*NOTE TO READER: There is one use of the F-word in the lyrics of this song.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost.
Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for.
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know anymore.
When Nate Ruess penned these words, most likely he was trying to convey his own struggles, questions, emotions, and thoughts, as he has done for so many years. But in the end, he accomplished so much more than that: he wrote the anthem for an entire generation.
These are the lyrics from the latest hit “Some Nights” by the band called “Fun.” Nate Ruess is the lead singer and creative mind behind the band and has been in the music scene for 10 years, starting off in a band called “The Format.” Throughout his career, he has used his music to tackle bigger and deeper questions than most pop artists would dare touch. Instead of singing about partying, how he’s better than everyone else, or how many girls he’s slept with, he asks questions about the deep life including songs about the true nature of love, faith, purpose, and friendship. And, for the most part, he asks these questions in very artistic, poetic, beautiful ways. For that, we applaud him.
But is it enough to just ask questions?
“Some Nights” is a song full of inner conflict and turmoil. There’s mention of enjoying his talents at times and hating them at others, as well as allusion to not caring that he’s less liked than others but later saying that he wishes it would all end because it would be nice to have friends again. In addition, lyrics like “So this is it? I sold my soul for this? Washed my hands of that for this? I miss my mom and dad for this?” are surrounded in the music video by symbolic images of civil war. Ultimately, the question is: Is this dream that I thought was worth investing every part of myself in actually worth living for? But ultimately, he offers no answers.
As a parent, you may find this song confusing, conflicted, and unclear. But that’s just what makes it so appealing to the next generation. They’re currently struggling with inner conflicts similar to Ruess. They’re all asking profound questions about life and purpose. They’ve “sold their souls” to something, and are now wondering if it was worth it because it wasn’t as fulfilling as they thought--but they’re continuing to live for it anyway. And now the next generation is saying, “Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for. What do I stand for? Most nights, I don’t know anymore.”
But why should these words be the only thing ringing true in the ears of youth? Why haven’t we given them hope and purpose? Is it because we haven’t tried or because we haven’t found a way or invested the time to help them figure it out so that it sticks?
If younger generations think that life is meaningless, without hope and without answers, that is because we have failed them! We have not truly conveyed the Gospel, the “Good News,” that we claim to believe. Let us use this song, this anthem, as a wake up call to ourselves of just how much we have left to do. And let us not lose another moment in eradicating the hopelessness and despair that plagues a generation.
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