I almost casually brought this up a while ago, eager to take a trip back in time, but I’m glad I didn’t. Because now I can do it more justice and forever keep around what is, among numerous loved ones, my #1 favorite song by Maroon 5.
Have you ever been accidentally stuck in a situation you are so pitifully unprepared for that you keep crying out, silently or out loud, “Why does this have to happen to me?! Why?!” And it is so incredibly harmful to your very fragile and vulnerable being that, although you can appreciate the good intentions, you resent anyone telling you that it will make you stronger and wiser? Well, something like that. That is where this song takes me to. Yet, I don’t hate it. On the contrary.
It’s been over a decade. And to answer the question: It gravely confused and weakened me. For years, I had to climb out of that hole, bit by bit, putting myself back together. So, no, I don’t recommend it. Yet, at the same time, I can’t deny that such misfortune did ultimately lead me to come back from it stronger and wiser. And just knowing not to ever go there again. Anymore.
If I ever claim to have your back, after you’ve had mine, and I haven’t explicitly cancelled that contract or excused myself for a valid reason, you can probably assume that I’m dead or so incapacitated I can’t even string words together in my brain. Because, yes, sometimes it IS that bad. Which is part of what makes the official music video so memorable to me. But beware, if you go see it, it is quite graphic.
What I personally hold on to the most, however, has got to be the line, “We drew a map to a better place.” It’s like the entire story gains and regains meaning from that line alone. Definitely miss the taste of a sweeter life and the conversation, too, though.
