Swing Life Away

Swing Life Away :Rise Against
"Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?Are we getting closer, are we just getting more lost?I'll show you mine if you show me yours firstLet's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worseLet's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words[Chorus]We live on front porches and swing life awayWe get by just fine here on minimum wage If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the endI won't cross these streets until you hold my hand I've been here so long; think that its time to moveThe winter's so cold summer's over too soonso let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees growI've got some friends, some that I hardly knowBut we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the worldWe chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go[Chorus]We live on front porches and swing life awayWe get by just fine here on minimum wage If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the endI won't cross these streets until you hold my hand, until you hold my handI'll show you mine if you show me yours firstLet's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worseLet's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words[Chorus]We live on front porches and swing life awayWe get by just fine here on minimum wage If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the endI won't cross these streets until you hold my handSwing life awaySwing life awaySwing life awaySwing life away"


The first song on my play list is "Swing Life Away" by Rise Against. To me this song holds a very meaningful perspective on life because it shows the importance of love over money. The writer wants to focus his life around happiness rather than money and this is a dream of his. He is obviously having some relationship problems "am i still your charm or am i just bad luck" but he is willing to do whatever it takes to fix things and make them better " i wont cross these streets until you hold my hand". His perspective on life through this acoustic song expresses the things in life that hold meaning to him. His love, his friendships and his happiness. Money is not a factor, "we get by just fine here on minimum wage" this shows just how unimportant materialistic things are to him. He wants to live somewhere warm so he can settle down with his girlfriend and "swing life away", meaning live simply day by day with no complications or worries. He feels fulfilled with the life he has lead and the people that have impacted him "Ive got some friends, some that i hardly know but we've had some times i wouldn't trade for the world". Though his experiences may not have been the most extravagant is does not matter because he was happy during those times and he would not trade those friends or good times for anything.
Now he is willing to give everything up just to make his girlfriend happy "if love is a labor I'll slave til the end" and by doing this he wants to pack up and move "where palm trees grow"..he is determine to take her away from the miserable life in the cold and create her a happy simple life where they can grow old together and focus on love.
I think this is a very good acoustic song for this theme because it's different from the usual perspectives today that focus on money, fame and worthless things. The song writer is expressing the importance of love over money and friendships over fame through lyrics that prove them to be a better life style because they are genuine feelings.