Episode 10 - Only The Strong Survive
Hi friends,
Coming back today with another song retrieved from the archives to be completed Behind the Door!
I started writing Only the Strong Survive in 2015 when I received a diagnosis for a rare condition called PVNS, which basically means a benign tumor was growing in the lining of my hip joint, causing the erosion of cartilage and, ultimately, severe arthritis. In my case, it meant life on the road became very difficult — that year I was often bed-ridden between shows and developed a serious limp. Eventually, I decided I would have to pursue a total hip replacement.
I’m very grateful to say that the surgery was successful and has improved my quality of life immeasurably, but the experience left me with a lingering sense of my own physical vulnerability and that I couldn’t trust my body the way I always had as a former athlete and younger man. It reminded me of dreams I had where I’m confronted with a physical challenge — a fight or a need to save someone — and my bones are as delicate as glass, my muscles like weightless straw.
Those fears are so visceral to me, but what I hoped to capture in this song is that much like bravery not meaning the absence of fear, but the ability to persevere in spite of it, strength isn’t the absence of vulnerability, but the acceptance of it — and the will to heal anyway.
The song turns from a question: if only the strong survive, why am I alive? — to an answer: Only the strong survive. I am alive.
I’m looking forward to fleshing this one out with the band and to hearing the rhythmic and vocal dynamics come to life.
Hope you all are staying strong and well!
Love,
Ian
DOWNLOAD ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE: MP3
Only The Strong Survive
— First Edition Handwritten Lyrics —
for sale now in the Secret Store
