6 Lessons from Miley's "Wrecking Ball"

©darrengarcia

Most think that the song is trash. But let's try to squeeze and something out of her song. So these are some parts of the lyrics, and you might want to listen to it while reading this:(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjpvVGvsTj4)

We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain 
We jumped never asking why 
We kissed, I fell under your spell. 
A love no one could deny

What's the common problem in teenage love? ...being dumb, numb, and blind. The line suggests engaging in a relationship needless of knowing consequences. Hence the romantic phrase "love knows no bounds". Thanks to same cheesy line, babies in the Philippines massively grew in number. The reason?..."it was a love no one could deny"

Lesson #1: Don't jump never asking why; only crazy people jump without any reason.

Don't you ever say 
I just walked away I will always want you 
I can't live a lie, running for my life 
I will always want you

Clearly, the persona is expressing that he/she will fight no matter what. Sounds familiar uh? Hello real world! Sometimes we just have to move on. This is not only applicable to love. It applies to all waves that life constantly hit us. If we fail, it doesn't mean that we automatically live a lie, running for our lives. It's not quitting; it's reconstructing.

Lesson #2: Know how to rebuild one's self after misfortunes. Keep on finishing the race.

I came in like a wrecking ball 
I never hit so hard in love 
All I wanted was to break your walls 
All you ever did was wreck me 
Yeah, you, you wreck me

The imagery of the ball presupposes density and roundness: density of desire and roundness of transformation.  The persona just wanted to break the walls. To break your walls refer to wanting to break-in and enter something; getting accepted. In this case, the person did everything, to the point of changing him/herself, just to get accepted.

Lesson#3: Be yourself. You're not a wrecking ball! Hitting a wall would definitely hurt.

I put you high up in the sky 
And now, you're not coming down
It slowly turned, you let me burn 
And now, we're ashes on the ground

There are two kinds of people in this scenario. One taking advantage and one being taken advantage of. In the end, both of them became ashes on the ground. It's not bad to help. However, there are cases in which our means of helping can be harmful to both parties. Consider helping someone cheat in an exam as an example.

Lesson#4: It's better to teach  someone how to fly than simply placing him up in the sky. Eventually, he'll fall, and you'll be down there, waiting to be crushed.

Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung 
Left me crashing in a blazing fall 
All you ever did was wreck me 
Yeah, you, you wreck me

 The original implication of shutting one's eyes is to not mind eminent dangers and to still pursue the chosen plan of action. LOVE IS BLIND. Ooops! Wrong! Love should be corrective and VERY conscious. Look what happened to the character, it started blaming someone in the end. The phrase used was "YOU wreck me". No. No. No. There's no one else in the scene. What led the character in a blazing fall was the blind choice that it made.

Lesson #5: Don't try to be blind when your eyes are still functional. Use your best judgment in making decisions and take full accountability of it.

I never meant to start a war 
I just wanted you to let me in 
And instead of using force 
I guess I should've let you win

Full of regret: "never meant", "just wanted", "should've". Now, the persona realizes he/she is wrong. Observe the line "I never meant to start a war". If you look closely, no one was at war with the character. With whom is the character fighting then? Only with himself of course! All along the character's greatest enemy is his own self. The character doesn't have a clear purpose and guiding principle in life. This made distorted views and conflicting thoughts in his mind. Know yourself and purpose. Read the Bible, it's a good start.

Lesson#6: Never wage a war against yourself, you have no chances of winning. Review your purpose in life.