Music Monday: A Little Vinyl to Kick Off the Week

I am admittedly challenged in the “music-creating” department. As much as I would love to say that I can play an instrument or belt out a tune like a pro, that’s just not the case. Still, I love music. There is something powerful about the perfect combination of lyrics and music… for me, these things just have a way of reaching my soul and moving me in a way that words alone can’t.

A few years ago, I started collecting old (and new) vinyl records. I used to tag along with my mom whenever she shopped and added to her own collection, and I fell in love with the crackle of music played on a record player (that’s definitely one of my “life’s simple pleasures,” especially on a rainy day). I also love the excitement of flipping through crates of old albums at record stores – it’s like a treasure hunt… or maybe like rummaging through a stranger’s attic… it’s not unusual to find things that make me laugh or even make me confused (who WOULDN’T want to get their workout fix with Jane Fonda on vinyl?!). But one thing’s for sure – there’s nothing better than leaving a record store with a bagful of perfectly imperfect, well-loved, vintage-y albums.

This morning I broke out my Jackson Browne Running on Empty album. After listening to the title track, I couldn’t resist posting the lyrics here. So I guess with that, “Music Monday” is born! What better way to kick of the week?

"…Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned into the road I'm on
Running on-running on empty
Running on-running blind
Running on-running into the sun
But I'm running behind
Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don't know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, that'll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too…"

I think that most of us would agree that life can feel like an endless run. Sometimes it can be invigorating and freeing, and others it can feel like a tireless task. Sometimes we have been running for so long that we can’t even remember how we ended up where we are. Life is always going to be crazy. It’s always going to fly by. But we are here for a bigger purpose than this life here. We are here to love others, to live selflessly, and to serve the eternal purpose that God created for each of us… and in the meantime, we can find comfort in the fact that we aren’t the only ones running this strange but wonderful race. And we can know that when we abide in Him, we will never have to “run on empty.”