Wednesday, February 23, 2011

firework

pop music and i are usually not friends. i favor alt-rock, alt-country, songwriters with pithy and/or ironic worldviews. (oh yeah - and rap that was released in the late 1980s through the early 2000s. i'm a sucker for a good beat.) but i've been gobsmacked by this hooky little minx of a song. i swear, it's been on an endless loop in my head for over a week now. and for the longest time, i could NOT figure out why. there's nothing special about the beat, the words or even the sentiment.

but then i got to thinking about the lyrics again...

you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
just own the night like the fourth of july
'cause, baby, you're a firework
come on, show 'em what you're worth...
come on, let your colors burst...
you're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe...
boom, boom, boom, even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
it's always been inside of you
and now it's time to let it through

kinda sounds like an anthem for someone who's been pent up, repressed (by herself or by others) and wants nothing more to live up to everything she's always wanted to be, eh? yeah, and another word for all of those concepts is divorcee.

i've met a lot of women, both blog-friends and life-friends, who are divorcing, considering divorce, or have finished the process. though the experience is harrowing (even for those of us with no kids and no stuff to fight over), and it causes pain and unexpected levels of sorrow, the end result of the whole thing is... lightness. you feel like yourself again, but better, improved, forged in fire and tougher than steel. you survived, you made the right choice, and the world is your oyster.

i got the following statement told to me a lot when i was back in my louisiana homeland: you look so much lighter these days. and you know? i am. i feel free, unburdened. the troubles that weighed me down and made me dour, dark, and angry are gone. in their place is this sense that, hell, i got through it, and i lived. i can do anything i want now. i feel like the joy of getting back to the life i wanted to live shines through every pore, making me glow in the light of my own strength. and i think that's why this stupid little pop song is so stupidly life-affirming to me. i am here to show y'all what i'm worth, let my colors burst and shoot across the sky. i own the night. i let it shine.

boom, boom, boom, y'all.

7 comments:

  1. I so agree with you. I love these lyrics too:

    Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
    Drifting throught the wind
    Wanting to start again

    Do you know that there's still a chance for you
    Cause there's a spark in you

    If you only knew what the future holds
    After a hurricane comes a rainbow

    Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
    So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

    Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
    And when it's time, you'll know

    You just gotta ignite the light
    And let it shine
    Just own the night
    Like the Fourth of July

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  2. Hey you...

    I so understand the comment about looking 'lighter'... There are just times when Life, or someone that we have let into our Lives do weight us down. It is difficult to walk away, but sometimes, it's the best thing we can do for ourselves...

    ~shoes~

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  3. As much as I try to deny the song, Firework is always running through my head. It's partly because it's so damn catchy. But part of it is the message.

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  4. Well CLEARLY I love this post! (just tweeted it - haha) These lyrics ARE an anthem for anyone that has ever gone through this before. Or any trauamatic experience. But obviously for those of us divorced, it has that special meaning. Lighter. Yes. I completely agree.

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  5. It is a really good song. I used to be embarrassed to admit that I liked a popular song, but hell, it's popular for a reason: because people like it. And people like it for a reason: because it's a good song. Duh. I admit I have a music crush on Katy Perry (spelling?).

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  6. an Egyptian cabbie may or may not have caught me singing Firework ..to my dog...on the day that Mubarak stepped down... he just smiled and said..."dont be embarrassed i feel like singing today too"
    ..its a good song... ;-)
    xoxo

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  7. It isn't much my taste either but has been stuck in my head for days! ;-)

    Of course you are looking lighter. Who wouldn't after sheding a 175 lbs. man?! It makes me happy to hear that you are feeling like you again.

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