First off, I think it should be "everyone got a PROBLEM with the way i live" not probably.
Secondly, this may just be me but I feel like this song is hypocritical. They write about how they have lived the way that they've wanted to; taking the left, not the right. People have a problem with the way they live. But then the line "I don't want to go to heaven if I can't get in" seems like they don't want to keep music if they don't become unbelievibly popular. So, I feel that they explain who they've been and then just ask us to accept the way their music is becoming more mainstream by reminding us who they've been and why they're doing it.
Also, I think the lines "Maybe I should take my time / And build this life by my own design" attest to the meaning of the song. My thought of it, bearing in mind the line "Everybody got a problem with the way I live," was that the person (whoever it may be about - and I don't believe it's the band as a whole as it looks like you assume it to be) lives life the way they want to. By "go to Heaven" I think they mean living in some kind of moral and code-following lifestyle,...
Also, I think the lines "Maybe I should take my time / And build this life by my own design" attest to the meaning of the song. My thought of it, bearing in mind the line "Everybody got a problem with the way I live," was that the person (whoever it may be about - and I don't believe it's the band as a whole as it looks like you assume it to be) lives life the way they want to. By "go to Heaven" I think they mean living in some kind of moral and code-following lifestyle, as in religion. The seemingly paradoxical line "I don't wanna go to Heaven if I can't get it" may be meant to symbolize his lack of motivation to behave in such a manner if he's still not going to actually get into Heaven. In other words "go" to Heaven and "get in" are not synonymous, which gives the song a little more meaning that it may be assumed to have at first listen. For argument's sake, "going to Heaven" would mean behaving under, let's say, the Ten Commandments. The focus of the song - to me - seems to be the question, why follow rules just to follow them, when running the risk of still not actually getting into Heaven because of a past behavior ("Breaking bottles only left me hurt / Play with fire 'til I burn myself")? Maybe a changed person is afraid that his former lifestyle was too toxic and sinful to be repented and made up for in order to make it into Heaven, so why live a life with that goal? Rather he seeks to live a life of individualism and a celebration of his own personal victory over his past behavior, whether deemed Heaven-worthy by God or not.
It reminds me a little bit of their song "Risen." There is a line in there that goes, "I'm reminded of my earlier days" and in the live versions Marc adds "And they weren't that good" implying his behavior has changed for the better. "Heaven" may be connected to "Risen" in the way that several of O.A.R.'s songs are - through a story Marc wrote in high school. In a interview about the new album "King" he says that it's about that story wrapping up and coming to an end as the main protagonist returns to his hometown changed and reflective upon his journey.
Maybe "Heaven" is part of the reflection, concluding that we are who we are. We make mistakes, and the only person who has to be comfortable with one's behavior is oneself. Celebrate life and be happy, because you don't know what God has in store for you.
First off, I think it should be "everyone got a PROBLEM with the way i live" not probably.
Secondly, this may just be me but I feel like this song is hypocritical. They write about how they have lived the way that they've wanted to; taking the left, not the right. People have a problem with the way they live. But then the line "I don't want to go to heaven if I can't get in" seems like they don't want to keep music if they don't become unbelievibly popular. So, I feel that they explain who they've been and then just ask us to accept the way their music is becoming more mainstream by reminding us who they've been and why they're doing it.
Just my take.
my bad on the "problem" part...idk why i wrote probably haha just stupid typo
my bad on the "problem" part...idk why i wrote probably haha just stupid typo
Also, I think the lines "Maybe I should take my time / And build this life by my own design" attest to the meaning of the song. My thought of it, bearing in mind the line "Everybody got a problem with the way I live," was that the person (whoever it may be about - and I don't believe it's the band as a whole as it looks like you assume it to be) lives life the way they want to. By "go to Heaven" I think they mean living in some kind of moral and code-following lifestyle,...
Also, I think the lines "Maybe I should take my time / And build this life by my own design" attest to the meaning of the song. My thought of it, bearing in mind the line "Everybody got a problem with the way I live," was that the person (whoever it may be about - and I don't believe it's the band as a whole as it looks like you assume it to be) lives life the way they want to. By "go to Heaven" I think they mean living in some kind of moral and code-following lifestyle, as in religion. The seemingly paradoxical line "I don't wanna go to Heaven if I can't get it" may be meant to symbolize his lack of motivation to behave in such a manner if he's still not going to actually get into Heaven. In other words "go" to Heaven and "get in" are not synonymous, which gives the song a little more meaning that it may be assumed to have at first listen. For argument's sake, "going to Heaven" would mean behaving under, let's say, the Ten Commandments. The focus of the song - to me - seems to be the question, why follow rules just to follow them, when running the risk of still not actually getting into Heaven because of a past behavior ("Breaking bottles only left me hurt / Play with fire 'til I burn myself")? Maybe a changed person is afraid that his former lifestyle was too toxic and sinful to be repented and made up for in order to make it into Heaven, so why live a life with that goal? Rather he seeks to live a life of individualism and a celebration of his own personal victory over his past behavior, whether deemed Heaven-worthy by God or not.
It reminds me a little bit of their song "Risen." There is a line in there that goes, "I'm reminded of my earlier days" and in the live versions Marc adds "And they weren't that good" implying his behavior has changed for the better. "Heaven" may be connected to "Risen" in the way that several of O.A.R.'s songs are - through a story Marc wrote in high school. In a interview about the new album "King" he says that it's about that story wrapping up and coming to an end as the main protagonist returns to his hometown changed and reflective upon his journey.
Maybe "Heaven" is part of the reflection, concluding that we are who we are. We make mistakes, and the only person who has to be comfortable with one's behavior is oneself. Celebrate life and be happy, because you don't know what God has in store for you.