I found this video today…or maybe it was yesterday, when my town of Longmont is still digging its way out of floods and ruined roads and all kinds of horrible things. Mother Nature dealt us a whammy, but we knew it would happen sooner or later. Me and mine got lucky, we’re all on little hills, and the friends that live in my area were on little hills or had Dad’s that had put in these clever little draining systems; lucky, lucky, lucky. Thank the stars or the universe or whatever you need, because it turned out well.
So anyway, this video is fantastic. I’ve never heard of Sara Bareilles before this, and that’s okay, because now that I’ve discovered her, I can go look for and listen to her other music. The video includes the not-for-Hollywood dancers, people like myself, ordinary, interesting, kind, and pretty good at keeping up with the dancing. That last part, I just can’t do, because I’m just not that coordinated. But it’s their attitude I love, as they swing and strut and step and roll, and fling themselves around because they are alive and present in the moment, and that’s all that counts.
And here are the lyrics, just in case you need them.
“Brave”
You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
Everybody’s been there,
Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing,
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And since your history of silence
Won’t do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
See you be brave