Sinéad O Connor - Nothing Compares 2U

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away
Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
'Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they'd only remind me of you
I went to the doctor guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said girl you better try to have fun no matter what you do
But he's a fool
'Cause nothing compares, nothing compares to you

All the flowers that you planted mama [I change this to:  for me, which makes this mean:  All the people and things I have tried to depend on to sustain me other than the Lord]
In the back yard
All died when you went away [I change this to:  in the wind and rain (meaning they died with adversity)]
I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard [Adversity]
But I'm willing to give it another try [I'm willing to deal with that kind of Adversity now.]
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

AbbaCadabra Waterloo

The lyrics start at about 1:40.  This song was originally created by Abba.  I like this more upbeat version.  I have a better one on one of my aerobics music CDs that I purchased a few years ago but I'm presently waiting for permission to upload it myself on YouTube.  I love the theme behind this song because it depicts so well the battle between the man and woman that never fails to occur (at least that's what I see in it).  It reminds me of my own experiences that I've recorded in blog post "It's My Party."  In short, it is pretty common to come to loggerheads with our spouse (or even with the Lord) at some time or another in our marriage.  It is then that we have a choice:  Choose to fight with anger, meanness, and ugly words to prove we're right and he's wrong or choose to put ourselves and our immediate emotions aside in order to keep the Spirit with us because of the underlying love we have for our spouse.  If we choose the anger, we damage the relationship.  There is repentance and saying we're sorry but over time I think it's our responsibility to stop using anger and start using a more constructive form of communication when we are upset with each other.  Using anger is choosing ourselves over our spouse.  It's a kind of me-first approach.  Unfortunately that was what I chose for several years of my marriage.  But when I developed my relationship with the Lord, his love was SO AMAZINGLY POWERFUL that when we came to loggerheads, I basically surrendered my will, my life, my proving that I was right and he was wrong and chose the constructive communication.  I bowed my head.  It was a total first for me.  And that's what this song is all about to me.


My my
At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah
And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo

My my
I tried to hold you back, but you were stronger
Oh yeah
And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo

So how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo

Bryan Adams (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

I love this song by Bryan Adams.  I have to change a few lyrics to make it Sustainable.

Look into my eyes, you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart, search your soul
And when you find me there
You'll search no more

Don't tell me, it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me, it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do, I do it for you [For God first and then for me; see Getting A Life]

Look into your heart, you will find
There's nothin' there to hide
Take me as I am, take my life [and what you promise to God you will continue to become]
I would give it all, I would sacrifice

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more
You know it's true
Everything I do, I do it for you, oh yeah

There's no love, like your love
And no other could give more love
There's nowhere, unless you're there
All the time, all the way yeah

Look into your heart baby
Oh yeah

Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more

Yeah I would fight for you
I'd lie for you [I don't want you to lie for me]
Walk the wire for you
Yeah I'd die for you

You know it's true
Everything I do, ohh, I do it for you

Not everyone understands the depth of such a song.  The usual thing people who don't understand it do is make fun of it (1 Nephi 8:27).  If we don't understand the depth, we most likely have a preference for going wide in our Soulmates Marriage-Family relationships or we have not yet developed a Soulmates Marriage with our spouse (see blog post The Mountain).

RED - Hymn For The Missing (Lyrics video)

For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton

I love this song by Sheena Easton and I love her voice.  The music video and James Bond movies seem to completely conflict with its message.  So I just separate myself from them so as not to ruin the whole point of the song:  For Your Eyes Only.  When I say for my husband's eyes only, I mean it.  I don't mean I'm going to go on a music video or movie and demonstrate to the whole world what is for his eyes only.

 For your eyes only, can see me through the night
For your eyes only, I never need to hide
You can see so much in me, so much in me that's new
I never felt until I looked at you

For your eyes only, only for you
You'll see what no one else can see, and now I'm breaking free
For your eyes only, only for you
The love I know you need in me, the fantasy you've freed in me
Only for you, only for you

For your eyes only, the nights are never cold
You really know me, that's all I need to know
Maybe I'm an open book because I know you're mine [I change this to “because you know my mind.”]
But you won't need to read between the lines

For your eyes only, only for you
You see what no one else can see, and now I'm breaking free
For your eyes only, only for you
The passions that collide in me, the wild abandoned side of me
Only for you, for your eyes only

Oh How The Years Go By - Amy Grant

The video doesn't go along with the message I think of when I listen to this song.  I'm thinking of a marriage.

