they never wake up)
This is the real world, you've got to know just when to bend
Here in the world, precious little matters in the end
This is the real world, the real town without pity
This is the real world, in the shadow of the city
Just another soul lost in America
I was so frustrated and I got so lonely
It almost took a miracle to open up my eyes
World Start Turning (turn into the wind)
World Start Turning (some things were never meant to be)
I've been standing on the beach
Crying to the raging sea
I was falling, falling
Heart start beating (turn into the wind)
Heart start beating (some things were never meant to be)
Made a promise to myself
I'll never get that low again
You can't stop the world, can't' stop the world
Never could settle for where I was
Too many places I was trying to be
The times I succeeded and the times I failed
You know that no one will remember but me
World Start Turning, World Start Turning
I've been standing on the beach
Crying to the raging sea
I was falling, falling
Heart start beating (turn into the wind)
Heart start beating (some things were never meant to be)
Made a promise to myself
I'll never get that low again…
At any rate… I would encourage you to seek this album out on Spotify and give it a listen. It’s what I’m listening to and thinking about this weekend.