Hitting the feels with this one…

No Hard Feelings by The Avett Brothers; Album – True Sadness, 2016.

So, The Avett Brothers have kind of been on my fringe of “artists I dig, but don’t really know until I hear them on a random radio station” for a while now.  A few years ago, I think I was listening to Channel 28 “The Spectrum” on SiriusXM and heard their song, “I and Love and You” and fell in love with their sound.  However, I also think this was around the time that my love for podcasts totally trumped my love for music.  All that being said, I wasn’t super aware of them as artists, but when I heard them, I liked them.

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am obsessed with Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.  A few weeks ago, he interviewed The Avett Brothers (Seth and Scott, for anyone that needs that info) and while it was a great interview, Dax mentioned that his favorite song of theirs was “No Hard Feelings.”  Considering Dax and Monica are basically my BFFs*, I knew I must check out this song in order to see if my BFF nailed it.  HE.MOST.CERTAINLY.DID.

Y’all. This song is just so wonderful. The overall message of the song is that we don’t really have time for hard feelings against others or ourselves, and instead should focus on love.  Those hard feelings keep us from experiencing all the wonderful things that bring joy to our lives, so leave this earth with no hard feelings.  My FAVORITE line (in bold) is found in this verse:

Give me a second while I wipe the tears off my cheeks…

“I have no enemies” is the last line of the song and it is repeated several times before the song ends.  I truly think God knew I needed to hear and process this song.  I wouldn’t say I have enemies, but seriously, I’m so bad about holding on to hard feelings.  However, as my favorite lyric states “Lord knows they haven’t done much good for anyone.”  It’s just so true.  All I’ve ever gained from holding on to hard feelings would be more hurt and a big chip on my shoulder.  So, this song did such a wonderful job of just putting me in my place and giving me perspective.

:::

I feel I need to take a beat to explain the whole Dax Shepard is my BFF line.  A wonderful friend of mine follows several people on Instagram that are lifestyle blog/vloggers. She’ll wear a cute outfit or try out a recipe and say that her friend (insert random name here) made it.  It took a little bit before I noticed she was totally referencing a person that she has a connection to, but they do not know she exists.  Well, Dax and Monica are my BFFs that I have learned so much from, laughed so hard with, and have thoroughly enjoyed knowing (through a podcast).  So, to that particular friend, while I still totally laugh at with you, I get it and you can make fun of me anytime you want.