Oh How the Years Go By
by Amy Grant
 
In our times of trouble
We only had ourselves
Nobody else
No one there to save us [Except our families, Zion Communities, and Jesus Christ, right?  Mosiah 3:17, also see blog post "Dancing Through Adversity"]
We had to save ourselves
 
And when the storms came through
They found me and you
Back to back together
And when the sun would shine
It was yours and mine
Yours and mine forever
 
Chorus
Oh how the years go by
Oh how the love brings tears to my eyes
All through the changes the soul never dies
We fight, we laugh, we cry
As the years go by
 
There were times we stumbled
They thought they had us down
But we came around
How we rolled and rambled
We got lost and we got found
Now we're back on solid ground, yeah
 
We took everything
All our times would bring
In this world of dangers
'Cause when your heart is strong
You know you're not alone
In this world of strangers

Pocket Full of Sunshine

By Natasha Bedingham 

The "pocketful of sunshine" I refer to when I sing along to this song in my car or when washing dishes is a Soulmates Marriage.  When we have a Soulmates Marriage, trials or adversity have much less impact on us.  It's like we have a forcefield around us that buffers us from the irritating, bad, dangerous, hurtful, Survival of the Fittest behaviors of others with whom we must interact on a daily basis at school, work, in our community, on the road, and even at church.  Children being raised by parents who have a Soulmates Marriage are encompassed by this forcefield also so that they too have a buffer zone around them.  It literally has the power to "take us away, a secret place, a sweet escape."  And if for whatever reason we don't have this with our spouse, we can draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  When we are part of his family, we experience blessings similar to a Soulmates Marriage (#Love of God) through his atonement and the power of the Holy Ghost.  This song is just another way of singing "Love At Home."

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, no

Chorus
Take me away (take me away)
A secret place (a secret place)
A sweet escape(a sweet escape)
Take me away (take me away)
Take me away (take me away)
To better days (to better days)
Take me away (take me away)
A higher place (a higher place)

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, no

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Wish that you could, but you ain't gonna own me
Do everything you can't control me, no

Repeat Chorus

There's this places that I go
And nobody knows
Where this river flow
And I call it home [So many people don't know about this "home" and how amazingly powerful and Sustainable it is in the face of temptation and adversity (Matt 11:28).]

And there's no more lies
In the darkness, there's light
And nobody cries
There's only butterflies

Repeat Chorus (3)

The sun is on my side [The Son is on my side.]
And take me for a ride [When I sing this part I think of the "ride" of life, which includes all of our relationships, and how it is so much better when we keep the Lord's commandments regardless of the circumstances we are called to bear (2 Nephi 1:20).]
I smile up to the sky [Gratitude]
I know I'll be all right [Faith]
The sun is on my side ["Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God." ~D&C 101:16]

Thanks to Natasha for this song.  I love it! It has helped me get through a number of hard days because when I sing it and spin it (see Spin the Lyrics), I can feel it's true.  That strengthens my faith in Jesus Christ.  Since I am divorced, I look to him for my "pocketful of sunshine."

Jesus, Once of Humble Birth

Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once he suffered grief and pain;
Now he comes on earth to reign.
Now he comes on earth to reign.

Once a meek and lowly Lamb,
Now the Lord, the great I Am.
Once upon the cross he bowed;
Now his chariot is the cloud.
Now his chariot is the cloud.

Once he groaned in blood and tears;
Now in glory he appears.
Once rejected by his own,
Now their King he shall be known.
Now their King he shall be known.

Once forsaken, left alone,
Now exalted to a throne.
Once all things he meekly bore,
But he now will bear no more.
But he now will bear no more.

See Hymn #196 on LDS.org

Faithfully by Journey

Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind

Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love
Along the wire

They say that the road
Ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line
It's been you and me

And lovin' a music man
Ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully

Circus life
Under the big top world
We all need the clowns
To make us smile

Through space and time
Always another show
Wondering where I am
Lost without you

And being apart
Ain't easy on this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy of rediscovering you
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully

Whooa, oh-oh-ooh
Whooa, oh-oh-ooh, oh
Whooa, oh-oh-oh, oh-whoooooa-oh
Faithfully
I'm still yours
I'm forever yours
Ever yours
Faithfully
(Lyrics from Google Play)

Thanks to the band Journey for this song! From their 1983 album Frontiers (I was 13-14 years old).

