7 songs that speak to me & why

1) “Love’s The Only House” (Martina McBride) - This song could be the theme song to my life.

I was standing in the grocery store line
The one they marked express
When this woman came through with about 25 things
And I said don't you know that more is less
She said this world is movin' so fast
I just get more behind with every day
And every mornin' when I make my coffee
I can't believe my life's turned out this way
All I could say was

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

He was walkin' by the other day and I said
Hey baby...how you been
Yeah I got me a little girl now and she's 4 years old
And she's got her daddy's little grin
And you only wanted what you can't have
And baby you can't have me now
I gave me heart to another
Yeah I'm a mother and he's a father and we're a family and we got each other
And I found out the hard way that

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

You drive three miles from all this prosperity
Down across the river and you see a ghetto there
And we got children walking around with guns
And they got knives and drugs and pain to spare
And here I am in my clean white shirt
With a little money in my pocket and a nice warm home
And we got teenagers walkin' around in a culture of darkness
Livin' together alone...all I can

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

And I can't explain it and I can't understand
But I'll come down and get my hands dirty and together we'll make a stand
Somewhere 'cross the parking lot some bands playin' out of tune
City streets are gonna burn if we don't do something soon
And senorita can't quit cryin baby's due now any day
Don Juan left got sick of trying
No one there to show him the way
She came down to the grocery store and she said I
I wanna buy a little carton of milk but I don't have any money
I said hey I'll cover you honey 'cause the pain's gotta go somewhere
Yeah the pain's gotta go someplace
So come on down to my house
Don't you know that

2 & 3) “I-90” and  “Head’s Carolina, Tails California” - Chris & Johnny’s song, “I-90,” and JoDee Messina’s “Head Carolina, Tails California” speak to my wanderlust. I-90 brings me back to the summer after I graduated from college, to the weeks a friend and I cruised down I-90. Oh, the freedom and the adventure. Whenever I hear these two songs, I want to hop in my car and head off...

I-90

I just left her standing there
Tangled thoughts and tangled hair
Baby blue eyed cries for me
Cuz she don't really wanna see me leave
When she just met me
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

We've been soulmates from the start
Gentle spirits, heart to heart
Moonlight lovers in the dark
Lyin' on the lawn and makin' sparks
And the makin's lovely
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

There'll be construction on the way
A summer job with a decent pay
Fillin' holes along the road
I've done things I ain't never told
Don't tell nobody
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

Chorus:
I-90's soothin' me
It's movin' me to be a better man
This highway's givin' me
The time to be, to understand

Now that all my work's been done
I'll seek the warmth of summer sun
With a twisted heart and itchy feet
I'm a headin' home to make ends meet
And ditch this quandry
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

What's to say this crazy clown
Who lifts one up and lets the other one down
Don't feel bad for all his tricks
It weighs on his mind like a load of bricks
He don't take it lightly
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

And so let the full moon rise again
Minnesota gal to be my friend
I'll be back to play this song
'Cuz a while on the road can make you stronger
Ever so slightly
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90

Heads Carolina, Tails California

Baby, what do you say we just get lost?
Leave this one horse townlike two rebels without a cause.
I got people in Boston.
Ain't your daddy still in Des Moines?
We can pack up tomorrow.
Tonight, let's flip a coin

[Chorus] Heads, Carolina Tails, California.
Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.
Up in the mountains, down by the ocean.
Where? It don't matter, as long as we're goin'
Somewhere together. I've got a quarter.
Heads, Carolina Tails, California.

We can load what we own in the back of a U-haul van.
Couple modern day Moses', searchin for the promised land.
We can go four hundred miles before we stop for gas.
We can drive for a day, and then we'll take a look at the map.

We're gonna get outta here if we gotta ride a Greyhound bus.
Boy, we're bound to outrun the bad luck that's tailin' us

4) “Before He Cheats” - This song, sung by Carrie Underwood, is cathartic for me. I listen to it, and then I don’t do any of the crazy things I might want to do.

Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky...
right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink
'cause she can't shoot whiskey...
Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick,
showing her how to shoot a combo...

And he don't know...

That I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats...
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

Right now, she's probably up singing some
white-trash version of Shania karaoke.
Right now, she's probably saying, "I'm drunk"
and he's a-thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on
3 dollars worth of that bathroom Polo*...

Oh, and he don't know...

That I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats,
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl,
'cause the next time that he cheats...
Oh, you know it won't be on me!

No... not on me

5) Blessed - Sung by Martina McBride, this song is such a good reminder. Listening to it is like hearing my 1000 Gifts, my gratitude list, in song.

I get kissed by the sun each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day

I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

6) What If I Stumble? - This DC Talk song states my fears pretty well. It was applicable when I first heard it as a teen, and a song that still resonates today.

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Is this one for the people? Is this one for the Lord?
Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford?
You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains
Holiness is calling, in the midst of courting fame
Cause I see the trust in their eyes
Though the sky is falling
They need Your love in their lives
Compromise is calling

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You never turn in the heat of it all
What if I stumble, what if I fall?

Father please forgive me for I can not compose
The fear that lives within me
Or the rate at which it grows
If struggle has a purpose on the narrow road you've carved
Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar
Do they see the fear in my eyes? Are they so revealing?
This time I cannot disguise all the doubt I'm feeling

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

What if I stumble?
Everyone's got to crawl when you know that
You're up against a wall, it's about to fall
Everyone's got to crawl when you know that

I hear You whispering my name [You say]
"My love for You will never change" [never change]

7) Fruit of the Spirit: This children’s song is one I listen to even when the kids aren’t around. It’s a good reminder about what I want to focus on.

(Ready? Okay!)
Love, joy, peace,
Patience, kindness,
Goodness, faithfulness too
Gentleness
And self-control
We've got spirit,
How 'bout you?!)

We've got the fruit
Fruit of the spirit
We've got the fruit
This is how we live
We've got the fruit
Fruit of the spirit
The gifts that only God can give

Well it's easy to get mad
When things don't go your way
It's easy to get angry
When you're having a bad day

It's easy to be mean
When people do you wrong
It's easy to complain
When you just can't get along

But there's a better way
The spirit can help you when you pray

Well it's easy to be selfish
When you need to give away
It's easy to run
When you know you need to stay

It's easy to quit
Instead of staying until the end
It's easy to argue
Instead of speaking like a friend

8) AN EXTRA: Beautiful Things (Gungor) - This is such a beautiful song.

All this pain
I wonder if I'll ever find my way?
I wonder if my life could really change at all?

All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground at all?

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

9 & 10) Oh, and these two great ones by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers deserve mention: "Running Down A Dream" and "Learning to Fly."