Inspirational / Recovery Songs

[IntoTheLight]

Greetings to all...

I'm a recovering sex addict, alcoholic, and drug addict. I've been in Recovery for four years working 12-step programs and it's been an amazing experience, both changing and saving my life.

This thread is for posting any songs of any genre that you find to hold inspirational value or, if you're a recovering addict, songs that hold a special meaning toward your recovery process.

I will be posting songs and lyrics (when I can find them) and perhaps a brief blurb about what each song means to me in the context of my recovery or spiritual practice. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 12-step programs, some of what I say won't make sense to you. That's ok. You can still enjoy the music.

Many of these songs have silly or distracting videos. I'm including the lyrics so you can read them instead of watching the vids. That's kinda the whole point of the thread - the songs themselves; not the videos.

Also, there are some songs that YouTube has blocked from being imbeded. If that's the case on a particular song, I'll make a note of it. All you have to do is click on the 'play' button, then click on the link that appears in the window to hear the song. You can then minimize that window and come back here to see the lyrics (if you want to).

I encourage everyone who cares to to post in this thread. If you don't have a spiritual practice or are not in Recovery, you can still post songs that have an inspirational value to you in any capacity.

Welcome to the thread. =)

----------------------------------------------------------

True Life - Lights of Euphoria

For me, this song is really about what it's like being trapped inside addiction and what is neccessary to begin the process of Recovery.

==========

The sun arises but you can't see
There is no touch that makes you feel
You trapped yourself inside and awful dream
You locked the door, and lost the key

Are you afraid to lose your shelter?
Are you afraid to lose your strength?
But things can only turn out better
When your dream comes to and end

Are you afraid to lose your shelter
(don't be too shy to take the risk)
Are you afraid to lose your strength
(maybe there's something you might miss)
But things can only turn out better
(can you imagine what it is)
When your dream comes to and end
(the end, this is the end)

True life begins behind the border
That exists inside your head
You will never reach deep waters
And get away from here
Take a look around
And look at what you have
But you will never reach deep waters
If you do not change yourself

[repeat last verse]

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh4oCoWeQKo

-ITL-

---------- Post added 11-22-2009 at 01:29 AM ----------

Ever Since The World Began - Survivor

For those of us in Recovery ho have struggled with addiction all of their lives, this song is dedicated to our Higher Power. Truly, we have been waiting to get to this place ever since our world began, and we are all in it together.

==========

I'll never know what brought me here
as if somebody led my hand.
It seems I hardly had to steer -
my course was planned.
And destiny, it guides us all;
and by its hand we rise and fall.
But only for a moment in time
Enough to catch our breath again.

*And we're just another piece of the puzzle,
*just another part of the plan.
*How one life touches the other
*is so hard to understand.
*Still we walk this road together.
*We try and go as far as we can.
*And we have waited for this moment in time
*ever since the world began.

Taken in the times gone by
we wonder how it all began.
We never know, and still we try
to understand.
And even though the seasons change,
the reason shall remain the same.
It's love that keeps us holding on
till we can see the sun again.

And we're just another piece of the puzzle,
just another part of the plan.
And we have waited for this moment in time
ever since the world began.

And I stand alone
a man of stone
against the driving rain.
And the night, it's got your number -
and the wind, it cries your name.

And we search for clues,
win or lose,
in this we're all the same.
The hope still burns eternal',
we're the keeper of the flame.

[repeat chorus]

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-i9QUDtRpw

-ITL-

---------- Post added 11-22-2009 at 01:45 AM ----------

Illusion - VNV Nation

This is arguably my favorite group of all time, not just because of their music, but because they always deal with themes involving the human condition. This song has a very distracting video, but the lyrics are especially meaningful - not just in the context of recovery, but also I think in a greater sense of reality. I think that everybody can get something out of this song.

From a Recovery standpoint, I would definitely consider this a 1rst Step song. The chorus could be construed as a cry from our Higher Power or even our inner child calling out to our mind.

