Just Give it One More Try

Author's Note:This piece is analyzing the theme of "Lullaby" By Nickelback. I really wanted to give the reader a sense of determination and how this song can help you and show you what determination and courage feel like. This song means a lot to me for many reasons so I feel like I could pour a lot of emotion and some of my determination into this piece which is why it makes it so special to me.

Well, I know the feeling
Of finding yourself stuck out on the ledge
And there ain't no healing
From cutting yourself with the jagged edge
I'm telling you that, it's never that bad
Take it from someone who's been where you're at
Laid out on the floor
And you're not sure you can take this anymore

So just give it one more try to a lullaby
And turn this up on the radio
If you can hear me now
I'm reaching out
To let you know that you're not alone
And if you can't tell, I'm scared as heck
'Cause I can't get you on the telephone
So just close your eyes
Oh, honey here comes a lullaby
Your very own lullaby

Please let me take you
Out of the darkness and into the light
'Cause I have faith in you
That you're gonna make it through another night
Stop thinking about the easy way out
There's no need to go and blow the candle out
Because you're not done
You're far too young
And the best is yet to come

So just give it one more try to a lullaby
And turn this up on the radio
If you can hear me now
I'm reaching out
To let you know that you're not alone
And if you can't tell, I'm scared as heck
'Cause I can't get you on the telephone
So just close your eyes
Oh, honey here comes a lullaby
Your very own lullaby

Well, everybody's hit the bottom
Everybody's been forgotten
When everybody's tired of being alone
Yeah, everybody's been abandoned
And left a little empty handed
So if you're out there barely hanging on...

Just give it one more try to a lullaby
And turn this up on the radio
If you can hear me now
I'm reaching out
To let you know that you're not alone
And if you can't tell, I'm scared as heck
'Cause I can't get you on the telephone
So just close your eyes
Oh, honey here comes a lullaby
Your very own lullaby
Oh, honey here comes a lullaby
Your very own lullaby

A teenage girl sits in her room; the lights are turned off.  A radio plays softly in the background.  Tears stream gently down her cheeks leaving a soft wet trail down her chin.  Life has thrown her one too many curve balls and she’s tired of striking out.  As she sits there thoughts race through her mind, I don't deserve to be here, I'm a failure, there's nothing I can do.  All of these feelings collide and she’s about to break.  That frayed thread she’s been hanging on to for so long gets
thinner and thinner.  It's about ready to snap, plunging her into a never ending darkness of despair and defeat.  Just as it appears she’s about to burst a tune on the radio fills the room, the girl is snapped out of her thoughts.   Filled with curiosity, she turns it up and closes her
eyes.   The lyrics glide through her mind as she catches every single word.  The song is Lullaby by Nickelback and the meaning is so powerful it can bring you to tears; this song shows that you must be determined and willing to accept life as it is and move on.

Meaning is something every song needs, but many lack.  This song isn’t just some pop song about having a good time and partying.  Lullaby demonstrates perseverance and determination. Harming yourself will not make your world better.  You need stand up, dust yourself off and jump right back into life with open arms.  It's true what these lyrics say, we've all been there in the bottom.  The people who persevere will start climbing to the top, even though it is a long perilous journey full of heartbreak and pain they will stick their hands and feet in the crevices and slowly pull themselves back up.  We need to all be like those people who get up again.  There are many songs about determination out there.   Lullaby isn’t the only song that portrays such song emotion and determination, Never Too Late by Three Days Grace tells you that “It’s not too late, it’s never too late”. Three Days Grace portrays determination in a much more fierce way.  Whereas Nickelback words it a little differently with almost softer sounding words.  For example, “I'm reaching out to let you know that you're not alone” is telling you that it’s never too late in a much softer context.  It wraps you up, like a warm hug and gives you the determination to “get back in the ring”.

Getting up is the first step, next you need to know where to go from there.  The truth is we don't know where to go.  We do not live through life, we live life while following the winding path wherever it wants to take us.  Sometimes we can fall through the cracks though, and we need songs like this to show comfort, guidance, and courage.  Lullaby shows us that determination and courage are not easy, but through much effort and a strong heart you can make it through anything.   Many songs also demonstrate that you can do anything you set your mind too, but Lullaby does it in a special way.  It makes you dive in headfirst.  Some songs have underlying meanings and hidden themes, but this song's theme stands out like a sore thumb, in a good way. There are no hidden meanings in Lullaby; the theme is right in the lyrics.  "Just give it one more try to a lullaby’.  Just give it one more try, right there is what this song is trying to portray. One sentence, that one sentence tells you the whole meaning of this song.  They say more in one sentence than some artists can say in a whole song.  

I can connect with this song very easily, the meaning is extremely easy to relate to. There have been many times when my heart felt like a balloon that somebody struck with a needle.  I've been at the bottom, but through songs with lyrics like these I can stand up and start the climb to the top.  There has also been points in my life where i was just "barely hanging on" as it states in this song, but I gave it one more try.  Depression has threatened to take over, but I fought back.  Whenever I hear this song I close my eyes and really listen to the words, even though this wasn't written specifically for me, every time I hear it I feel like it was.  These lyrics hit home every single time, even if it’s the millionth time I’ve heard it I still feel tears in my eyes.   There is one specific lyric in this song that makes me really stop and think about my life.  “Because you're not done You're far too young And the best is yet to come” Just reading those words makes my eyes swell with tears.  While I write this, I can feel the tears in my eyes.  That one lyric, just that one lyric can make me cry.  It’s giving me the confidence to want to wake up and see what tomorrow holds.  The determination blazes through my body and rejuvenates me, it gives me a sense of hope.  

Meaning, never giving up, and hope are the three key things intertwined with the theme of Lullaby, Determination and courage.  Being able to move on with your life is hard, but lullaby’s powerful, tear jerking theme shows you that you must be determined and courageous.  Life is rough, especially when you’re still trying to figure out exactly who you are and where you fit into the
puzzle.  When you just can’t take it anymore, turn this song up on the radio.