Okay, THIS IS THE TRUTH. I know Dickie Barrett's best friend -- they grew up together and are still friends. His/my friend told me this song was written his (not Dickie's) brother who died of leukemia, who was a great guy all around. He fought the cancer for years and years and then went into remission for a long and then it came back and he passed away. It was horribly tragic. And b/c Dickie knew my friends family for so long, this was as hard for him to watch as it was for the family. So that's what the song is about. It's about life handing some someone some serious cr*p -- and yet, why him and not you/me? What did my friend's brother ever do to deserve what he had to suffer through, and to lose the fight on top of it? What did WE ever do to deserve NOT to have to go through that? That's why it's "There but for the grace go I" -- it's an old expression "There, but for the grace of God, go I." It's a tribute to the sheer luck that any of us exist -- and continue to exist. And the thing about being tested, it's what if God tested you like that? What would you do? Crumble? Fight? You never really know until you face it yourself. So now you know the REAL story behind this song.
Okay, THIS IS THE TRUTH. I know Dickie Barrett's best friend -- they grew up together and are still friends. His/my friend told me this song was written his (not Dickie's) brother who died of leukemia, who was a great guy all around. He fought the cancer for years and years and then went into remission for a long and then it came back and he passed away. It was horribly tragic. And b/c Dickie knew my friends family for so long, this was as hard for him to watch as it was for the family. So that's what the song is about. It's about life handing some someone some serious cr*p -- and yet, why him and not you/me? What did my friend's brother ever do to deserve what he had to suffer through, and to lose the fight on top of it? What did WE ever do to deserve NOT to have to go through that? That's why it's "There but for the grace go I" -- it's an old expression "There, but for the grace of God, go I." It's a tribute to the sheer luck that any of us exist -- and continue to exist. And the thing about being tested, it's what if God tested you like that? What would you do? Crumble? Fight? You never really know until you face it yourself. So now you know the REAL story behind this song.
Thanks for sharing. Even if you had completely made this up, it still rings true. This also explains the somber saxophone solo at the end.
Thanks for sharing. Even if you had completely made this up, it still rings true. This also explains the somber saxophone solo at the end.