The Ball Game
This is the one life,
These are the passing days
When I was young, I loved to play baseball. This sport was so much fun to me. Being out in the grass with my buddies, trying to keep my glasses on my nose when the ball was hit towards me. The smell of the air. The feeling of a big hit. It all was so fun to me. I have inherited a bad memory from my father, but those are moments I don’t think I’ll forget.
And when I heard the The Ball Game an instant chord was struck with me. Its a song about taking advantage of the time that we have. Its such a basic principle, but when put to a well written tune, it can become profound to us once again. It did for me. The melody rings of progression. With an acoustic base line, kickin’ and groovin’ it like its 1964 (What?), it causes an unconscious foot tap and/or head bob. it It moves as it moves as it moves. The first four measures leave you wanting to hear the next four. The verses build to the chorus in a very perfect and stylized way. Its one of the more original melodies I’ve heard. I get so used to the same-old tune. When listening to a song, none of us like thinking, “This song sounds just like that other song.” We crave originality. And I think Andy nails originality on its head with this one.
As a fairly young twenty-something, I feel like this song was written for me. It strikes me as a song for young people. As we grow out of our teens and begin to become independent, we make our own choices. And if we make the wrong choice, it could effect the rest of our lives. And we only have one life to live. As the song touches on giving up on what we loved, its an important reminder to not just let life pass by and give up or squander what we’ve been given.
{Mark and I started a band back in high school
Cause we thought it might make us cool…
…We got a record deal and you know how that went
The records didn’t sell and the money got spent
We were five guys now, grown up, and couldn’t pay the rent}
As the days go by, we are given certain opportunities. And before you know it, we have a family and bills to pay. {Show me what to hold and what is in the way.} We need to know how to prioritize our opportunities, blessings, and gifts. We need to know how to make best of the time we’re given. And The Ball Game is a reminder to its listener (or, at least, to me) to take advantage of the opportunities and to be good stewards of them. {These are the passing days}. We don’t want to look back on our days when we are older and say, “I’ve wasted it.” What a tragedy that would be.
It is so refreshing to hear a song that speaks such a simple and repeated principle in such a profound and new way. It hit me pretty hard, and I’m sure, if you listen to the lyrics, you’ll think the same. And again, the tune is progressive, original, fun, and just plain killer 