Born Again by Newsboys

Lyrics in black
My comments in blue

I found myself looking into the mirror
Knew I wasn't who I wanted to be
I was living life the way that I wanted
But my eyes reminded me I'm not free [Exactly:  The Servant, Day 1.1, #Bondage: John 8:33-36, D&C 84:49-52]
 
Believed a lie so everything that I know
Says I gotta go, tired of going solo [Serious.  Tired of going Spiritually solo.]
But I'm never gonna go there again [Repentance.  Commitment.]
 
Chorus
This is what it is, this is who I am [! Confidence, not Pride, The Servant, Day 6]
This is where I finally take my stand [! Confidence, not Pride}
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl [But I have to be on my knees.  Humility/Empathy X Gratitude/Confidence instead of Pride/Envy, Day 6]
I met the one with two scarred hands [I have met him too.  And when each of us meet him, we need to sing the song he gives us, paint the way he wants us to paint.  That may not be as others sing or paint.  Yet we still must sing and paint in that way.  True To Your Heart.]
Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again
[When the Lord heals us and then strengthens us, making us something we would never have been without him, he owns us.  I'm thankful for that because I want to be owned by him.] 

I see ya walking like you're living in fear
Having trouble even looking at me
Wishing they would give you more than words
Sick of people telling how it should be
What'd ya download? Where'd ya get your info?
You saw that I'm sure, now you're in the in though
Gonna tell you what I believe
[Everyone's got an opinion, including me.  I am sure about what I'm saying:  Special Ops Moms.  We listen to the Spirit--the General Effects in our heart to discern truth.  So listen.  Don't be afraid. Alma 32:26-43]
 
Chorus
We are the ones they call by name (#Christians, Mosiah 5:4-9)
I'm never gonna look back
Let go, let go, the guilt, the shame (#Humility/Empathy = Repentance/Forgiveness)
Said, I'm never gonna look back (Only to remember what the Lord has done for me in getting me out the bondage I was in. Alma 5:6-7)
This is who I am
Chorus

Thanks to the Newsboys for this song!

 

He Showed Me How by David Archuleta

This is a new song by David Archuleta.  My son Matthew is going to EFY (Especially For Youth) Conference in June 2015.  This year they are sending us songs written especially for the youth.  This is one of them.  

I love David Archuleta's voice and his choice of songs that he sings.  I have watched a few videos of him on his mission and his post mission.  He was actually in the MTC at the same time my oldest son Aaron was there.  I just think he is a top quality artist not only in his ability to sing but also in the messages he chooses to send.  

There are so many talented musicians.  Their voices are amazing!  But how they choose to use it, what they choose to sing about determines if I can listen to them or not.  Sometimes I marvel at how beautiful a voice is or the awesomeness of the beat of a song but when I hear the bad message--the prescription to think and do things that I know return only sorrow in the end, I have to turn it off.  I love it how David Archuleta combines the beautiful voice and a good message which prescribes thinking and doing things that return Sustainable Joy in the end.

He Showed Me How

I used to hurt

I used to hide

I could only see the walls

That I kept myself behind

And it was hard

Until I found

There’s one who knows the way

To bring them down

Chorus

He showed me how

To look for more

To see the truth

I couldn’t find before

And I learned to believe

There’s more that I can be

I can be stronger now

‘Cause He showed me how

I took a step

Into the light

I followed the voice that said

That I was strong enough to try

And as my heart

Could hear the sound

I knew I could climb

Above the doubt

Chorus Repeat

Yes He did

His love opened my eyes

And I know that

He’s been there by my side

Chorus Repeat

"Me and God" by Josh Turner

My son, AaronLangford, sent me this song while on his mission.  His mission president allowed the missionaries to listen to uplifting songs like this.  I didn't have time to listen to all the songs Aaron sent me at first so I heard this song for the first time when I was on a walk one day (my iPod shuffling into it).  I listened to it over and over again.  There's something so personal in listening to music that's just playing through your headphones in your ears and making your heart feel like God's right there with you.