==========


I know it's hard to tell how mixed up you feel
Hoping what you need is behind every door
Each time you get hurt, I don't want you to change
Because everyone has hopes, you're human after all
The feeling sometimes, wishing you were someone else
Feeling as though you never belong
This feeling is not sadness, this feeling is not joy
I truly understand, Please, don't cry now

*Please don't go, I want you to stay
*I'm begging you please, please don't leave here
*I don't want you to hate for all the hurt that you feel
*The world is just illusion trying to change you

Being like you are
Well this is something else, who would comprehend?
But some that do, lay claim that
Divine purpose blesses them
That's not what I believe, it doesn't matter anyway
A part of your soul ties you to the next world
Or maybe to the last, I'm still not sure
What I do know is, to us the world is different
As we are to the world, I guess you would know that

[repeat chorus x2]

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu-8wGbWMro

-ITL-

[Victor Eremita]

This song seems to pick me up whenever I'm feeling particularly down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKzlAp7jBps

[IntoTheLight]

Hide and Seek - Ani DiFranco

Like many other recovering sex addicts, I was sexualized early in life, far before it was my time. This song is hard-edged and it speaks to the feelings that those of us who have suffered sexual abuse possess. It's not a pretty song nor is the shame that many of us have carried around with us all of our lives.

I present it here as a tribute to those who are sexual abuse survivors.

[Warning: explict lyrics.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5G8XRd8Fe0

-ITL-

---------- Post added 11-22-2009 at 12:46 PM ----------

Dreams - Van Halen

For those of you who are in relationships that have grown stronger through your own recovery, this song is for you.

I and my partner have been togather for nearly ten years. When we first met both of us were living in our addictions. As a result, the first part of our relationship was built on false-empowerment, half-truths, and mistrust. Today both of us are in recovery and our relationship has grown to new heights and continues to grow.

Our relationship is now built on unconditional trust, emotional intimacy, and open communication. This song speaks to the feelings I get when I think of how things have changed as a direct result of recovery.

============

World turns black and white
Pictures in an empty room
Your love starts fallin' down
Better change your tune
Yeah, you reach for the golden ring
Reach for the sky
Baby, just spread your wings

We'll get higher and higher
Straight up we'll climb
We'll get higher and higher
Leave it all behind

Run, run, run away
Like a train runnin' off the track
Got the truth bein' left behind
Falls between the cracks
Standin' on broken dreams
Never losin' sight, ah
Well just spread your wings

*We'll get higher and higher
*Straight up we'll climb
*We'll get higher and higher
*Leave it all behind

So baby dry your eyes
Save all the tears you've cried
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
'Cause we belong in a world that must be strong
Oh, that's what dreams are made of

[repeat chorus]
Who knows what we'll find?

-bridge-
So baby dry your eyes
Save all the tears you've cried
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
'Cause we belong in a world that must be strong
Oh, that's what dreams are made of

[repeat chorus]
Who knows what we'll find?
[repeat bridge]

And in the end on dreams we will depend
'Cause that's what love is made of

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZLKtjATZt0

-ITL-

---------- Post added 11-22-2009 at 01:02 PM ----------

Standing - VNV Nation

This song represents exactly how I felt when I had my Moment of Clarity.

One of the lyrics says, "It was a place so long awaited and a chance to be as me.." Another says, "Despite the wisdom of defeat, I bore my heart for all to see..."

When I had my very first moment of clarity, I had been living a lie; a double-life, rather, in which I hid my addictions from everyone around me. By being willing to face them and acknowledge them for the first time to myself and others, I broke out of the facade of my addiction. Though it was an extremely difficult and painful time, there was a sense of victory and a perfect moment when I admitted the truth to myself. This song captures that moment. It was one of the two most powerful experiences of my life.

==========

Eyes betray the soul and bear its thinking.
Beyond words they say so many things to me.
A stranger here reborn it seems
awaking wonders deep in me.
If nothing's ventured nothing's gained
so I must seize the day.

*And biding time so hard I pray
*that this moment lasts forever.
*And will the world stay standing still at least for me.
*Through my eyes stare into me.
*I bare my heart for all to see.
*With my face turned to the sun there ever standing still.

It wasn't you it wasn't me it wasn't anyone.
It was a day so long awaited and a chance to be as me.
I let the wind run through my hands
before I turned to walk away.
In distant days I long to sense it all so clear.

[repeat chorus]

-bridge-
And biding time so much I ask.
I will this moment last forever.
Though seasons change and things come to pass
remain inside of me.
And biding time so hard I pray
that this moment lasts forever.
and will the world stay standing still at least for me.

I had no faith before that time in any vow or deed.
Days followed days and years were meaningless.
Despite the wisdom of defeat
I bore my heart for all to see the wonders I'd seen,
The wonders I've seen.

[repeat chorus]
[repeat bridge]

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk4gZEAmOLk

-ITL-

[IntoTheLight]

Reach - Gloria Estefan

For me, this song is a good meditation when I think of living one day at a time. Often times while struggling though a temptation to drink, use, or act out, I remember the words of this song.

