Bouncing Off That Brick Wall
I know you’ve heard the expression “beating your head against a brick wall”. Right?
Back in 1987 I found myself in a loop of sorts, and I felt like I was beating my head against a brick wall. I was playing music all across the U.S., and much of the time it was just a chore…a “job”. For all intents and purposes, the fun of being a professional musician had worn off.
And I just didn’t like that.
After all, playing music starts with the word “playing”. That sounds like fun right off the bat. Doesn’t it? Well, what are you supposed to do when something you thought would always be fun turns into just another job?
Well, here’s what I did…
- I wrote some of my thoughts into songs
- I changed the playlist
- I went back to Colorado and got off the road for a while
- I looked for different kinds of venues
- And I never stopped singing
When I changed what I was doing, I breathed new life back into the profession I loved so much. And I kept going for a long time after that. I broke down the “brick wall” and built myself an “observation deck”.
What do you do when you come up against something like this? Share your thoughts and ideas with me in the comments or email them to me. In the meantime…here’s one of the songs about that time in my life…
Bouncing Off That Brick Wall
What do we ever really know?
Outside ourselves, what do we really know?
How can we tell the truth from lies?
We must do more than simply criticize.
What can be done to change the rules?
Are we being made to play the fools?
How many years must we endure
The pressures of the ones who aren’t so pure?
And we say we’re bound by all the red tape,
And we feel there’s no hope at all.
How can we expect to bring the house down,
If we don’t keep bouncing off that wall?
Keep bouncing…keep bouncing..bouncing off that brick wall
Keep bouncing…keep bouncing..don’t let it get you down.
Keep bouncing…keep bouncing..bouncing off that brick wall
Keep bouncing…keep bouncing till trouble’s not around…
Bounce off that wall
Can we win, or are we bound to lose?
Is it fate, or do we get to choose?
We should try to make the truth from lies.
Maybe then we’ll open up their eyes.
© Copyright Tony Funderburk 1987
Stay tuned”