Music Review: Tim McGraw "Live Like You Were Dying"

Tim McGraw

Live Like You Were Dying

Album: Live Like You Were Dying

Year: 2004

            Tim McGraw starts talking with a terminally ill man in the heartening   “Live Like You Were Dying.”

           A reflective piano and orchestra open the single,  setting a consoling tone. He walks to the center of the waiting room and peeks into the chemotherapy room. Sitting in the center is his wife talking with another gentleman. Good. He’s glad she has company. He sits back in his chair. The man next to him notices McGraw’s worried face and tells him he’s a good man. McGraw explains his wife’s diagnosis and the man begins to talk about his. At 43, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. After the biopsy showed a tumor, the doctor met with him several times to decide the best treatment for him. He remembered asking the doctor how long he would have to live. He told him two to three years, tops. (“He said I was in my early forties/With a lot of life before me/When a moment came that stopped me on a dime/I spent most of the next days/Looking at the x-rays/Talking about the options, talking 'bout sweet time.”)

           In the pre-chorus, he asked him how he handled the devastasting prognosis. (“ And I asked him when it sank in/That this might really be the real end/How's it hit cha get that kind of news/Man, what'd you do (he said.”)

          In the chorus, the man explained it gave him a burst of energy. He had to do everything he wanted to think of doing. After he got his diagnosis, he planned a trip to

California to climb Mount Shasta. A week before his surgery, he skydived. Once he was able to move around more, he rode a bull. He began to appreciate his wife more and made sure to tell her he loved her every chance he could. He called up his brother and told him he was sorry he quit talking to him.  He tells McGraw to enjoy every moment. (“I went sky diving/I went rocky mountain climbing/I went two point seven seconds/On a bull named FuManChu/.

And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter/And gave forgiveness I'd been denying/And he said some day I hope you get the chance/To live like you were dying.”)

           He stopped taking his wife for granted. He also realized what a wonderful woman he married. She took care of him, cleaning his wound and rushing to his side when he was naseous. He met up with every friend he hadn’t spoke to years. Usually, one of his friends would mention going fishing, he would roll his eyes on the phone. Now, he immediately said yes. Unfortunately, his dad suffered a stroke and passed away the same year of his diagnosis. (“He said I was finally the husband/That most the time I wasn't/I became a friend a friend would like to have/And all 'a sudden going fishin'/Wasn't such an impostition/And I went three times the year I lost my dad.”)

           In the pre-chorus, the man dusted off the Bible that had sitting on a table in the unused living room. Every day, he would read a couple passages. He also started thinking back on his life: his regrets, his indecision and what he would’ve like to have done different. (“Well I finally read the good book/And I took a good long hard look/At what I'd do if I could do it all/Again... and then.”)

              The chorus is sung again.

              In the bridge, the man tells him they are lucky for each day they have. (“Like tomorrow was a gift/And you've got eternity to think about/What you'd do with it/What did you do with it/What did I do with it/What would I do with it.”)

          In the final chorus, the man mentions he toured a park and finally got to see an eagle soar in the air. (“I went sky diving…And I watched an eagle as it was flying/And he said one day I hope you get the chance/To live like you were dying/To live like you were dying/To live like you were dying/To live like you were dying/To live like you were dying.”)

             McGraw’s sobering vocals recall his own wife’s diagnosis. His first instinct was to deny it. The fear of losing her overwhelmed him. However, after talking to the man, he remembers how he and his wife used to talk about going to Hawaii. Between jobs and kids, they didn’t get a chance to go. That’s going to change.

     The  inspiring “Live Like You Were Dying”  will spark hopes and dreams.