Song of the Day 7/12: Incubus, “Drive”
Maybe the problem with out old, out-of-touch Democrats in Congress is that they’ve never heard one of the 114 million plays this song has on YouTube, never mind iTunes and Spotify. Heck, even if they just read the lyrics they might get the message. According to singer Brandon Boyd, “The lyric is basically about fear, about being driven all your life by it and making decisions from fear. It’s about imagining what life would be like if you didn’t live it that way.”
Boyd and drummer Jose Pasillas, who co-wrote the song, were both art students in the band’s early years, and the video features their animation work, which uses M.C. Escher’s print of two hands drawing each other as a jumping-off point.
This band is still active, but it has never equaled this single, a No. 1 modern rock hit in 2000 that reached No. 9 on the Hot 100, no mean feat for a rock song this millennium.
Sometimes, I feel the fear of
Uncertainty stinging clear
And I can’t help but ask myself how much I’ll let the fear
Take the wheel and steer
It’s driven me before and it seems to have a vague
Haunting mass appeal
But lately I am beginning to find that I
Should be the one behind the wheel
Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
I’ll be there
So if I decide to waiver my
Chance to be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine
And hold my own and drive?
It’s driven me before
And it seems to be the way
That everyone else gets around
But lately I am beginning to find that when I drive myself
My light is found
(Chorus)
Would you choose water over wine
Hold the wheel and drive?
Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
I’ll be there
