56. Leon Bridges - “River”

This song is soul for the soul. It’s humanity in a nut shell, encompassing each soul’s secret yearning for something more, for something bigger than them, something better and purer that transcends our own shortcomings and inadequacies in order to transform us into something greater. That something comes in many forms - the glory of god, the understanding of the universe, the harmony of humanity - each one equally magnificent and mysterious, yet ultimately always just beyond our reach, always taunting us with our own ignorance and pride. It’s something felt but unproven. Its a leap of faith, a belief despite proof or even promise. We have to strive for it, and its that striving that’s so painful and wonderful. It’s that striving that makes us human. Life beats us down, it’s discouraging - heartbreaking even, but we keep going, we reach deep down to something bigger than us, inside us but outside of us, something that transcends us yet is us.