October 16 – Turntable Talk 19 : Steve Says Go For It

On By DaveIn Songs And Their Stories, Turntable Talk

Welcome back to Turntable Talk! Thanks once again to all the regular readers and welcome to any new ones. If you’re keeping count, today begins our 19th instalment…if you’re wondering about past topics, I have previous topics indexed here. For any new readers, briefly, on Turntable Talk we have a number of guest columnists from other music sites, sounding off on one particular topic. This month, our topic is A Design For Life. I’ve asked our writers to highlight a song that sums up a great personal mantra, or philosophy of life. A song that tells how to live better, basically. I hope you’re as curious to see what they come up with as I am!

Today, we wrap it up with a pick by me, your host!

First, thanks so much to each of my guest writers , and to you for reading! I was genuinely curious to see what they would come up with and they didn’t let us down with interesting songs that each made a valid point worth remembering.

For me, there are many songs that I can relate to philosophically. Many involve just being a good person. Keith’s pick put me in mind of “Kind and Generous” by Natalie Merchant, a beautiful song and reminder of how much one special person who’s always there for you can matter and make your life so much better and more meaningful. And for basic, simple truisms, don’t forget “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles, a simple but powerful John Lennon message that makes every bit as much sense now as it did over 50 years ago.

The first one that actually came to mind though when I picked the topic was “Don’t Look Back” by the Fine Young Cannibals. It’s a great song that many seem to have forgotten by that band that briefly seemed to ruled the pop world then disappeared. Now, the lyrics in their entirety might seem a little whiny and negative, him talking about the things he didn’t have that money can buy, but the chorus often echoes through my head – ‘baby baby, don’t look back – it won’t do no good.” It fits. I’ve often felt the secret for a good life is to no little degree remembering that phrase. Unless you can build a time machine, it doesn’t really do anything good by wasting time looking back and wishing ruefully that things were different. We all make some decisions that later on, we probably regret. Some big (the ones we probably spend most time fretting about), many tiny but equally meaningful. But, since A) we can’t change them now, and B) we don’t really know that the other path we didn’t take would be so much better in the end, it’s not the most useful usage of your time. You can’t change it so leave it alone. That said, I’m not saying NEVER look back and think about what could have been different or be oblivious to your mistakes, but recognize them and move on. Spend you time making the here and now better instead of worrying about years gone by.

And as much as I liked that theme, the song that ended up being mine was one that I’ve loved since I first heard it over 40 years ago that not only sounds good but is a mantra I have to remind myself to live – “While You See A Chance (Take It)” by Steve Winwood.

His first solo hit song, off his second album (more than a decade after being a teen sensation in the ’60s with Traffic) , Arc of A Diver, for whatever reason did better in Canada than his own UK or the States, going to #3. I’d love the song if it had missed the charts, but it being so big in ’81 when I was a teen meant I heard it a lot and took it to heart. Or tried to.

Indeed, as a single guy so much of the time when I was youngish, the refrain of “while you see a chance, take it – find romance” was something I needed to keep in mind. I was always on the shy side and frankly, probably missed out on a lot of chances back when I was a young buck. Eventually it all worked out for the better, now I’m in my 50s and happily settled down with a wonderful woman I love, but it took awhile… and to get here, I had to take a chance . A big one. With my love living in a different country, over a thousand miles from home, I had to take a chance on a long-distance relationship and then on taking trips (I wasn’t one who’d had many vacations as an adult) to go see her, then eventually to relocate to be with her. Not something a cautious, shy-ish guy was likely to do. But I saw the chance and took it. That made all the difference.

The same could apply in every other aspect of life. I never was much of a gambler. A two dollar lotto ticket, sure, why not…but I’d get bored quickly after spending ten bucks in a casino and want to leave. The same held true in many other aspects of my life. I can’t number how many jobs I didn’t try for that might have been great, I might have been good in, might have paid well, all because I was too cautious. What if it didn’t work out? Would the commute be too onerous after a few months? Could I return to my old job I might not have even liked if I failed? What would I do if I had to move 100 miles to get the job? Would I miss my friends too much or would my aging mom be too upset if I wasn’t over for Sunday dinners? Too many reasons for me to not take a chance. But some of them, I probably should have.

