Musical Memoirs: Episode 10 - My Sacrifice

For Justin: Thanks for the dare!



"Hello my friend, we meet again

It's been awhile, where should we begin?
Feels like forever
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
Oh, I remember


When you are with me, I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice


We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around
In an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there


When you are with me, I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice


I just want to say hello again
I just want to say hello again


When you are with me I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
Cause when you are with me I am free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice, My sacrifice


I just want to say hello again
I just want to say hello again
My sacrifice."

I have loved this song for quite sometime, so it was an excellent pick, thank you again, Justin.  This is a song of great feeling and one very close to my heart for reasons I will share later in this review. 
This song brings to light two questions for me:

1. Who is "my friend"?  The person of whom the author speaks within the first line.
2. What sacrifice has the author made?

Whomever the author is speaking to is a friend.  It could be anyone, you might even know them.  Either way, though, the friend has been away for quite some time.  The author has a sense of longing, having missed this person, and yet the author's memories now provide the only place where they can meet.

We've all met people within our lives who inspire us and give us the "warm fuzzies".  People like this are rare, but we still each have them, some more than others.  We all have our heroes and people who have helped us through certain portions of our lives.  These people have the ability to make us feel as the song describes, "When you are with me, I'm free, I'm careless, I believe..."  These are the people who dare us to be ourselves and to be true to our destinies.  We are challenged to live out our lives with passion, daring, and courage; not caring what others think, but rather, caring for others no matter what.
 
Having said all of this, I believe that the author is actually addressing more than one person in these lyrics:

• Himself - he is his own friend so long as he does not try to be someone he is not.  Yet, there are times when he must sacrifice himself, his own desires, etc. in order to continue caring for others.
• A hero - someone who has challenged him, with or without criticism.
• A long-lost hero / friend / family member - someone who has in effect disappeared from his life; someone he longs for.  Perhaps they passed away or they had to go their seperate ways for whatever reason.
• A former friend - someone who had to be "sacrificed" or set aside so that the author could be himself.
• Everyone else - each of us has a "himself" or a "herself", just like the first person mentioned in this list.

That being said, this is a beautiful song which has held great meaning for me personally over the past few years.  It makes me think and I find myself looking within me to what I can improve.  I also find that it allows me peace within my reminiscence of those gone before me.  I can always meet them within my memories with the knowledge that they will always and forever be a part of me.  It is with this that I am comforted by the idea that I will continue learning from those who have passed, simply by remembering their words from while they were here.  Bravo, and many thanks to the writer of these lyrics.