Song 20 of 26 - Hang a Left at the Lights

The twentienth of the 26 songs is called "Hang a Left at the Lights". Scroll down below the following videos for the lyrics and a brief discussion of how this song ties into the project. A blog post which lists all 26 songs, including 1 video for each song can be found by clicking here.



A direct link to the above video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCTkcMADHk4

This song and song 21, "Making It Up as I Go", have similar ideas behind them. Both also share a lyrical approach which is more pop music oriented, no unusual words like "anthropic" or "entropy" to clue us in that these are about anything more than the subjects that are usually dealt with in popular music. This song also harkens back to song 10, "Addictive Personality" - and the idea that each of us are choosing from a fifth dimensional probability set to create the fourth dimensional line we look back upon as the life we have experienced. Those important cusps need not be so momentous as breaking out of a destructive loop of addiction - which is why this song is more fun, but really is expressing a similar idea.

Simple ideas like this one are, of course, not unique to this set of 26 songs. Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten", for instance, expresses a very similar concept in a finely crafted pop music confection. But in a world where people can believe they are trapped and unable to change when that is not the case, this is a very important message for artists to keep delivering: yes, sometimes people through no fault of their own are trapped in a bad situation. But it's also important to remember that sometimes it really can be just that easy, to say "now I will choose a better path than the one I've been on".

HANG A LEFT AT THE LIGHTS
words and music (C) by Rob Bryanton (SOCAN)

As you’re headin down your highway
You know you gotta read the signs
You gotta watch the other drivers
You gotta stay between the lines
You gotta listen to your wheels
Cause they’ll tell you bout the road
You gotta watch out for distractions
And think about where you’re goin

Maybe it’s time to hang a left at the lights
And choose another way
Maybe it’s time to put on the brakes
Cause sometimes it’s okay
To hang a left at the lights

Are you writin big fat cheques
That your body just can’t cash
Burned your candle at both ends
Well it’s never gonna last
Are you surfin on the top
Or are you draggin in the dirt
Are you headed for a fall
Are you headin for some hurt

Maybe it’s time to hang a left at the lights…

Gimme that roadmap, where the hell’s that star sayin “you are here”
Gimme some directions, this time try to make ‘em clear

Time for a tuneup
Time to change the oil
Top up my fluids
Check my sparks and coil
Thanks to the pit crew
I’m ready for another lap
But this time will be different
If things start to turn to crap

I’ll be sayin maybe it’s time to hang a left at the lights
And choose another way
Maybe it’s time to put on the brakes
Cause sometimes it’s okay
To hang a left at the lights

Next song: 21 of 26 - Making It Up as I Go