by Elaina Lyons

There’s a song I love called “Hold the Line” by Arizona. This song saved my life. Many times.

There’s one part in particular that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

We don’t get to die young
Trouble keeping our head sometimes
We just have to push on
We don’t get to give up this life
All the breath in your lungs
Is stronger than the tears in your eyes
It’s do or die, but we’re alive
And while we’re here, hold the line

This song, perhaps more than any other, reminds me of the importance of words, the way they’re chosen and the way they’re arranged. And it reminds me of their inherent power. “We don’t get to die young,” the song says. Not “We don’t have to die young” — it says we don’t get to.

This song, perhaps more than any other, reminds me of the importance of words, the way they’re chosen and the way they’re arranged.

Do you see how that makes such a big difference?

Because it acknowledges that sometimes people will want to die young. They will desire with everything they have to leave this world before it leaves them. It acknowledges that that feeling is valid and OK and understandable. But it also says we don’t get to make that choice. We don’t get to decide to give up, no matter how badly we may want to.

And then it says “while we’re here, hold the line.” Like a line of soldiers defending against impending doom, we are told to stand firm in the face of whatever comes roaring toward us. We don’t have a choice, the song tells us. We stand and fight. That’s all there is to it.

Words are incredible. Music is life-saving. Simple choices in phrasing can move and empower and inform and educate and inspire.

That’s what makes the work of writers and artists so powerful. Someone can read something you write and literally stay alive because of it. How amazing is that?

So the next time you feel like a failure because your work isn’t selling the way you’d like, remember this: If your words or your music or your creation changes one life for the better, you’ve done your job.

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