Retirement Plan

If there is one thing I wish I didn't have to hear ever again, it would be hearing how I need to plan for retirement. "You don't make enough money now", "you need to set up a 401k", "you should be putting money aside now while your still young", and my personal favorite, "Make sure when you get married to set up a pre-numptual aggreement, that way if anything happens, she can't take your money"! It is hard enough getting through each day without worrying. To add financial burden 40 years down the road, just shoot me and get it over with. I recieved an email from some family members dealing with these topics and how my music is a nice hobby, but it should not override the importance of a good education and career. I know they mean well, but I'm not going to waste my life away saving up all this retirement money only to die and return to the dust from which I came. I guess we just hate to state that fact, but that is exactly what it is, a fact. I'm thankful that God has opened my eyes to this and I am not blindly chasing after material things. There is so much more to life. Anyway, I wrote a song after reading the email. It has some angst behind it, but I hope the focus is not on spiting the people who have given me bad advice, but rather a chance to share an opposite point of view that places more value in others than money or other selfish things. The title Retirement Plan, is kind of a bit of comical irony to show what I believe a retirement plan really looks like. Ultimately, the real retirement, death, is what we have to look forward to. I think we can prepare better with our lives rather than our wallets or purses. So here is Retirement Plan:

Retirement Plan

I just can’t seem to get to sleep
My mind is treading water that’s much too deep
I feel the sharks, they’re all around me
Telling me I’ll never amount to anything
The amount in your pocket makes the man.

They say that money doesn’t grow on trees
But I’ve seen it on the branches of anxiety
Am I doing enough, Do I have the strength to be tough
When my turn comes around to climb the corporate ladder to freedom.

Chorus: I won’t let you drag me down
And I won’t stand in line to wear your faithless crown
My future is uncertain, I may never grow old
But one thing I know for sure, it was never the rose, but the thorns that saved me

When did we deem a piece of paper to have more value than my brother or my sister
Love takes the color of envy, Is this what it comes to be?

So here’s society’s greatest sin
Like a brand new pair of shoes we’ve all been broken in
The illusion of purpose only creates a bigger burden
So pass down all their wisdom to all of your children
The Economy is in their hands.
Chorus