Opportunity knocks for all of us, but some people more than others. Nevertheless, you have to know to open the door. That knocking is meaningless unless  … sing it Stevie… “when you see a chance, take it!”.

By the way, Stevie himself was taking a chance with the single and Arc of a Diver record. He could have, many execs probably told him, should have, hired studio musicians to help him out. But he played it all himself. Every instrument on the song and album, he played. He even played drums on this song… but somehow the tape was erased. So he took a chance to release it as is. He took it and it worked. And had it somehow not worked, well … maybe he would have moved on and figured to himself “don’t look back!”

24 thoughts on “October 16 – Turntable Talk 19 : Steve Says Go For It”

  2. Yup. Absolutely – some times you’ve just got to take a deep breath and dive right on in. The fear of failure can be quite debilitating. And more often than not, it’s just a needless waste of energy. Go for it!

    I remember that Stevie Winwood song, but had no idea that was its title. Nice track.

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    1. thanks Colin, yep, honestly that fear of failure is often more dangerous than what you think you fear. I would say that it probably kept me from finishing at least one novel back in the late-’90s which may have had merit too.

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  3. Badfinger (Max)

    Ignore the email I sent! I was reading your Everydave Life post…sorry about that!
    Great song for this discussion. I’ve also been way too cautious and yes I would probably be in a much better job than now. Sometimes when you do take a chance it falls through but that is better than not trying.
    Excuses are really easy to find if it means moving away or a huge change.

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    1. that’s for sure, although sometimes there are good reasons to hesitate. But there are two types of people I think, those who just go for it no matter what and those who are afraid to and typically I end up in the second group.

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      1. Badfinger (Max)

        I believe you can be in between at times…study the situation as much as possible then jump. I usually wait until the chance is gone…sometimes I’ve jumped.

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  4. Reading a book called the Daily Dad which has a daily thoughts to meditate on. Yesterday’s spoke along these lines. It used a line from Benjamin Mee’s book, “We Bought a Zoo.”

    “You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

    The point was to teach our children to have courage. Go for it. Take a chance.

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  5. A great song selection and it’s really something you lived the message from the song. I remember this album when it came out but I haven’t listen to it in many years. Now when I hear “when you see a chance” I will have a different point of reference and I’ll listen just a bit more closely. Strong finish to an inspired choice for Turntable Talk.

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  6. I’m in the tortoise group myself. Never take the first step, especially off out into the unknown. Oh well, it’s the way we’re wired. Little regrets a’plenty, embarrassing moments that live on in the brain like a stain, yep. But that’s life, we all make cringeworthy mistakes. The only time I wasn’t held back by caution was in marrying at 20. Whatever friends or family said about us being too young was ignored. Never let the right choice/chance pass you by. I haven’t regretted that out of character move for a moment! (Cue soppy Readers Digest-style music.)
    Another great series Dave, thanks.

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  8. That’s such a great choice, Dave. I’ve always loved “While You See a Chance.” Admittedly, it was less for the lyrics, which at the time the song came out I largely ignored. My enthusiasm was mainly fueled by Steve Winwood, an artist I’ve dug for may years. Plus, the pop ear in me liked it as well from the get-go. It’s just a bloody catchy song!

    Thanks again for hosting Turntable Talk and once again having come up with a fun topic. In good ole Steely Dan spirit, looking forward to go back, Dave, do it again! 🙂

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      3. Thanks and yep. Initially, we had planned to go in March, but my wide didn’t get her passport renewed in time, even though she had applied (and paid a fortune!) for expedited review well ahead of the typical processing period for expedited review.

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    1. thanks for saying that! I kind of like explaining my reasoning on special posts like that for why I would choose a song or artist. We all have some songs that have a personal connection to us in one way or another.

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