Inspired by One Direction. (2012). Summer love. On Take me home [Audio album]. Syco Music.
Photo by Rob Csaszar on Unsplash
When I originally wrote this I had just come back from an amazing Greenbelt festival, challenged by ideas, motivated by the joy we can find with others and energised by the possibility that we can always choose to take action.
In fact, for me it had been a summer full of sun, joy and reflection, but that had to end. As we begin to return to the usual routines of September, holidays gone, kids back to school, it’s easy to feel constrained by the daily routines. We may feel like we’ve had a rest and now it fades into the background. Perhaps we may feel like our dreams and ideals which we might have mulled over when sitting at the pool become distant memories, unreachable goals. That our life and choices are no longer under our own control.
The song emphasises the inverted romanticism of this. When we are relaxing in the sun our dreams can almost become tangible, yet when faced with the pressures of daily life they often revert to nothing more than distant aspirations. We become disabled by the responsibility, structure and pressure of the daily routine. But how much of this is our own romanticism of our ideals, that things need to be perfect for us to make the changes we want to create the life we would like?
The song’s romanticism perhaps ignores the reality experienced in the relationship sung about. There must have been difficult parts, yet they are ignored, written out of the memory. In doing this, and then comparing with our perceived experience of the present, it is easy to allow our circumstances to prevent action, a sort of de-romanticism of the present in comparison with the circumstances we feel we need to thrive. An attitude which says the summer is over, face reality, there is nothing you can do.
But how real is this? When I originally started writing this piece I had just finished listening to the announcement that parliament would be suspended. It was easy to feel that this prevented them from hearing my voice through the scrutiny of my locally elected MP. But in reality, it didn’t prevent me from expressing my views through taking alternative forms of action. Even if my MP couldn’t sit in parliament and express an opinion, I could still make my voice heard. It would just take a little more effort and commitment on my part.
Similarly, whilst September may provide us with less time as we return to the usual routines, it shouldn’t prevent us from finding alternative ways we may be able to pursue our dreams. As we seek these means of expression, we may just begin to realise that it’s not so much our circumstances or the actions of others that are preventing us from being happy, but our lack of responsibility to make the choices we can make.
Want to get the song on Amazon? Click here.
Please note that any purchase made using this link will earn us a small commission which helps support our work of making living life well accessible for all.
