Today’s song is “I’m Alive,” off of Neil’s 1982 “Heartlight”
album. You can find the full lyrics here.
Despite its bleak opening lyrics, “I’m Alive” is an uplifting
song. It’s all about how, even though there are a lot of things to be
discouraged about, there is still one great thing to be thankful for – that
you’re living and able to appreciate and see all the good things that life has
to offer.
It’s a very simple song, musically (I believe,) but it contains
a powerful message. Especially, for me, the part that talks about the Hollywood
hookers. Diamond contrasts the loneliness and emptiness of that with the fact
that there’s a “flower on every street,” meaning that even in the muck there is
beauty that can be found. And it attributes this to finding someone who was
able to make the singer’s eyes open to the beauty and goodness that is all
around them.
Apparently, ”I’m Alive” was inspired by the sense of dread
riding with Bacharach to the studios on Sunset Boulevard, which, in 1982, was
certainly not the best of neighborhoods to be driving through. It has since
improved, though there’s still the occasional hooker. But you have to look for
‘em.
This is an especially fun song to sing. It’s easy to play on
(acoustic) guitar, and it has a nice build-up to the chorus, where the song
reminds us that the singer hasn’t got any tolerance for “words of doom,” but
instead has a lot of space for love. Like I mentioned earlier, despite the
bleak and, some might say, depressing lyrics (outside of the chorus,) the song
is a hopeful one.
This is one of those songs that not a lot of people know, but
that Neil sometimes sings in concert. I think that once people do indeed hear
it, they become fans of the song, because it is pretty catchy.
More tomorrow!
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