Sunday, May 16, 2010

Settling Son

So, about two years ago I had a dream. It was a dream about my dad, who has been dead for nearly 20 years. I don't remember the dream, or what it was about, or what happened in it, or what I said, or what he said. However, I had this dream in my small basement room of the Logan house I was living in while attending Utah State University. When I awoke the next morning I had one line from one Less Than Jake song stuck in my head. I had only heard the song a couple of times, so it was the only part I knew, "Mouthfuls of rotting dynamite." I had long since forgotten about this dream until one month ago when I was listening to my XM Radio driving home from Tooele where I now attend Utah State University. I was trying to find the Red Sox game when traffic grew a bit heavy. I took my finger off the scanner and was surprised to hear those words again, "Mouthfuls of rotting dynamite." Immediately the memory of the dream came back into my consciousness, as though it had been waiting to spring into action for two years. When the song was over the dj announced it was Settling Son by Less Than Jake off of their GNV,FLA album. I had that album and decided to listen to the whole song, to see what the song was about. These are the the lyrics:

Settling Son
by Less Than Jake

Son take it from me, it's in the little victories
That keep you shaking hands with defeat, yeah.
Son, I'll tell you reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.
But the years go lightening fast, and I just can't help but see

We believe it's okay to leave the words caught in your throat
But you know, that you're growing old.
You always do what you're told
Going up in smoke
And you're a ghost you know in the end
You'll be walking the tight rope, walking the tight rope.

Son take it from me,
Life's more than the floors of this factory
And working 40 hours every single week.
Son, I'll tell you reality, isn't living down on your knees.
But my life's gone in a flash and I just can't help but see

We believe it's okay to leave the words caught in your throat
But you know, that you're growing old.
You always do what you're told
Going up in smoke
And you're a ghost you've known in the end
You'll be walking the tight rope, walking the tight rope.

Mouthfuls of rotting dynamite.
Mouthfuls of rotting dynamite.
You call this living a normal life?
We're not living a normal life.

We still believe it's okay to leave the words caught in your throat
But you know, that you're growing old.
You always do what you're told
Going up in smoke
And you're a ghost you knew in the end
You'd be walking the tight rope, walking the tight rope.

I was shocked when I read these lyrics, and even though I'm not sure fully how they fit in to the dream, since I am now unaware of what the dream was about, this whole thing seems like a strange coincidence. Maybe one day I'll know what this is all about.
'Nuff Said.

1 comment:

  1. I hate having dreams. Usually when I do have them (or when I remember them, according to some people) they are real-to-life type dreams (no monsters, aliens, etc.) and leave me feeling weird and unsettled for the rest of the day. Today was one of those days. The weirdest thing about it was that the dream I had was something I had always hoped would happen and had always wondered what would've happened if this thing had happened. The way I dreamt it ending was exactly how it realistically would've ended, but I guess now I have my closure.

    Anyway, I think your dream was pretty cool how it related to the lyrics. I've always thought dreams meant something....not that they always have to mean something big or profound, but I think they always mean something.

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