Analysis

Life happens. Sometimes for the best, sometimes for the absolute worst but when it happens, many a person will turn towards some sort of music. “Grace Potter and the Nocturnals” is a band that is has a great balance of comfort for either extreme and everything in between. With albums compiled of a mix of soft, somber songs, to songs that have a harder, flirtatious feel about them, it is no wonder that it such an easy band to listen to and relax to, but this comfortably should not be an excuse to miss the real life lessons that can be observed from their music. The song “Low Road” from their self titled album relates to individuals who may going through a rough situation in their life, and that through the help of perchance the unlikeliest individuals, situations that may seem bleak can become a building block towards the prospects of a better future.

The narrator starts the song by describing the situation that she is in; sitting outside the house of a long lost friend’s home crying, having no fear or pride of how she may be perceived, and feeling as though her loss of all she had was going to be the end. Seeing as she was at the home of her friend the song gives the impression that the old friend would in some way be a key player. A friend, typically being the person one turns to when they need some advice. But in the case of the narrator, it is shown that sometimes it's the ones who we don't expect to even recognize any sort of distress, that turn into the stronger support system. "An old and lonely man saw me sitting on the curb, he reached out and he took my hand.". It was a stranger off the street who saw her and went over to provide her with comfort, rather than the individual whose home she had been in front of.

These connections are often made due to having experiences in common. The old man claims "I know your song, and I know your name, and there was a time that I felt the same". This similarity that bound the old man, and the wisdom he contains from his previous experiences are what make him an ideal person to confide in. This progression from stranger to confident is shown in the chorus just a few lines later with the old man referring to the narrator as "my friend". Having a person that one can turn to who will be there, not just empathetically, but sympathetically is invaluable. A empathetic friendship is great to an extent, but it does not always contain the strength that can be found in sympathetic friendships. The sympathetic old man in the song informs the narrator that it will be a low road that she will have to travel down, and that after she has reached the bottom that then she will have to then go back up. He was not simply saying that it’s all part of life and that it will get better eventually, rather he was informing her that you are going to have to reach low, perhaps even lower than ever thought possible, and then through hard work and perseverance you will once again reach the top.

Upon hearing this insight, the narrator reflects on how it was that she came to be in the position that she’s in. She claims that at one point she believed she knew everything and that it was what caused her downfall. Her arrogant way of thinking that nothing could go wrong is what lead to everything coming crashing down around her. She even goes as far as to liken it to walking into her own knife. This just goes to show that often times choices are what take us down paths that we may not want to go down. These paths are like walking through a valley, hence the term of low roads. These "valleys" which symbolize decisions that are perhaps not the best ones at the time, may seem beautiful and full of everything the heart could want, but are very dangerous. In valleys there is no protection, that's why in the military it is always the high ground one strives to reach. Having the mindset of omniscience or of indestructibility is what may provoke an individual to head towards these valleys without help, or chance for escape.

Rather than saying that the narrator could just turn around and try to get back to where she had been before she lost all she had, the old man recognized that sometimes one can be too far gone. Claiming that “its a low low road you got to roll down until you find your way,” he shows that there comes a point of no return, where the possibility of turning back is non existent, and the only choice there is, is to continue forward even if it leads further down the path. But this doesn’t mean that life is over completely, at times the only way for someone to want to strive for the hope they need, is to get them to a place that they can only go is up due to how low they are; however this is easy in thought, yet not such an easy action. The next piece of advice the old man generously provides the narrator with is that “it’s a high, high hill you got to climb up, before you get to the top again.” This provides optimism for a potentially better future than the past that the narrator left behind, but note the old man specifically said climb. This means action. He tells her to “get up off that street, stop looking at your feet, and grab ahold of something real.” In terms of the valley analogy, heads up and look towards the desire destination on the other side of the valley rather than just cowering and feeling upset that being in this position ever happened. Life can get better but it doesn’t get better by sitting around, doing all the same things as before, and hoping that it will just suddenly get better.

Life will have ups and downs and though at times it may seem like it is hopeless, songs like “Low Road” continue to inspire. A low road, or a struggle is perhaps only the less beaten path towards the eventual goal, and that it is never known who may walk into a life and make the largest impact. So don’t give up, keep pressing on towards the end goal, because in the end, life will go on.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. "Low Road" Grace Potter and the Nocturals. Hollywood Records, 2010. Mp3 file.