![]() ![]() For example, in “Only” Nate talks about feeling lonely and how having a good day isn’t the average for him. “When I Grow Up” and “No Excuses” dive into how NF has worked hard to pursue his lifelong dreams.Īs mentioned in the intro, many songs here deal honestly with the issue of mental health struggles, including “Only,” “Leave Me Alone,” “Thinking,” “The Search,” “Interlude,” “Let Me Go” and “My Stress.” At times, his admissions in isolation could seem to be downers. Nate personifies fame and tells it to go away in “Leave Me Alone.” And in “Let Me Go,” he longs for release from negative thoughts and the pressure to be perfect: “Why don’t you accept me? I just need acceptance/ … You just want perfection, I need you to let me go.” ![]() Similarly on “Nate,” NF gives his younger self some solid advice about talking to God, building character, releasing arrogance and chasing joy over fame. “I Miss the Days” looks back into Nate’s childhood, when things seemed simple (“I miss the days when/I had a smile on my face and/Wasn’t so caught up in all of the small things/ … Ridin’ my bike, just ridin’ my bike/Not overthinkin’ my life”). On “Hate Myself,” he encourages listeners to realize that the world will never truly fill the deepest needs in our hearts. Piano ballad “Trauma” finds NF grasping for someone or something to help him in a moment of desperation: “Grab my hand, I’m drowning/I feel my heart pounding/Why haven’t you found me yet?/I hold you so proudly/Traumas, they surround me/I wish you’d just love me back.” It’s a raw song at certain points, but one in which NF vulnerably illustrates how important it isto depend upon others during life’s hard moments. He admits on “Time” that marriage can be hard but promises to be a better man for his wife. On “Thinking” Nate raps about learning to be vulnerable with his wife (“Yea, feel like I don’t deserve you when I hurt your feelings/I’m vulnerable, you got the keys to open all of my secrets”), and he focuses on what really matters in the end (“Who gon’ care when this all fades, I turn gray and get older?”). Why?”/… I don’t care what anybody else thinks-lies/I do not need nobody to help me-lies.” In “WHY,” Nate asks honest, tough questions and shines a light on the lies he’s sometimes tempted to believe: “I don’t want no one to know I’m vulnerable.Why?/That makes me feel weak and uncomfortable. It’s evident that Nate is working to leave behind old ways and patterns in favor of hope and joy on songs such as “The Search,” “Change,” My Stress” and “Options.” On “Change,” he knows that his emotions can be untrustworthy “liars.” And even though he admits, “Last year I felt suicidal,” he immediately contrasts that confession with a redemptive one: “This year I might do something different, like talking to God.” Likewise, “Only” also recognizes the importance of intentionally working on one’s relationship with God: “Wishin’ that I’d pray/A little more often and put more time into my faith.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |