” They say all I am is this crazy dream, like it’s a bad thing.”
Like It’s A Bad Thing, one of me favorite lyrics on the album has a rocky punch to it. It’s all about
all of those things that make you want to live such as ambition, guts and hindsight.
“They say I’m out on the edge too willing to risk every bone, every breathe.”
Living Hard, the song for which the album was named, tells the story of a performer who is doing
exactly what the title implies. In this one he compares himself to a rock star while the song has a
fast paced, rocking beat.
Gary Allan’s work is always liberating and inspiring.He’s lived and learned and burned a few bridges deliberately. The songs on this album are all about reluctantly falling out of love and falling apart only
to fall back into yourself. He directly advises it’s never too late to matter to the ones who matter most.
Gary’s wisdom comes through on every song included on, Living Hard. I’d listen to it just for the life
lessons.
You’ll find a lot of true -to -life irony in his lyrics while you’re, Learning How to Bend.
Learning How to Bend is about surrendering one’s own will to the concept of partnership and love.
He says there’s always been a bigger plan and Gary suggests we don’t always have to understand
the will of another.
The trouble is he says,” you can’t move on until you let go of what’s gone.” Melody comes into play
on this one. Half of the songs rock heavy and half rock gently.
Gary really does talk to you as though he’s a father figure or a big brother. I like philosophy in my
music very much. Country music has a lot to say when the right person is talking. Gary Allan carves
out his own unique niche. He’s a gambler in a cowboy’s world, but he is an expert at being on the
other side of the side he’s on and working it out.
Yesterday’s Rain is another song about looking back while he ought to be looking forward. I doubt
much will slow him down, anyway.He just keeps pouring out the deep, dark country with a ray of
lightning bright shining through the thunder clouds.
Gary doesn’t take living in the past lightly. He sees what’s behind him and ahead of him better than
what’s right in front of him. I think it’s all that time spent, Watching Airplanes.
Living Hard is “hard core country” with a rock n roll hyphen. He doesn’t get too far away from his roots
on that airplane. Yet, these songs aren’t as twangy as some of his earlier work.
While he mixes the learnings of love with lessons on life, he does it better than most self described
poets. My conclusion, he’s a poet with a guitar… and it’s a good thing, Gary.
Once upon a time, I spent a summer of my life listening to Living Hard every chance that came
along. You might consider nursing a heart ache of any origin with the great GA.
“They call me a fool, because I still believe.”