Day 29: Roots – Imagine Dragons

I like learning about geneaology. It’s fun to look back at the past and see where parts of you have come from, whether biological or adopted. Some things are inherited, like I get my blue eyes from my dad, and other things are learned, like how I sometimes sound like my mom when I get opinionated (which isn’t a bad thing at all.)

Sometimes you learn things about your ancestors that are amazingly ironic. For example, my grandmother passed away when I was six, but I learned many years later that she had a deep love for the arts and theatre. I’m proud to know that I share that with her. Learning things like that brings you back to where you came from.

The nuts and bolts of geneaology are interesting too. I’m half Dutch, and the rest is a mixture of Irish, Swedish, and English. There are cool stories in every family tree. Like how my however-many-greats grandmother and grandfather were in love, but she was Irish Catholic and he was English Protestant. When he came over to call on her, her brothers locked her in a closet so she couldn’t see him. Interesting things like that. Each branch of the tree might have their own little quirk (the Dutch are known to be stubborn and miserly, and the Irish like to drink and curse.) But what’s most important is what’s in the roots.

What did your family value when you were growing up? If you’re anything like me, you still value those same things, or most of them. Some of them are simple values, like the importance of a strong marriage or a certain faith. Others can be more complex or circumstancial, like the importance of money or status. They’re learned characteristics that we carry from our family.

And the more you think about it, the more you realize you never stray far from your roots.

Day 29: Roots – Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons wrote this song when they were working on their ever-dangerous sophomore album, Smoke + Mirrors. “Roots” is an homage to their fan base, who has stuck with them through thick and thin, and even though they’ve been through a lot as a band, they still have their supporters.

Everyone has a “fan” base, and for most people, it’s our biological family. Most of us can thankfully say that we feel safe when we’re at home base, no matter where we’ve been.

Don’t throw stones at me
Don’t tell anybody
Trouble finds me 
Has made me lose my belief

Life can get in the way, though. It can get difficult to weather the storms when we’re far from our home base. There were days when I struggled with my faith because my relationship with my family was changing as I grew older. Luckily, Imagine Dragons has a mantra to remind me:

I’m going back to my roots
Another day, another door
Another high, another low
Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom

“Rock bottom” is a place of a lot of revelation and realization. About who are friends really are, what we really value, and who we want to become. Sometimes it’s an important place to go, no matter how painful. Because it can point you back in the right direction.

Had to lose my way
To know which road to take
Trouble found me 
All I look for was
Washed away by a wave

Dan Reynolds expresses in this verse that the band itself had to lose their way in order to realize who really valued them and what they truly valued. They realized that chasing fame wasn’t going to get them anywhere. And sometimes the things we chase won’t get us anywhere either. You don’t even have to be a world-famous pop group to realize that.

I know it’s gotta go like this, I know
Hell will always come before you grow
Trouble found me, trouble found me

The bridge of this song is my favorite part. It’s very exposed vocals, in true Imagine Dragons form, with Reynolds’ signature voice leading the charge. It takes a wise person to realize that the most difficult parts of our lives are the most formative. It may suck, but it makes us a better person tomorrow.

Think about your roots. How far have you strayed from them? I’m thankful to say that I’ve come back to my roots. And I hope I never take them for granted.