Day 4: The Precipice – The Classic Crime

One of my biggest fears is getting to the end of my life and realizing I didn’t do anything with it. I think that’s a big fear – and regret – for a lot of people. We feel like we need to do big things with our life in order for it to count – grandiose acts of kindness, multi-million dollar startups, the biggest house/boat/car you can imagine. But in my 22 years I’ve begun to learn that that’s not always the way. Some people are destined to stand out from the rest, but most of us go through our lives quietly influencing the world around us.

I’ve heard that the key to success is habit. If you want to lose weight, you don’t run marathons and eat only salad on day one. You’re setting yourself up for failure that way. You have to start small – taking the stairs instead of the elevator, replacing a sugary drink with water – and as the days and years go by, you’ll see that it gets easier to make these choices.

I’ve always wanted to do big things. In high school, I desperately wanted to go to Broadway and be an actress. I wanted it so bad. I looked at theatre schools on both coasts. But the more I thought about it, the more overwhelming it seemed – to move far away from home in search of fame? Why would I do that when I have everything I need right here?

That spawned my interest in community theatre. I realized I wanted to make an impact in my hometown, where my roots are. I have a passion for the arts, and I can exercise that passion where I’m at. I now work at a nonprofit arts organization and audition frequently for community shows. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It doesn’t lessen your impact if you do small things instead of big things. Which brings me to today’s song:

Day Four: The Precipice – The Classic Crime

Matt McDonald and his four-piece band The Classic Crime released the album Phoenix in 2012, after a two year hiatus. Their next album wouldn’t be released until 2017. Phoenix was funded totally through Kickstarter – the album is aptly named. The Classic Crime’s sound has often been equated to equal parts folk, alternative, and punk rock. McDonald wanted Phoenix to be a rebirth of their sound, image, and mission (the first time I heard this song, I didn’t even think it was TCC until I looked at the album information.) The Precipice is the sixth track in an album of self-reflective and occasionally self-destructive music. This album isn’t for easy listening. Once you hear the lyrics, you can’t ignore them.

I wish I could play the violin
I’d play til tears roll down your cheek and chin
And if you sang along
We could write the saddest song
Sometimes I indulge my every whim
And piece by piece I build the cell I’m in
But I only stay here long
Enough to write the saddest song

McDonald sounds as if he’s singing about a love he knows is doomed. Their story will always be sad – and maybe it’s because he can’t escape himself. McDonald himself said that the entire album is indicative of what he went through in the interim between the band’s 2008 and 2012 album. Doomed relationship aside, he sings about how he feels he hasn’t accomplished much so far in his life.

I dreamt I stood on a hill
That I wished was a mountain
To look back on all my accomplishments
Well they must have been small
Because I couldn’t seem to find them
So I took a leap off of the precipice

The chorus describes a feeling of worthlessness. What has my life been for thus far? Leaping off the precipice might make you think he’s ending his life. It’s been for naught, so why should he keep living? But the bridge makes it sound like he’s not entirely hopeless. Maybe he’s taking a leap of faith.

Whatever the cost
Whether it works out or not
Whatever the cost
Whether it works out or not
I’ll follow you, I’ll follow you, I’ll follow you
With my heart

He may be singing to his doomed love again. Since reading about the background of this album, I also think of this bridge as a vow McDonald is making to his fans (and Kickstarter supporters) – whether the band is successful or not, he’ll be forever indebted to them. He took a leap of faith by trusting his fans, and they delivered. Now he never wants to let them down.

Most of us probably don’t have an army of fans waiting at our beck and call to fund a Kickstarter campaign. But if you’re like any normal human being, you probably have people you trust, people who have seen you through your successes and failures. Those are the people you don’t want to let down. 

Whether you do big things or small things in life, be all in with them. Don’t be afraid to rely on the people who love you to get you there – “whatever the cost.” McDonald is looking back on his life and not seeing much there. But he realizes that when he jumps, the people who believe in him will be there to catch him. Look for those people in your life too.

I promise you they’re there.

So take a leap.