Glorious

The song Glorious by Macklemore is a stand to live your life the best way you know how. Everyday living like it might be your last. Living life to the fullest. And making your life full enough to where when you leave this earth, you might be remembered. Macklemore’s lyrics in this song can be noted as uplifting and encouraging to someone who might be going through a hard time. I believe these are the kinds of people the artist is reaching out to. From the opening lines “You know I'm back like I never left, Another sprint, another step, Another day, another breath, Been chasing dreams, but I never slept, I got a new attitude and a lease on life, And some peace of mind…” showing that he is on a new high of life trying to encourage others to do the same.

Macklemore sings that he heard you die twice, once when you enter the grave and the second time when the last person mentions your name. I take this as though he is trying to leave his mark on the world through his music. It is well known that popular music means that the singer is most likely going to be made immortal. Although it might be easier for a popular songwriter and singer such as Macklemore to achieve this, he encourages others to live a life they can be proud of and try to leave a legacy behind for others to remember. Taking this a little deeper, I believe the only true way to achieve this is through “blazing your own trail,” doing things your own way rather than being a follower.

Macklemore is speaking from his own life experiences when he talks about getting through hard times and making your life better for yourself. As being someone who has battled with drugs part of his life, saying “I made it through the darkest part of the night, And now I see the sunrise” he got through that low and has created a truly successful career in singing. Along with the fact that Macklemore believes in God he talks about in this song how earth is not our final destination. That there is a more Glorious place to look forward to. That we should leave our mark on earth but not idolize the things on it. That we should enjoy the time we have with our loved ones while never forgetting the ones that we have lost. Upon a little research I found that Macklemore’s grandmother is dead, which is someone he talks about in his song. Saying “My grandma smiling down on me” showing a little bit of his faith while including her still in his life even though she has passed.

I believe that Macklemore has defined his genre of music as uplifting fast paced music that encourages people to be their best selves. By using his own life experiences as examples that anyone can get through rough times in their lives if he can. How there are more important things in life than just putting oneself down and giving up. One key verse on this is “My mama told me never bow your head,” to me signifying never give up on yourself or your goals.