Money and fame

“Money and fame bring a man to shame, ain't doubt about it.”

To me, this song is more straight forward. It is about not letting the goal of money and fame consume our lives. It is about how people often forget what really matters in life. This is something most of us worry about. I stress about money all the time, and I want glory. Sometimes I really struggle with doing things because of what people will think of me. That isn't always bad, but the glory needs to turn to God. God is the only reason I am who I am and you are who you are. Every good thing about you is because of him. Ultimately, most artists write about personal experience, but in that is something that we can all relate to. Let us look at this song.

“I was sleeping with a loaded gun. I was scared of all things I'd done. Yeah, I know I'm not the only one. It's alright, it’s alright, it's alright, it's alright, now. I was chasing down a high again. Trying to take whatever I could get, but you know I had to pay for it. It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright now.”

In an interview, Bear, the lead singer, talks about this song being about a time in the band’s career where they weren't doing it for the right reasons. They were so caught up in the fame of everything and they had forgotten where they came from. They had really gotten to a bad place, and they knew it. “I was sleeping with a loaded gun. I was scared of all things I'd done” Have you ever done something that you could feel how wrong it was. I’ve have seen friends get caught in this before where all they just stop caring and all I can do is defend them. At times, it would seem like they were taking everything I said the wrong way and I would start to feel like I was attacking them. “I know I'm not the only one It's alright, it’s alright, it's alright,” Sometimes they think it is okay because others are doing it as well. “I was chasing down a high again. Trying to take whatever I could get, but you know I had to pay for it. It's alright.” Once this habit is gained, it can be hard to break and it will never be good enough always looking for the next thing, but you know you'll have to pay for it.

“I know that you know that everybody goes where the lights glow.”

Everyone wants to be in the spotlight. we all have a desire to be known and liked.

“What do you kids want to know about now? I made enough to make a young gun proud. Money and fame bring a man to shame, ain't no doubt about it. What do you kids want to know about now? I found the bottom from the top somehow. Money and fame bring a man to shame, ain't no doubt about it”

This just makes it clear what they were saying before. “What do you kids want to know about now?” They worry about pleasing everyone, kids always want more. “I made enough to make a young gun-proud.” They weren't making that much, but it does not take much to make someone very prideful. “Money and fame bring a man to shame, ain't no doubt about it.” The meaning of this is very clear. If you aren't careful, money and being famous can really hurt you. “I found the bottom from the top somehow.” Sometimes when we think we have everything, we really don't have anything. Be careful because sometimes we don't realize what our focus is. We think it is good, but really we just want to be comfortable. This hurts us because we can lose people along the way.

 “I've done some things that I regret. I was thinking I was fortunate. Now I'm working just to pay the debt.”

We have all done things that we regret. Maybe in the moment, you thought it was good, or you at least told yourself it was, but now, after you are still dealing with the consequences, whether that's with people or real money, you realize it wasn’t what you should have been focused on.

“You never know until you're offered it, but everybody's got a price. I guess It's even lower than you think it is.”

Most of us say we do not have a price or that we would never do that, but I've seen a lot of people say they'll never do anything. Then, they do.

When it comes down to it, this song is just about staying true to who you are, despite the money, fame, or other worldly things that might come your way. I'll end with a quote from the lead singer of this song: “If that is really what you want to do, you have to sell your soul to do it.”

Just my thoughts

Go With God
Duncan