Do you have “your song,” - the song you got married to, the song you fell in love to, the song you sought solace in after your first breakup, the song you….you know. “The song.”

We all have “songs.” The other day one came on the radio that I’d forgotten. It was my first “road” song….you might remember it: “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo.” After that was the 8-track tape of “Songs for Truckers” - songs all about “big wheels rolling” and being on the road. Then, the all-time, number one road song, Willie Nelson’s, “On the Road Again.”

Songs not only help us define, and remember certain times of our lives, but they speak for us when we can’t remember the words. Sharing songs with each other is a way to bond, to connect with new friends and old. And when we need to get motivated, inspired or excited - we turn, you guessed it - to music.

Songs define our generation, but they also define us. From World War I, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, to the Gulf War, to the “Let the bodies hit the floor” of the Iraqi War, songs tie us to a things like nothing else. For me, the song of the moment? Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”

If you’re not familiar with the song, or the story behind it, “Live Like You Were Dying” tells the story of a man in his early forties, with an unspecified, life-threatening disease. (Wikipedia)

Upon realizing that he may not have much time left to live, the man decides to engage in certain activities that he has always wanted to do, such as skydiving, mountain climbing, fishing, and bull riding. He also decides to improve his standing with other people, including his wife. Also, the man starts to read the Bible, and forgives everyone against whom he previously held grudges.

This song is associated with McGraw’s father, Tug McGraw, who was hospitalized with a brain tumor on March 12, 2003. It was revealed that he had cancer. He was given three weeks to live by the doctors, but survived nine months. He died on January 5, 2004.

Here are the lyrics:

He said: “I was in my early forties,
“With a lot of life before me,
“An’ a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
“I spent most of the next days,
“Looking at the x-rays,
“An’ talking ’bout the options an’ talkin’ ‘bout sweet time.”
I asked him when it sank in,
That this might really be the real end?
How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?

An’ he said: “I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
“I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
“And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
“And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.”
An’ he said: “Some day, I hope you get the chance,
“To live like you were dyin’.”

He said “I was finally the husband,
“That most the time I wasn’t.
“An’ I became a friend a friend would like to have.
“And all of a sudden goin’ fishin’,
“Wasn’t such an imposition,
“And I went three times that year I lost my Dad.
“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:

“I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
“I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
“And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
“And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.”
An’ he said: “Some day, I hope you get the chance,
“To live like you were dyin’.”

Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
An’ what did you do with it?
An’ what can I do with it?
An’ what would I do with it?

“Sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
“I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
“And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
“And I watched Blue Eagle as it was flyin’.”
An’ he said: “Some day, I hope you get the chance,
“To live like you were dyin’.”

“To live like you were dyin’.”
“To live like you were dyin’.”
“To live like you were dyin’.”
“To live like you were dyin’.”

Tim’s father, Major league baseball relief pitcher, “Tug McGraw” - had one child, Tim McGraw, after a brief relationship with Betty D’Agostino - but didn’t acknowledge him until Tim was 17. They became close after that. The song did well, and knowing the story about Tim’s father contributed to the song’s popularity - since Tug appears in the music video.

I write all that because I think the circumstances prove that music, and specific songs do tie us to a space and time. This song is important to me right now because the fact is, we’re all dying in one way or another. None of us have a guarantee of another day. And if you live each day - ‘AS THOUGH” you were dying, you don’t have to worry about ‘talking about sweet time.” You will be LIVING IT.