He sits alone in a bar, his beard strewn with gray, his temples ravaged by time and consternation.
His voice, raspy and rough and gnarled by years of overuse, is salve and fire.
His body has begun to break down, a state of deterioration seen less in the mirror and more in the eyes of friends.
And the eyes of the one who loves him.
She can’t save him.
Maybe he doesn’t want to be saved.
Maybe he’s beyond that.
A beautiful, heartbreaking song.
A man and a guitar.
A woman and her power.
And maybe she needs some saving too. Maybe he’s not the only one.
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
IT TAKES A LOT TO CHANGE A MAN
HELL, IT TAKES A LOT TO TRY
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT AWAITS FOR THE DEAD
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT AWAITS FOR THE DEAD
SOME FOLKS JUST BELIEVE IN THE THINGS THEY’VE HEARD
AND THE THINGS THEY READ
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT AWAITS FOR THE DEAD
Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga give career-defining performances in the re-re-remake of ‘A Star is Born’ and this is one for a new generation. While ‘Shallow’ got all the chart glory, and an incandescent performance on the Oscar ceremony, it is this song which moves me the most. It stands sublimely on its own too, a plaintive elegy of sorts, a prayer to someone somewhere, hoping to find something, somehow.
I’M GLAD I CAN’T GO BACK TO WHERE I CAME FROM
I’M GLAD THOSE DAYS ARE GONE, GONE FOR GOOD
BUT IF I COULD TAKE SPIRITS FROM MY PAST AND BRING’ ‘EM HERE
YOU KNOW I WOULD, YOU KNOW I WOULD
NOBODY SPEAKS TO GOD THESE DAYS
NOBODY SPEAKS TO GOD THESE DAYS
I’D LIKE TO THINK HE’S LOOKING DOWN AND LAUGHING AT OUR WAYS
NOBODY SPEAKS TO GOD THESE DAYS
There are a number of powerful and upsetting scenes in the film, and if you haven’t yet seen it but intend to, please read no further. Hopefully enough time has lapsed that a spoiler alert isn’t necessary, but just in case you’re as behind as I am, there you go.
The most heartbreaking part, for me, was the dog.
While he waits outside the garage, his owner will slip into a noose and leave this world.
That damn dog is what killed me when I saw the movie. The moment he’s waiting for him is devastating. His master, his companion, and his friend won’t be coming back. The dog doesn’t know that yet. In that window of time, before he realizes his loved one is gone, everything is still ok. Everything might still be all right.
Maybe not knowing is the only way to get through this life.
WHEN I WAS A CHILD THEY TRIED TO FOOL ME
SAID THE WORLDLY MAN WAS LOST AND THAT THE HELL WAS REAL
WELL, I’VE SEEN HELL IN RENO
AND THIS WORLD’S ONE BIG OL’ CATHERINE WHEEL
SPINNIN’ STILL
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
IT TAKES A LOT TO CHANGE YOUR PLANS
HELLA DRAIN TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
OH, MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET THE OLD WAYS DIE