Me and God

by Josh Turner 

There ain't nothing that can't be done

By me and God

Ain't nobody gonna come in between me and God

One day we'll live together

Where the angels trod

Me and God

Early in the morning talking it over

Me and God

Late at night talking it over

Me and God

You could say we're like two peas in a pod

Me and God

Chorus

He's my Father

He's my friend

The Beginning

And the End 

He rules the world

With a staff and rod
[my thoughts on this line:  staff = bread of life D&C 89:14; rod = iron rod 1 Nephi 8:19]

We’re a team

Me and God

I am weak and He is strong

Me and God

He forgives me when I’m wrong 
[when I humbly go to him to figure out what happened and why]

Me and God

He’s the one I lean on

When life gets hard

Me and God

Repeat Chorus

Listen to this other version:  "Me and God" byJosh Turner

Dream Weaver by Gary Wright

Lyrics

I know this song was written about drugs.  Gary Wright is singing to his drug that he believes will get him through the night.

Bottom line:  Drug abuse is detrimental to our long-term health.  Drugs may seem to solve our problems in the moment, but in the end we develop a dependence upon them despite the negative consequences (see Wikipedia).

I know that some drugs are used for appropriate medicinal purposes as prescribed by a doctor.  That is not the kind of drug this song is referring to.  We are talking about the abuse of any kind of substance in order to resolve our fears or our depressions.

But I absolutely delight in taking songs like this and spinning the story by changing the one variable that makes it a song I wouldn’t want to listen to let alone allow my children to listen to.  The variable in this song is WHAT or WHO we turn to to get us through the night.  My kids know how I would answer this.  My Dream Weaver is Jesus Christ.  I substitute him for the drug.  His Spirit and his comfort in very difficult times is better and more effective than any drug.  Watch this video.

Before I was taught how to spin stories and change variables, I would often throw the baby out with the bath water.  So if I knew this song, "Dream Weaver" was about drug abuse then I would turn it off.  Refuse to listen to it.  Bad.  And I would be angry at the artist because he was promoting ideas that conflicted with my core beliefs of what is good for me, for my family, and for our society in general. 

When I learned about the variables Cause, Process, Effect, and Result (CPER), I began to summarize my world.  So Drugs are an Effect.  The Spirit of God is an Effect.  Music acts an Effect.  Effects are what we feel upon interacting with Causes and experimenting upon the Processes they advocate.  CPER enabled me to see WHY some things are good and some things are bad.  And usually it’s not the THING that is bad.  It’s the way we use it or ab-use it.  We use it in a way it was not intended to be used. 

Knowing this very fact enabled me to see that relying on something or someone to support me when it/he/she doesn’t have the ability to do so creates a conflict.  The scriptures refer to these things as IDOLS (see the Ten Commandments and Idols).  When I summarized this concept with that word IDOL, I could then see what all the fuss about idols was in the stories of the Old Testament.  Idols are not dead to us in our new intellectual advanced technological enlightened day and age.  They are alive and well.  And they continue to influence and entrap us.

Developing a long-term relationship with an idol is bad news.  But when I understood that the bad thing about this isn’t the desire to trust in someone or something.  It is the Cause variable:  WHAT or WHO do we put our trust in?  We have a choice.  But we don’t have a choice about the consequences of developing relationships with a Cause that cannot sustain us in the long run but instead entraps us into a slave-like addiction that robs us of our ability to love those who are closest to us.

The Servant Program that I have written is only an account of how my Cause has taught me.  I’m reporting.  It is not something I knew since I was born.  Before it was explained to me I was all tied up in knots about so many things which affected many of my relationships.  So my Cause (I have chosen Jesus Christ), through the Spirit and study of the scriptures and many other good books, has taught me about Cause, Process, Effect, and Result.  This is the pattern that has emerged in my mind as I have summarized all that I read, hear, and see.  It is the order I see, the way I categorize all that I mentally digest. With these variables I understand myself and others much better.  I don’t have to believe I’m evil or others are evil at heart.  I can see where the CHOICE is that makes a PROCESS good or evil.

I take this song from Gary Wright and agree with him!  We do need a Dream Weaver who will get us through the night.  And because he does and continues to, I will sing a song of redeeming love about him and to Him.