Into the Fire

2.) Tell us about your song.

Life - as thin as a thread
Sometimes you're lucky
Sometimes you're better off dead

Your first breath is taken and into the world you are cast
You long for tomorrow while living each day as your last

Well I know what your heart desires
But you can't take it with you
Into the fire

Now you've done all you can
Your life's at the crossroads
You watch as it slips through your hands

So you stand on the mountain and shout in vain at the sky
But nobody hears you - the words only echo inside

Oh shelter the flame - it may expire
Risin' up from the ashes
Into the fire

Just hold onto your life down to the wire
Oh out from the dragon's jaws
Into the fire

There's a moment in every man's life
When he must decide what is wrong and what's right

You could wait for your dreams to come true
But time has no mercy
Time won't stand still for you

Well I know what your heart desires
Crawlin' out from the wreckage
Into the fire

Here I go...Into the fire
I know...what your heart desires

Those are the lyrics from a song, Into the Fire- one of my all time favorite songs, written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance in 1987.

I've actually written about this song before for another workshop prompt, but I tied it in with the song we danced to on our wedding day (also a Bryan Adams song), Heaven. Even so, it's worth repeating (in summary), I think.

The song Into the Fire saved my life.

That's where my love and adoration for Bryan Adams comes from. He saved my life. I don't want to marry the dude, I don't want to have his baby; I just really respect him (the man loves his work, his art, his craft) and really am thankful to be here today, alive and well, to talk about it. 

Because of him, because of this one song.

I think we all have moments in our lives when we react pretty dramatically to our surroundings- what's happening in our lives- and, at that moment, it may seem like the world is absolutely crashing in on you. What I've gone through is nothing exceptional; there are far, far, far worse childhoods. But, at the time, when I was living through it, I, of course, thought my life was the absolute worst. And I wanted it to end. I just couldn't see past the hurt and pain of the moment to see that maybe, if I fight through it, the sun might shine again.

It started after my parents split when I was 9, and explained nothing to me. I internalized everything and therefore, since nobody told me they loved me (it just wasn't said by anyone in our family- stupid, stupid, stupid on everyone's part!!) and since nobody told me the demise of our family wasn't my fault, I felt unloved and that the split was because of me.

Things just escalated from there. By the time I was full fledged teenager, I still pretty much hated life. I was angry, hostile, and just not happy. We were moving every year, I had no friends, my siblings were gone, my parents seemed to forget how to parent. What was the point? I immersed myself in music and writing. It was my only escape. I could get lost in the music and dream of a better day and I could release some of the angst through my writing. But I still didn’t think I would live to see 20 years old.

I hated life that much.

And then I found out that Bryan Adams would be touring (1986) and I adored him and his music. I picked up his latest album at the time, Into the Fire, and purchased concert tickets the day they went on sale and listened to the album over and over again to sort of prepare for the concert (haha the mind of a 14 year old!). That’s when things started to turn around for me. His song Into the Fire touched me in a way that made me feel like maybe I wasn’t so alone in this world after all.

When the concert day finally arrived, it was all so very electrifying to me. The entire show, the fans, the whole experience was so ... alive.  And, after an encore, he came back out on stage and finally performed the one song I really hoped he would play:

http://youtu.be/m7xqtLTBrHY 

(i'm SO sorry i can't get this video embedded, this song is really worth a listen though)

And, at that moment, I knew that holding out for this concert was absolutely the right thing to do; I knew that I had to crawl out of the wreckage of my life and make my way into the fire.

Cheesy? Heck yes. But oh so true.

And in just 2 days, I get to see this man perform live again!  It'll be my... 10th time (I'm pretty sure) seeing him. And it never gets old. (Unfortunately, I can't remember the last time I've seen him play Into the Fire live. It never became a hit, especially here in the States, so I'm guessing he doesn't play it because of that?? Honestly, I'm not sure I could handle it if he did end up playing it live on Saturday! It's been over 20 years and... I just don't think I could handle it.)