Just A Dream



Read the lyrics.  Watch the video on YouTube.  To listen:  look to the right and "play" away...



Cover Art:  Just A Dream



I know that this blog is supposed to be about the intersection of faith and lyrics.  But, I can't help but mention that the first thing I thought when seeing the video for this song was William Shakespeare.  (In my defense:  sometimes I am tempted to think Shakespeare's words are divinely inspiried.) 

Nelly's lyric of a man who lost his love due to failure to commit, combined with the images in the video, instantly reminded me of lyrics from a much older song in Much Ado About Nothing.

         

          Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more; 
              Men were deceivers ever;
          One foot in sea and one on shore,
              To one thing constant never;

          Then sigh not so, But let them go,
              And be you blithe and bonny;
          Converting all your sounds of woe
              Into. Hey nonny, nonny.

From National Portrait Gallery

London, England

...nice earring, Shakespeare!

What is it about men...   well, I don't want to be sexist.  What is it about men and women that make us afraid to commit?  Though I am a celibate:  I understand the lyrics Nelly sings.  The Church gave me six years to make my profession of final vows.  Though I could have professed after three years:  I took all six. 

Sometimes, as the lyrics of this song suggest, we spend so much time dreaming about what could be we fail to see the life and people right in front of us.  Nelly realizes that he should have put it down, got that ring, and made a commitment.  He realizes that life in the clubs, single and free, is not as happy as the missed chance he had for a wife would have been. 

What is the happiness that God intends for us?  Do we hold off on commitment until "it" happens, whether that be the "perfect" job, career, spouse, or situation?  Shakespeare expresses it as keeping one foot in sea and the other on shore.  Is that elusive "it" we are waiting for, as Nelly suggests, just a dream?  What if happiness isn't "it", but is being aware of and seeing what is in front of us, and saying "yes...", "I do...", or (in my less frequent case) "I profess..."   Nelly tells us that happiness is found with commitment.  When we do commit, our eyes are opened and we realize that all else is only a dream.