Thursday 8 March 2012

Rise Above This

“Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless
I’m falling down, But I’ll rise above this, rise above this
Call your name every day, when I seem so helpless
I’m falling down, but I’ll rise above this, rise above this doubt”

Rise Above This – Seether

This song has such a wonderful message and should be inspirational to everyone who listens. Quite simply, it is a great song. However, it does not sound like something Seether would release. Seether’s previous songs had been rock, hard rock, with shouting and swearing and angry lyrics. Even their slower songs still had an angry vibe and a dangerous tone. Rise Above This sounded too painful, too tender, and too personal. It told people there were problems and it asked people for help. Me, being me, loved the lyrics and loved the whole idea of this song, but there was a part of me which did not want to admit how much I liked the message because it portrays weakness.

We live in a world which tells you to “harden up” or “get over it”, and this message makes us keep our problems to ourselves. Admitting something is wrong is a sign of weakness, and no one wants others to think they are weak. No matter how many times our friends and family say they are there for us whenever we need them, we are slow to take up the offer and would rather struggle in quiet. We know this is not healthy and is not how we should live our lives. But still, we will not admit our problems to anyone else, and, in some cases, we will not even admit our problems to ourselves.

About a month ago I saw Seether live. They played ridiculously well and it was one rocking night. From Country Song to Driven Under, they owned the stage and wowed the crowd. We all knew Rise Above This would come on soon, and there was a small part of me which expected the crowd to go calm down a bit and not as crazy as they had during earlier songs. I thought people would be a little more reserved, quite simply because the song portrays weakness. I thought, there is no way a crowd of people with studs and tattoo’s and leather would show their peers they supported a song about supposed weakness.

But when Rise Above this kicked off, the crowd went the opposite way to what I expected. Everyone was screaming and shouting as if this song meant something to them. Personally, I thought my throat would never work again with how loudly and passionately I was screaming these lyrics. But what is more, it proved there were other people out there who loved this song and who felt vulnerable at times.

I realised that night what Rise Above This is about. It’s not about weakness; it’s about standing up and admitting something is wrong, and taking the steps to make yourself better with the help of others. Most of all, it’s about being strong enough to do it.


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