This week I participated in a choir performance at work, as we do sometimes for events organised in the office. It was great fun, I really enjoyed it, as usual.

Among others, we sang a song I have mixed feelings about: on the one hand, I really like it, I think it´s beautiful, and I´ve contemplated multiple times writing about it here, as one of the "conscious songs" I mention every now and then (examples here, here and here). But, on the other hand, some portions of the lyrics I´m not a huge fan of, starting with the title: You gotta be..

Here´s a video with the lyrics in English and Spanish, and further down I´ll tell you my thoughts on what I like best (and what I don´t like) about this song, written and sang by Des´ree.

Translation note: the line that says "stay together" was translated as "permanecer juntos", which doesn´t make sense in the context of the song; I think it refers more to the idea of "keeping it together", which we can translate as "mantener la compostura".

What do you think? This song encourages us to cheer up and be brave, and at the same time, embrace and even show our vulnerability (for those with Enneagram knowledge, it sounds like a very "eight-ish" song to me :-)).

I really like how it encourages us to learn from our parents, but then emphasizes the importance of having our own point of view when facing challenges, and taking the necessary time to get to understand the mysteries of life.

All good up to here. But now, what I´m not a big fan of is the chorus; I think it´s because of the way it´s written, not as a suggestion but as an order: you gotta be tough, you gotta be bold, you gotta be strong...

As if it was mandatory.

As if it was the only valid way of being in this world.

A world in which, by the way, you have to move quite fast; otherwise you will be left behind.

If I read this song carefully, I get the feeling that it was written (with the best intentions, for sure) by a person who understands life as some kind of fight. So, logically, if life is a fight, of course you have to be tough, bold and strong to be able to get ahead; weakness is not an option.

But let´s remember there are infinite ways of perceiving and understanding life, as well as ways of being in this world, and this is just one of them.

Personally, I don´t resonate with the concept of life as a fight, so in my world, being strong is not very important. Much more important, for example, is the topic of doing the right thing, which is why I resonate more with the part about learning from our parents (and initially, following their rules) and then developing our own criteria to guide us going forward.

In any case, You gotta be is a really cool song, in my opinion; it´s uplifting and empowering, and it definitely gives us food for thought. But above all, I agree with its last line, that´s the absolute winner in my view:

All I know, all I know, love will save the day.

What do you think? What parts of the song do you resonate with (or don´t)?