My Life and Meat Loaf

I'm a huge fan of Meat Loaf.  Have been since childhood - and I'm surely not talking about the dinner entree.

Like many teenagers, I went through an angry phase.  Ok, maybe a decade.  It started around the time of my grandmother's death, when my mother's extreme grief left me feeling abandoned, and ended 9 years later when I decided I didn't need constant anger and triggers in my life.  I moved 1500 miles away and *poof* - instantly happier person.  Have been for most of the almost-nine years I've been here in Texas.  Life hasn't been without it's ups and downs - but I'm one helluva lot more balanced now than as a teen.

I have a teenager in my house right now who is at the pinnacle of his angry stage.  Been there for awhile.  Came down a bit for awhile, but now back up there in the clouds that seem to have a red tinge.  It's been a tremendous opportunity to get to work with him since he arrived in mid-May of 2010 but it feels like an impending huge loss to know he'll be leaving in less than two weeks.  And naturally, since life gets boring without drama, the shiznit hit the fan...actually, it's been hitting and splattering for just over a month now.

Tonight, while reviewing what was a not-so-great evening, I was suddenly transported back to my own teen years (cue the music from Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell) and the words from one of my favorite Meat Loaf songs sprang into my head.  That doesn't happen to me very often; I love music but don't generally define my life with lyrics. 

In fact, I can think of only four times this has happened to me, including tonight:

• a song I shared with my high school sweetheart:
  (You're Still the One, Shania Twain),
• the song that prompted me to change my college major:
  (Livin' On a Prayer, Bon Jovi),
• the song I share with my husband:
  (Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flats),
• and now the song to describe the past three-quarters of a year:
  Meat Loaf's Everything Louder than Everything Else (Wasted Youth).

Here are the lyrics that are resonating with me right now, used completely without permission but with all credit for their genius going to artist Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman.  (First 5 lines are key, the next two parenthetical lines are one of my personal mantras, and the remainder is included because, well, I've always loved this entire stanza.)

And I ain't in it for the power,
And I ain't in it for my health
I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all
And I sure ain't in it for the wealth
But I'm in it till it's over and I just can't stop
(If you wanna get it done,
You gotta do it yourself)
And I like my music like I like my life
Everything louder than everything else,
Everything louder than everything else,
Everything louder than everything else,
Everything louder than everything else,
Everything louder than everything else,
Everything louder than everything else.

Read the full lyrics here.
Great stuff.  I'll have to hunt up either my original or live CD tomorrow and play.  For the first time in years, I'll fall asleep tonight listening to music...even if it's only inside of a memory inside of my head.

Good night!