Music Therapy -- Brave

Have you ever listened to a song before... even memorized the lyrics... without really understanding the meaning behind the song? (Were you cool like me and listened to a cassette tape 296 times so you could write down the lyrics and learn the words? I swear my Play and Reverse buttons on my stereo were worn out by the time CD players came out!)

I digress.

One of my favorite non-traditional group therapy sessions to do with clients is music therapy. Whether they would be songs that I would choose and play for clients, or songs that clients would choose, I loved this "something different" that always went in a different direction each time, no matter how many times I played the same song. One of the things I love about using music therapeutically is that a song... the music and its lyrics... can mean different things to different people. Depending on the mood that you are in, a song can even have a different meaning to someone in the same day, given a different situation or circumstance.

I invite you to listen to Brave, by Sara Bareilles, and ponder its meaning on your life today.


Lyrics...

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes the shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

CHORUS:
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you (x 3)
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you (x 3)
I wanna see you be brave

Everybody's been there,
Everybody's been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing,
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

CHORUS

And since your history of silence
Won't do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?

CHORUS

I just wanna see you (x 3)
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you (x 3)
See you be brave

I just wanna see you (x6)


*If you like the thought of me including other songs into my blog posts occasionally (or even regularly) I'd love for you to leave a comment.