Along For The Ride

Song MeaningA little something from an interview with John Petrucci from Grammy.com:

Bryan Reesman / GRAMMY.com: "What inspired "Along For The Ride"?

John Petrucci: There's really not a ballad on the album per se, but that's probably the closest to it. It's very different than a lot of the songs on the album. I don't think I would've written something like this lyrically 15 years ago. The theme of the song is very free-spirited and was inspired by a stream of consciousness writing style that I like to do sometimes where there's no music in front of you at all and you just start writing. You start writing words, and as those words are coming out one thing leads to the next, and you develop a theme.

While we were in the studio this past year, the Boston bombings happened as that song was being written. I had some of the verses and found that there was a contrast between this attitude of we're all on this planet floating along and the idea that there are some people out there [who] are willing to do some really bad things to us and make us change that attitude and live in this hyper vigilant, paranoid way. If you listen to the bridge of that song, it takes on a little bit different mood and says that this crazy stuff does happen, that there are bad people out in the world, but it's not going to break me down and not going to pull me away from that original attitude that I had when this wasn't going on a lot. It's also another way of saying that there are so many situations that are out of our control, and this is one of them unfortunately, but it shouldn't break down our spirit — not as a country, not as a people. It shouldn't break down our belief in the good of people."

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My InterpretationSatcho comments ring true for me too. I guess it is the old story, do you look at the glass as half empty or half full. There is a difference between an idealist, a realist and a pessmist ... I chose to be a realist with idealistic hopes in people.

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MemoryThis song came out at the same time I learned I was going to be a father. For me it was about the ups and downs of preparing for a little girl arriving in my world. And later about losing that girl. I love this song, but I can't listen to it anymore!

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