Theme: If I Could Be Like That

Today I listened to the song "If I Could Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down. I interpreted something new in the song that I hadn't thought of before.

In the song, the singer describes this girl you would assume was either homeless or living in pretty poor conditions. All she wants "is a safe home, and a warm bed, on a quiet little street / All she wants is just that something to hold onto/ That's all she needs..." and then the chorus goes "If I could be like that, I would give anything/ Just to live one day in those shoes". -This part hit me differently than it usually does. Before I just assumed the singer was speaking on behalf of this woman and saying things she was thinking. Today I interpreted it as the singer saying he envied the woman and wished he could be like her. I like this new interpretation better.

We always envy those "above us" who have attained some thing or some things we haven't gotten for ourselves yet. A boy envys his older brother for having a car. I know people who envy those who have three-story mansions. We always envy people who have more than us. This song is saying something else. The singer is envying someonewho envys things that he has. He wishes he could be happy an at peace with the things he already has instead of looking at someone else's life and envying theirs. It's a beautiful concept.

The only people you should envy are the ones that envy no one.