Review: Live Like You Were Dying
Tim McGraw’s latest CD Live Like You were Dying has a different feel than all his other discs. His early stuff is just good country fun with a couple ballads mixed in. His latest work has really matured. It didn’t help that his father, Tug McGraw, died just as he was choosing songs for & recording the CD. This is reflected in its mellow & reflective tone. Before any CD comes out, I like reading reviews. Everything I read was negative. After listening, it just isn’t warranted. I song writing alone the CD stands out & when you add Tim’s singing, it sets it apart. Although it isn’t quite to the level of Set this Circus Down, Live Liken You Were Dying is as good as or better than Tim’s other releases.
1. How Bad Do You Want It
Good tune that Monday Night Football ended up taking for their player of the game award theme. It just asks the question, “How bad do you want something?” “Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming / With that one thing on your mind? / How bad do you want it? / How bad do you need it? / Cause if you want it all”
2. My Old Friend
I absolutely love this song. If not for blank sheet of paper, this would be the best song on the CD. I heard it July 4th when I heard it & didn’t really feel it. About two weeks before the album dropped, they had online previews & I gave it another chance. It grew on me. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful. It talks about former lovers meeting again somewhere down the road. I think is goes beyond just getting back together in a physical sense, I really think the song has an underlying message of forgiveness & never ruling out possibilities that shines through. “My old friend, this song's for you/ Cause a few simple verses / Was the least that I could do / To tell the world that you were here / Cause the love and the laughter / Will live long, long after / All of the sadness & the tears / We'll meet again, my old friend”
3. Can't Tell Me Nothing
I identified with this song immediately. It describes a hard headed guy that has to screw up before he learns his lessons in life & why that is a problem. “It took me 2 months to fix it up / & 1 day to lay it down / I got a little hitch in my get-along now / Can't tell me nothin' “ It also warns of the consequences. “Two babies and a trailer later, here I am”
4.
This was another song that hit me at the time I heard it. It is about a guy after a breakup that wants a former love back but is trying to forget her. The problem is that, “But the people I know/ The places I go / Remind me of you / Won't somebody come around / &make this old town new”
5. Live Like You Were Dying
The namesake of the CD was also a smash hit. I think it was #1 for 6 or 7 weeks. I remember exactly where I was when I heard it the 1st time. Without an intro, I knew it was Tim immediately, I knew I had never heard it, & I knew it would be a hit.
6. Drugs or Jesus
I also heard this song when I saw him July 4th but I liked this one as soon as I heard it. It is about good versus evil & choosing the right path in life. Sometimes it feels like there is no way out in situations & it just takes a little effort to get us out of a tough bind.
7. Back When
This was the 2nd single off the CD & it went to #1 a few weeks ago but I just never really liked it. Considering the other songs on the disc, this would be towards the end on my power list. I will give them credit for clever writing.
8. Something's Broken
This is another breakup song about a guy that is dealing with that restless feeling you get after you lose someone. “I know something's broken / Cause I just started smokin' / shakin' and chokin' / Like my old truck”
9. Open Season On My Heart
This is yet another breakup song on the CD. This one is about a guy who blames himself for it & is naming all the reasons. The writing is awesome but the song just doesn’t flow that well & doesn’t belong on the disc.
10. Everybody Hates Me
This is about striving to be the best, the point where everyone is jealous of you & hates you. “They all smile right to his face, and hide the jealousy / Me I'm just working hard to get to that place, / Where everybody hates me”
11. Walk Like a Man
This is an awesome song. I haven’t read anything on it, but I think this song refers to Tim’s abusive step father. (He was actually Timmy Smith until he found out he his real father was as a teenager.) It talks about the strength & guidance of a mother that has to be the mother & father in her child’s life. “But God gave boys their mamas / Cause they always see their promise / & they help them understand / How to walk like a man, walk like a man”
12. Blank Sheet of Paper
This is my absolute favorite song on the disc. A lot of artists over sing songs but the beauty in this song is just how understated it is. The 1st time I actually looked at the lyrics, they made chills go up my spine. It is so incredibly beautifully written. “The sunlight is shinin' through the curtains / He's almost asleep, pen in hand / There's a tear in his eye / That refuses to fall / If it would land on me / That would say it all / But he just stares at me / & I just stare at him / He don't know where to start / To say he doesn't want it to end / Now it's four hours later / I am still a blank sheet of paper”
13. Just Be Your Tear
This is all about a guy looking to get into a woman’s life but there is a problem, she has a crappy boyfriend. He sees what an ass the guy is, but like most women, she doesn’t see it. He wants her to realize it, although she probably never will.
14. Do You Want Fries With That
I like the song but it doesn’t really fit the CD & looks like it was just dropped on the disc as filler. It’s a funny song about a guy who is server a burger to the dirt bag that stole his wife. As I said, it doesn’t belong on the CD though, especially put between two mellow songs.
15. Kill Myself
Quite honestly, I don’t think many artists would have even attempted to record this song. It is about a guy that realizes he isn’t doing so well in the game of life & changes who he is. The title would suggest such a different message but it gives hope that all people can eventually change.
16. We Carry On
I liked this song but it was an article by Marty Smith (read it & you will understand what I am talking about.) of NASCAR.com that made me love it. “As I drove home through the remote Virginia countryside, Tim McGraw reminded me of how resolute we can be as human beings: “When our lives come undone...we carry on / Cause there's promise in the morning sun...we carry on / As the dark surrenders to the dawn / We were born to overcome / We carry on / Carry on / We carry on”
