Pick Yourself Back Up And Learn To Live

March, 26 2014

Pick yourself back up and learn to live.– Architects

I’d like to write today about the a song that’s recently inspired me: ’Learn To Live’ by Architects. This song is awesome for 2 reasons.

Firstly, it’s all noisy and shouty, and sometimes that’s a good thing. I’ve always found it really interesting how people react to music with screams in it. Some people will object to it, saying that the vocalist is obviously “too angry”, or that “you can’t hear what he’s saying, and what’s the point of that?”.

The vocalist may well be angry, and there are plenty of bands who are screaming about some pretty nasty stuff. But actually, the general expression of your anger, especially in a creative way like music, is totally natural. We all need to blow off some steam some how (The film ‘I Love You, Man’ recognises this, with Jason Segel embracing shouting and releasing his natural testosterone fuelled anger).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9DV823zfU

I remember listening to scream-y music during my darker days, and screaming along into a pillow, because that guy in that band was screaming to express himself, so why couldn’t I? Even if it was through his words, not my own, the feeling of pent up anger that I wasn’t releasing (other than by self-harming), was one that I could connect with.

As for people saying they can’t hear the words if they’re being screamed, that’s sometimes the case. And when it is the case, if you’re anything like me, you end up Googling the lyrics to see what they do actually say, which often leads to finding a new message behind the distortion and screams. Which leads me nicely onto the second thing that’s awesome about this track.

The words to this song are all about fighting back when the world tries to pull you down. Now, while I don’t agree with physically fighting, I think that as a figure of speech, this is perfectly it. The world’s full of things that will pull you down and try to stop you from being happy, and maybe even being free from your struggle with self-harm. But it’s all about standing your ground and not letting the trials that may get thrown your way defeat you.

The line that stood out most for me is “Pick yourself back up, and learn to live.” To me, this points out that, yeah, there are going to be tough days, and you are going to get down. But when you refuse to let that get the better of you, and you stand your ground, you will have learnt something. Use your negative experience as a way to further your life. Share your story about your struggles with self-harm (and hopefully, how you overcame them), with us at HATW, or with someone else who’s having a tough time. Because you might have found a great way of dealing with those feelings, or expressing yourself that they might not have. You can learn from everything that happens to you, even if it feels like it doesn’t make sense right now. Learn how to live. I’ve always been a shy kid, but I’ve recently come to the realisation that everyone else is just a human being, made of flesh and blood just like me. No-one knows exactly how to live life, or how to be a perfect person, however much of a front they may put up. No, we’re all learning how to live, every day.

Every time you get knocked back, or put down, come back a little bit stronger, so you can know that you’ve overcome it once, meaning the next time it happens, you can overcome it again.
He also goes on to talk about getting “…to where you deserve” and everyone deserves the right to be happy.

I always took comfort in knowing that there’s someone else feeling the same way I am. Perhaps they express it through screaming, or perhaps they have another way. But it’s safe to say, that whenever I listen to this song, I feel like Architects are physically picking me back up, patting me on the back and saying “We’re in this together buddy.” I hope you can find the same strength in it as I do.

Keep your Heads Above The Waves.

– Si



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