“September” (2009) Daughtry

How the time passed away?
All the trouble that we gave
And all those days we spent out by the lake
Has it all gone to waste?
All the promises we made
One by one they vanish just the same

Of all the things I still remember
Summer's never looked the same
The years go by and time just seems to fly
But the memories remain
In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain
Nothing to lose but everything to gain
Reflecting now on how things could've been
It was worth it in the end

Now it all seems so clear, there's nothing left to fear
So we made our way by finding what was real
Now the days are so long that summer's moving on
We reach for something that's already gone

Of all the things I still remember
Summer's never looked the same
The years go by and time just seems to fly
But the memories remain
In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain
Nothing to lose but everything to gain
Reflecting now on how things could've been
It was worth it in the end

We knew we had to leave this town
But we never knew when and we never knew how
We would end up here the way we are
Yeah we knew we had to leave this town
But we never knew when
And we never knew how

Of all the things I still remember
Summer's never looked the same
The years go by and time just seems to fly
But the memories remain
In the middle of September we'd still play out in the rain
Nothing to lose but everything to gain
Reflecting now on how things could've been
It was worth it in the end

When I originally started this series of posts, I intended to write about one song a day for the month of September (hence the title Songs of September), and this song, September, was on the list. Well now it’s July (ten months later) so the song isn’t quite as meaningful, but it still rocks.

First of all, I just love Daughtry in general. I’m not sure they have released a song that I don’t enjoy. This is one of my favorites, not so much for what it says although I love the message, but definitely for the music. It’s almost haunting, and the effect is intensified by what he says, remembering summers with friends and how hard it was to walk away from all of that, to find out who they were to become. I never had experiences like that, but I’m always drawn to stories from others who have.

I think my favorite part is the second verse:  “Now it all seems so clear/There's nothing left to fear/So we made our way by finding what was real/Now the days are so long that summer's moving on/We reach for something that's already gone”. How true for so many of life’s situations and circumstances – we reach for something that’s already gone. I’m not one to say we should let go of the past, forget it and move forward; but I also don’t think it’s good to hold on too tightly. Just allow yourself to enjoy the memories, tell the stories, hold on to the lessons and laughter, and learn from your mistakes and successes alike.