“And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, ‘Take me away, for I am severely wounded.’” – 2 Chronicles 35:23 [NKJV]
2017 was the year I turned 40. It was a hard year. There was so much I wanted to do, so much I planned to do. So I tried to do it all, I tried to start a skateboard brand, launch a new business, record a new album, write a script, and become a comic book investor. And I burnt myself out emotionally.
And then my birthday came. I struggled with dread and depression for days.
But it lifted after a while, and one month to the day of my actual birthday, we had a party. Friends and family came to celebrate this milestone with me, and they even sat still long enough to listen to me play some tunes for them.
Despite my struggles, I managed to write about 12 songs in 2017. Thank God.
My favorite of all those songs, which I felt really captures how I felt in 2017, is called “Take Me Away, for I Am Severely Wounded”. It’s also one of my hardest songs to play. Even though it’s such a simple song. It’s my best way to explain the hurt I dealt with.
And hey, any 40-year-old dudes out there? Maybe you can relate. Maybe anyone can relate.
And, in the end, I came out of 2017 with a renewed resolve to cut away almost everything, and focus on my music, my art.
Lyrics:
These days
go by like a hurricane
like a famine in reverse
like a governmental holiday
I say
all the words that I’m supposed to say
or I say nothing at all
and I call it a day
And me
on the lookout for a better way
to get water from a rock
but there is no other way
I see
what this world is trying to do to me
but I take it in a stride
what’s it gonna do to me
Take me away
For I am severely wounded
These thoughts
better make some sense someday
so I keep them in a jar
waiting for the world to pay
My bros
were just here a second ago
but they turned into white noise
leaving me to watch the mountains grow
These hearts
like supernova Christmas trees
burning all your lies
burning the worst parts of me
These laws
from tax reports to gravity
keepin me in check
keepin me out of custody
Take me away
For I am severely wounded
See it on the screen
See it in the sky
See it in the way we look each other in the eye
See it on the wall
See it on the door
See it in the only thing that’s left worth living for
See it on the sea
See it in the flames
See it in the history that tries to spell our names
See it in the book
See it on the face
See it when we finally get our gold and leave this place
