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What It Takes Lyrics
It takes a mountain of faith
River flowing pain
It takes a hammer on a nail
It takes a whole lotta love... yeah...
It takes a lifetime of working
A touch of understanding
It takes a wind in the sails
Little children singing... yeah...
It takes a sun burning knowledge
An ocean full of feeling
It takes a certain kind of hunger
It takes a whole lotta love... yeah...
River flowing pain
It takes a hammer on a nail
It takes a whole lotta love... yeah...
A touch of understanding
It takes a wind in the sails
Little children singing... yeah...
An ocean full of feeling
It takes a certain kind of hunger
It takes a whole lotta love... yeah...
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I think this song is more-so about what it takes... to accomplish and do what Jerry Cantrell has done. The lyrics really ring true to what it would take to live gig to gig making just enough money to survive hoping and praying you get discovered. Which is exactly how AiC lived before they made it - I highly recommend watching the documentary of them BEFORE they made it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXv3qMQpQJg&feature=related . The only thing he left out is it takes "a whole lotta LUCK". Unfortunately there are talented bands that won't ever make it. Then again, so many terrible bands have made it big.
Jerry's always written about real life issues within his own life, this unlike many AiC and Cantrell songs is a nice change as the lyrics are inspiring but true. The "It takes a hammer on a nail" is a metaphor for being a great musician taking more WORK and PRACTICE than you could ever imagine.
What it takes...to live
No comments on this song? Well, I heard some song clips of this and it sounded really good.
I first heard the whole song on 14th May 2006. It was EXCELLENT!
But what is the song about?
@Grind838 It\'s about the hard work, dedication, and desperation of a life in the music industry to try and get ahead. You need a mountain of faith (hopefully blessed by God), putting up with a river of constant pain (rejection, stalls, bad people, disappointment), you have to REALLY love what you do, and have a strong driving hunger for it to become successful. The music/entertainment industry is a brutal beast, and only the strong survive. But for those who become successful, there is always a high price to pay, whether that\'s the loss of a band member, long term...
@Grind838 It\'s about the hard work, dedication, and desperation of a life in the music industry to try and get ahead. You need a mountain of faith (hopefully blessed by God), putting up with a river of constant pain (rejection, stalls, bad people, disappointment), you have to REALLY love what you do, and have a strong driving hunger for it to become successful. The music/entertainment industry is a brutal beast, and only the strong survive. But for those who become successful, there is always a high price to pay, whether that\'s the loss of a band member, long term illness, the music industry itself changing at a moments notice, marriage or relationship breakups, alienation from children, lawyers, the list is extremely long. So you have to be very strong mentally, emotionally and physically to continue to ply your craft when theres little to no net to catch you. EVERYTHING comes out of the artist\'s own pocket, from recording sessions to transportation, to hotels, to equipment, to team salaries. It looks glamorous but its far from it. So you gotta love what you do to keep moving forward ("a certain kind of hunger"). \r\n\r\nIt takes a mountain of faith\r\nRiver flowing pain\r\nIt takes a hammer on a nail\r\nIt takes a whole lotta love, yeah\r\n\r\nIt takes a lifetime of working\r\nA touch of understanding\r\nIt takes a wind in the sails\r\nLittle children singing, yeah\r\n\r\nIt takes a sun burning knowledge\r\nAn ocean full of feeling\r\nIt takes a certain kind of hunger\r\nIt takes a whole lotta love, yeah
fatpom got it right... what else?