All I have to do is reach out to grasp the innner strength my Higher Power gives me to stay clean and sober.

==========

Some dreams live on in time forever
Those dreams, you want with all your heart

And I'll do whatever it takes
Follow through with the promise I made
Put it all on the line
What I hoped for at last would be mine

*If I could reach, higher
*Just for one moment touch the sky
*From that one moment in my life
*I'm gonna be stronger
*Know that I've tried my very best
*I'd put my spirit to the test
*If I could reach...

Some days are meant to be remembered
Those days we rise above the stars
So I'll go the distance this time
Seeing more the higher I climb
That the more I believe
All the modern mysteries will be mine..

[repeat chorus]
[repeat chorus]

==============

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMs83vY2d34

-ITL-

[IntoTheLight]

The Pass - Rush

For me, this song is about losing faith and turning our back on the progam - something I have indeed done. It was the worst year of my life because I had seen what was possible in recovery and I chose to try to manage my own life again.

The result? I had a full relapse in all three of my addictions. I dedicate this song to myself at those times when I find myself in middle cirlce and have the temptation to act out. It reminds me of what it was like the last time I slipped.

==========

Proud swagger out of the school yard
Waiting for the world's applause
Rebel without a conscience
Martyr without a cause

Static on your frequency
Electrical storm in your veins
Raging at unreachable glory
Straining at invisible chains

And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Can't face life on a razor's edge
Nothing's what you thought it would be

*All of us get lost in the darkness
*Dreamers learn to steer by the stars
*All of us do time in the gutter
*Dreamers turn to look at the cars
*Turn around and turn around and turn around
*Turn around and walk the razor's edge
*Don't turn your back
*And slam the door on me

It's not as if this barricade
Blocks the only road
It's not as if you're all alone
In wanting to explode

Someone set a bad example
Made surrender seem all right
The act of a noble warrior
Who lost the will to fight

And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Done with life on a razor's edge
Nothing's what you thought it would be

[repeat chorus]

No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate
Christ, what have you done?

[repeat chorus]

==========

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59AAGekP0a0

-ITL-

---------- Post added 11-23-2009 at 09:38 PM ----------

To Be Alive Again - Journey

You that feeling when you leave a really good meeting? That feeling when you are tempted to act out in your addiction -- but you don't -- and you're aware of it? That feeling when someone in the program reaches out to you for help and you're able to offer your experience, strength, and hope?

That's what this song is.

The bridge says, "You're not among the walking wounded anymore / There's a time to fall / There's a time to rise above it all." - Indeed.

==========

Doin' time... where it takes you
You know it's time that can break you
We get caught in my moment...
Just sleep walkin' most of our lives

In your mind when you need it
With a song to help you believe it
You can reinvent your world
Anytime you like

*To be alive again...
*Wakin' up from where you been
*Younger now than you were then
*You're comin' 'round again
*Do you remember when...
*Life was so much simpler then
*Like summer nights that never end
*To be alive again

Find the smile...
You've been missin'
There's someone that you could be kissin'
So open your eyes and see
What's been there all along

Letting go of your feelings
With doubt and fear, you don't need it
Break the chains on the heart of a soul
That's been waiting so long

[repeat chorus]

You're not among the walkin' wounded anymore
There's a time to fall
There's a time to rise above it all

[repeat chorus]

To be alive again
To be alive again

============

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OUugFh2D6s

-ITL-

[Caroline]

This song helped me a great deal to get through the hard times, it made me say, yeah bring it on, come get some!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvZv2A1fTDc

[Theaetetus]

Here is a song from the new Alice in Chains album that is obviously inspirational (not just the song, but the band overcoming the loss of their singer to drugs, and finding the strength to carry on).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ehLcMvM4-g

Alice In Chains
"Your Decision"

Time to change has come and gone

Watched your fears become your god

It's your decision

It's your decision

Overwhelmed, you chose to run

Apathetic to the stunned

It's your decision

It's your decision

You feed the fire that burned us all

When you lied

To feel the pain that spurs you on

Black inside

No one plans to take the path that brings you lower

And here you stand before us all and say it's over

It's over

(Solo)

It might seem an after thought

Yes it hurts to know you're bought

It's your decision

It's your decision

You feed the fire that burned us all

When you lied

To feel the pain that spurs you on

Black inside

It's your decision

It's your decision

No one plans to take the path that brings you lower

And here you stand before us all and say it's over

It's over

It's over...

