The lilting, operatic ballads of love, pain, and emotion find refuge in songs of The Lumineers, which often shine as parables on morality and the art of living life, to the very fullest. The article highlights personal favourite lyrics from their songs, and the lessons of zest interpreted.


Picture Credit: The Lumineers

CLEOPATRA

“But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time”


A poignant ballad that hits hard, as a life not lived, is a life lost. Excuses need to be shunned amidst the temporality of life. Uncertainties are a certainty, over one’s mortal journey in an unforgiving, relentless world.

Be on time, else the quicksands of time will quell the embers of a raging soul.

To listen to the song, click here: Cleopatra





SLEEP ON THE FLOOR


“If the sun don’t sun shine on me today
And if the subways flood and bridges break
Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave
Or will you rail against your dying day”


A triumphant call to explore the wilderness of our soul. The essence of carpe diem, lies dormant in each one of us, simmering, ready to explode with urgent vibrancy on the canvas of life. The interplay of light and dark is a transient phase of existence, which unlike the human will, is not eternal. Renaissance awaits us, just beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Resist, rebel, and rage. But never acquiesce in the face of adversity.

To listen to the song, click here: Sleep on the Floor



LIFE IN THE CITY


“Livin’ life in the city
It will never be pretty
We can plan if we make it
We won’t let them, they won’t take it from me”


The tremulous complexities of the big, modern, urban landscape we live in are laid bare. A mere consumerist vehicle carrying the recipients of an endless rat race, we need to stop, slow down and recuperate, rejuvenate and retrospect.

Accept the flaws, all the ugliness, and build your own, unadulterated version of pretty.

To listen to the song, click here: Life in the City


Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

OPHELIA


“Oh, when I was younger, should have known better
And I can’t feel no remorse, and you don’t feel nothing back”


Inspired by Shakespeare’s famous character from Hamlet, Ophelia by The Lumineers is another enthralling gem. It tells us that our biggest foe is often not a person, but a manifestation of our own making. Being a slave to our occupations, merely existing; not living is a bane to live with forever. Leave scope for remorse, but none for regret. Extinguish the remnants of regret through the flame of a blazing life, lived, in the truest sense of the term.


Live, Laugh, Express, and mould the best of our youth, as we grow through life, learning the lessons of adulthood.
To listen to the song, click here: Ophelia




HO HEY

“I been living a lonely life
So show me family
Love, we need it now
Let’s hope, for some
Cause, oh, we’re bleeding out"

Loneliness and the pain of being misunderstood is a disease which festers on in a virulent form. The warmth of conversation and family, a definition not demarcated by biological lines, is often the elixir to an invigorated sense of purpose. Before emotions bleed out, let’s lookout for one another and employ our greatest weapon to counter times of crisis: Hope.

To listen to the song, click here: Ho Hey


Picture Credit: Melissa Madison Fuller

STUBBORN LOVE

“It’s better to feel pain, than nothing at all
The opposite of love’s indifference
Keep your head up, keep your love”

The joy of living, experiencing is often a balm to soothe the wounds inflicted by the ravages of time. Don’t shy away from pain, as a process of purgation, is what cleanses away the ashes of our former selves. Experiment, take charge, and feel free to wade away from the shallows into the depths of uncertainty. Just remember, to keep your head above.


Emote, Express, Feel. As a certain Gibran would say- ‘To withhold, is to perish’
To listen to the song, click here: Stubborn Love




NOBODY KNOWS

“Nobody knows how to say goodbye
It seems so easy till you try
Nobody knows how the story ends
Live the day, doing what you can
This is only where it began"

Goodbye, is often the hardest word, as bottled up emotions tug at our semblance of control. Bid adieu to the corrosive elements, but hold on, dearly, to those which instill life in a mundane sense of existence. The story of our lives is still being written and even Destiny’s child is unsure of how this tale of tribulation will end.

Hence, live on, fight on, a day at a time for today is only the beginning of a revival.
Flip that page and- begin again. To listen to the song, click here: Nobody Knows