"Walls" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Bob Dylan & Tom Petty would never break my heart

Without sounding overly dramatic or too much like a skirt, there are two men in my life that have always made me happy, and that have never hurt me.  The first is Bob Dylan, and the second is Tom Petty.  There is an energy and a vibe, and an all around Aura that Mr.Petty has that just makes me feel good.  With songs like "You Don't Know How it Feels" and "Girl on LSD",  it's easy to peg this man as a hippie pothead.  I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be wrong with the aforementioned judgment,  but you would be underestimating someone who I believe to be one of the most talented and insightful music legends of our time. 



This is what a "joint" looks like



In honor of Tom Petty's newly announced North American tour this summer I wanted to showcase one of his lesser known songs.  In 1996 Petty worked on an album for the movie "She's the One" with Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz. "Walls" is one of the singles from the movie's soundtrack and it features Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac. 

I've always really liked the message of this song.  Walls are considered strong and indestructible - but even they can "fall down". Even the strongest structures will break under pressure, and even the best of us can be destroyed by something. People have become so afraid to show their weakness because they think it makes them vulnerable, "And all around your island, There's a barricade, It keeps out the danger, It holds in the pain." I think it only makes them human. After all if we never feel weakness we could never teach ourselves to be stronger.  My favorite line of the song is, "Some days are diamonds, Some days are rocks." Rumor has it that the line was actually something Johnny Cash once said to Petty - who liked it so much he later used it in this song. Life is just a series of moments and it is forever changing - so treasure the days that are "diamonds", and forget the ones that are "rocks". 

The video I posted is a live version - it's a bit different from the album version - faster tempo.

Some days are diamonds
Some days are rocks
Some doors are open
Some roads are blocked


Sundowns are golden
Then fade away
But if I never do nothing
I'll get you back some day


Cause you got a heart so big
It could crush this town
And I can't hold out forever
Even walls fall down


And all around your island
There's a barricade
It keeps out the danger
It holds in the pain


Sometimes you're happy
Sometimes you cry
Half of me is ocean
Half of me is sky

But you got a heart so big

It could crush this town
And I can't hold out forever
Even walls fall down


And some things are over
Some things go on
And part of me you carry
Part of me is gone


But you got a heart so big

It could crush this town

And I can't hold out forever
Even walls fall down

Baby you got a heart so big

It could crush this town
And I can't hold out forever
Even walls fall down
They fall down