Hundreds of Ways

Listen while you read:  http://dai.ly/x22egpm

What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ashen remnants of our love
That came before, and I'm still looking for that now

It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was, "Take your pictures, folks, it's late
And try your best, please, to remember what was done."

Don't look so forlorn
Don't you look so scared
Don't get so upset
This world was never fair

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one

~  Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst (former lead singer of the band Bright Eyes) released Upside Down Mountain in 2014. The video linked above was from a performance of "Hundreds of Ways" on Letterman on July 28, 2014. The very next night, I was present at his Central Park SummerStage concert. I chose this video because it features Dawes as his back-up band, and I do love Dawes! While the studio version of the song features the Swedish duo First Aid Kit doing back-up vocals, the Letterman show adds Larkin Poe to the mix. It's all good.

From a review in American Songwriter, "Hundreds of Ways" is "a song about finding slivers of hope in a world that promises despair." I suspect that many of us are searching for those slivers these days. Read that second verse again, and think about the many metaphorical connections you can make. I think of the terrorist-fueled destruction of sacred temples and statues in faraway places. I think about what may happen to our National Parks if regulations, funding, and other protections are stripped away. I think about the years of love, effort, and energy put into childrearing, only to have that young soldier perish in a senseless war. I think about the ever-present possibility of nuclear war.

But one could also think about the end of a relationship, the failure of love to survive. But as Oberst reminds us, This world was never fair. Some of us know that better than others. The others will find out sooner or later.

There's an odd line later in the song. Maybe no one really seems to be the person that they mean to be. I hope I am forgotten when I die. Oberst's explanation for that line, from a Billboard review, is compelling, and worth your time to consider. "I think a lot of times there's the sense that we have of ourselves, and then there's the perception of people we interact with in the world, and those two things are not congruent. It's a bit of a snarky line, but it's essentially saying that once I'm out of the picture, I hope no one talks about me, because it won't be me they're talking about -- it'll be their perception."

But the real takeaway in this song is the message inherent in the title. There are hundreds of ways / to get through the days. I am reminded of my favorite Rumi quote: "There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." And as Oberst encourages us, just find one. The sun is out, the sky is blue, my friends are waiting, and we are off to "get through the day" . . . on the beach. My prayer is that you, too, find a way.