HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH

article by MEREDITH MCKINNIE

WITH A LITTLE LOVE AND SOME TENDERNESS…WE’LL WALK UPON THE WATER…WE’LL RISE ABOVE THE MESS

I was riding with a ten-year-old when one of the soundtracks of my youth came on the radio. The song was Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish, and I knew every word. My Ford Explorer that screams I have kids was bellowing a 90s throwback, challenging the speakers to a volume they had rarely reached before.

WITH A LITTLE PEACE AND SOME HARMONY…WE’LL TAKE THE WORLD TOGETHER…WE’LL TAKE THEM BY THE HAND

As the beat picked up, my voice got louder. I started beating the steering wheel, my body overcome by the familiar music that took me back to a time when responsibilities were few and possibilities seemed endless. That’s what music does better than anything else. It transports us to a moment we may have forgotten. Caught up in the feeling, I had temporarily forgotten I wasn’t alone, that my little jam session wasn’t a party of one. When I glanced to my right, I saw a face of intrigue. She was seeing me behave in a way she hadn’t before. Perhaps she recognized the freedom of expression, the happiness on my face, or she was curious how I knew every word to a song she had never heard.

CAUSE I’VE GOT A HAND FOR YOU, OH…I WANNA RUN WITH YOU

She immediately began to question me. Who was this band? How come she had never heard this song? Was it old… like me? I found her questions refreshing, and I quickly recognized an opportunity for some life advice. At her age, life is about to get confusing. The people she trusted with every decision will inevitably become the subjects of her frustration. Her teenage years are approaching, and the irony of my favorite teenage song to address her curiosity was kismet. I told her a little about the band, that while I’ve never considered myself a music junkie, some songs simply penetrated anyway, and that they had more do with a time in my life than any lyrics or guitar rift. That song was popular when I wasn’t, when I wondered who I was and what I wanted and if I even had what it took to be somebody.

YESTERDAY, I SAW YOU STANDING THERE…YOUR HEAD WAS DOWN, YOUR EYES WERE RED…NO COMB HAD TOUCHED YOUR HAIR

I told her puberty was rough, and not just for the physical adjustments, but the emotional turmoil. She would fall in love, and someone wouldn’t love her back and it would hurt, and her world would feel hopeless. And people would chuckle if she dared mention her heartbreak, and it would hurt more that they belittled her experience. But after she wallowed in the sadness, she would eventually pick herself up, made stronger by the disappointment. For next time, she would better know what to do, recognize those worthy of her love and be willing to risk it all again.

I SAID, GET UP, AND LET ME SEE YOU SMILE…WE’LL TAKE A WALK TOGETHER…WALK THE ROAD WHILE

I told her the hard years are for hard living. Make those mistakes, kiss that boy, take that chance. And when it all falls apart, play that sad song and relish in the flood of emotion that follows. Our youth is for baring our heart and soul before we learn to hold back. It’s for going to concerts we can barely afford and standing in mosh pits and screaming through the sweat and the screams, as if the artist’s words are the only lifeline. I told her it will be scary and wonderful and freeing all at the same time, but those times when we’re truly living always are. I told her life was a roller coaster, and that when she knows she’s down, remember a high is just around the corner.

CAUSE I’VE GOT A HAND FOR YOU…I’VE GOT A HAND FOR YOU…CAUSE I WANNA RUN WITH YOU…WON’T YOU LET ME RUN WITH YOU

And if the lead singer of a rock band seems to have all the answers, then let the lyrics guide you. And if you’re lucky, one day, that song will randomly come on the radio, and you’ll be reminded of the time you had the time of your life.