Okay Google, play… ‘The Dance’ by Garth Brooks.
We talk about the ‘human state’ a lot in this article series, the collage of feelings, experiences and instincts that build up the grand and unique mosaic of who we are. However, there is one key aspect of this ‘human state’ that we look for tirelessly in our lives, one we are blessed with only when we least expect it. That aspect is love. Love is not one emotion, and love is not simply one polaroid picture of a moment. Love is a portrait composed of pain, happiness, anxiety, and excitement. Love is inarguably the best feeling we can experience as sentient beings, but it can also drain our hearts, pierce our lungs, and kick us to our knees.
Garth Brooks is probably one of the most famous country singers alive. In the 1990s he brought us tracks such as ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’, ‘Unanswered Prayers’, and his biggest hit ‘The Dance’. ‘The Dance’ successfully does what all country songs seek to do: it captures the lightning of raw emotion within a bottle, or rather a vinyl record. Brooks is one of the most influential figures in my musical life, as he not only inspired me but also country singers Gary Perkins and Scotty McCreery, men who I will always hold as my heroes.
I have sung a few Garth Brooks songs on stage over the years. However, I have never sung ‘The Dance’, and I don’t think I ever will. When I just casually sing along, I can see every moment of love that has come and gone in my life, much like a flipbook of a couple dancing in the moonlight where every step they take is another memory. I always try to allow myself to become absorbed within these memories, to experience that dance like I once did in loves gone by.
Let me reiterate a piece of advice from this song. Trust your gut. Life is short and youth is even shorter. Take that chance with that girl or guy. Feel every moment with them, make them happy, let them make you happy. Feel the blazing passion flow through you as you kiss them for the first time. Share the feeling of peace as you sit watching the sunset. Take mental polaroids of every moment, good and bad. Sooner or later, it’ll all be gone in the whirlwind of life. To quote Garth Brooks: ‘Yes my life is better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I’d of had to miss the dance’.
