Shannon’s Perspective:
“For a moment all the world was right.”
That’s life right there in a nutshell. It’s those moments, when all the world is right, that we hold on to, we cherish them, and they help us get through the tough times. If we are lucky, we will get more of those moments in life than the ones where it feels like the world is falling apart. IMHO, all these moments are important to the human experience. How can you truly experience joy without knowing what sorrow feels like? Or pride in an accomplishment with failure? Life is all about yin and yang and the balance of the whole experience. Some of it will not be fun at all and some of it will bring you to your knees but man, some of it brings you more joy than you ever thought possible.
“I could have missed the pain but I’d have had to miss the dance.”
In 1990, and the subsequent few years, you could not escape this song. And of course, also Friends in Low Places. And I'll admit, the over-saturation of this song initially turned me off. It was as if Columbus, Ohio had never heard a country song ever. It was played constantly. It also didn't help that around this time in my life, Nine Inch Nails had recently released Pretty Hate Machine which had quickly risen to #1 on my play chart. So quite the dichotomy in music.
It wasn't until I watched the music video that I began to acknowledge the beauty of this song. The video features some clips from history, and one segment shows the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. As soon as I saw that, I no longer just let the song float by - I actually began paying attention to the lyrics. As a kid, I went from the highest high of Space Shuttle Columbia (see Countdown) to the lowest low of January 28th, 1986 when every single kid in America was watching the Challenger launch live in their classrooms. This was an event just like Pearl Harbor, or 9/11. You know exactly where you were and what you were doing at that moment. So every kid in America was traumatized that day. The entire nation, and somewhat, the world was as well.
I think in all honesty, it's a simple song and that is what makes it beautiful. The lyrics I really key in on are:
"Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance"
With our blog titled Ghost of A Chance - that really resonates with me. And very much like "Sadder still to watch it die - Than never to have known it", "I could have missed the pain - But I'd have had to miss the dance" hits in the same manner.
And at this point in our project, I can really state:
"Looking back
On the memory of
The dance we shared
'Neath the stars above
For a moment
All the world was right..."
I hope that I never have to experience "But how could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye" with Shannon.
P.S. Maybe it's just me, but I always find it a huge letdown when I find out a song I love wasn't written by the artist performing it, like this one. So I tip my hat to Tony Arata as well. Thank you for this beautiful song...
P.P.S So due to copyright yada-yada, it was extremely difficult to find the actual video. Shannon found it on Tik-Tok so that is the link. I hope it works because I only do Facebook, and I loathe even that.
Ghost of a Chance 