Here is another excellent song about overcoming addiction and suicidal tendencies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPAmydQsozU

Mad Season - "Wake Up"

Wake up young man, it's time to wake up
Your love affair has got to go
For 10 long years, for 10 long years
The leaves to rake up
Slow suicide's no way to go, oh
Blue, clouded grey
You're not a crack up
Dizzy and weakened by the haze
Moving onward
So an infection not a phase
Yeah, oh

The cracks and lines from where you gave up
They make an easy man to read, oh
For all the times you let them bleed you
For little peace from God you plead, and beg
For little peace from God you plead
Ahhaahh, Yeah, Ahhaahh, Yeah, Ahhaahh, Yeah

Wake up young man, wake up, wake up
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Oh, yeah

Wake up young man, it's time to wake up
Your love affair has got to go, yeah
For 10 long years, for 10 long years,
The leaves to rake up
Slow suicide's no way to go, oh
Slow suicide's no way to go
Wake up, wake up, wake up
Wake up, wake up, wake up

[Pangloss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruaFfSZ9g4

[IntoTheLight]

Answers - Namnambulu

The questions we ask God; a great song about the human condition.

----------

I want to find
The answers to this story
I feel left behind
No power and no glory

The sadness within
Has got to have a reason
Before I give in and cry

Looking at you
I feel the understanding
For what I go through
The wish to be demanding

You don't need to speak
Just try to be forgiving
If I turn away and leave

*You feel that I know you
(I wish that you would be mine)
*The feelings you go through
(Why would you leave me behind)
*I'll always believe you
(There is so much you should know)
*I'll always believe you
(But there is no time to show)

[bridge]

Tell me why
Why I have to be here
Can you show
Or tell me where I went wrong
Show me where I belong
[repeat this verse]

The comfort you give
Is far beyond explaining
As long as I live
I hope you’ll be remaining

The look in your eyes
Is more than I can ask for
As if you were send by god

Whenever I’m lost
Thought no one would be saving
You’d be my trust
The one that I’d believe in

The truth that I seek
I didn’t hope to find it
Until you came by my life

[repeat chorus]
[repeat bridge x2]
[repeat inner chorus x2]
[repeat bridge x2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu1bxurLPB0

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

This song perfectly captures for me the feelings of uncertainty that I felt about letting go of my addiction. A lyric says, "Can I sail though the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?" -- Questions every addict asks themselves as they climb slowly out of the catacombs of addiction into the open sky of recovery.

The chorus says "I've been afraid of changing 'cause I built my life around you..." - Like so many of us, I built my life around my addiction. I love this song because it really brings home the feelings that we all get.

----------

I took my love and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I don't know

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too

[repeat chorus]

So, take this love, take it down
Oh if you climb a mountain and you turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring you down, down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhNrrrCCTdA

Luka - Suzanne Vega

Many of us out there were physically or sexually abused as children. There's a lot more out the there than anybody realizes; many still suffering in silence.

This song gives a voice to the story that many of us abuse survivors could never tell anyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZyxYL753w4

Signs of LIfe - Journey

This song is written about a relationship that didn't work, but it could just as easily be applied to addiction - which is also a failed relationship.

This is a good song for those going through withdrawal of any kind.

-----------

It's been forty days since I heard from you this waiting game...
You put me through
I feel the silence... killing me... day to day
Losin' hope, I lose myself, it's got me thinkin' there's someone else
We need to talk... you give me metaphors, by the way...
What are you tryin' to say

Tryin' to not think about you
I'm not a dead man walkin' without you
You know I'll be alright
I'm showing signs of life

You left me barley breathin'
I've had time for the healing
Now I've opened my eyes
I'm showing signs of life

Lyin' next to me... were you ever mine
Just wasted love and wasted time
Did you ever find what you were lookin' for,
The nights you took me breath away
I'll miss your love... miss your touch, but this holdin' on it hurts too much
Now it's my time to walk away... I'll be okay

*Tryin' to not think about you
*I'm not a dead man walkin' without you
*You know I'll be alright
*I'm showing signs of life

You left me barley breathin'
I've had time for the healing
Now I've opened my eyes
I'm showing signs of life

Well, tell your friends that you stole my heart
But you'll never got a piece of my soul
You took my love, tore my life apart
There's more to me than you'll ever know...

[repeat chorus x2]

You left me barley breathin'
I've had time for the healing
Now I've opened my eyes
I'm showing signs of life

Seeing signs of life...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOZAYYjTzYs

-ITL-