No one would ever dare say that Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s music lacks dynamic. They especially would never say such a thing about their song “Life’s Lessons.”
Featured on the group’s 2003 album Vicious Cycle, “Life’s Lessons” showcases how versatile Skynyrd is. The song seamlessly transforms from a softer, almost ballad-like piece to a hard rockin’ tune. Oh, and it does it all in less than six minutes.
The song also places the spotlight on Skynyrd’s songwriting talent. Four of the band members played a hand in writing the song, including guitarists Rickey Medlocke, Gary Rossington, and Hughie Thomasson, as well as lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant. The four band members were joined by Jim Peterik, who also served as a co-writer on the track.
Skynyrd has never shied away from focusing on emotional topics, and “Life’s Lessons” definitely leans in that direction. The song zeroes in on how lost we get in this fast-paced world sometimes. Since we’re so involved in ourselves, the song says that we see ourselves as invincible, with nothing else to learn.
But that’s when the song delivers a hard dose of medicine. Without sugar coating things, the song reveals that we all should take a long, hard look at our lives before we learn our lessons too late:
“Will we look back and see what we’ve done? Will we be proud or ashamed of what we’ve become? Will we realize we all share one fate? Or is this another life’s lesson…too late?”
Man, those words just hit you, don’t they? Now wait until you hear how they sound set to music!
Tune in below to catch the audio clip of “Life’s Lessons.” This is one track every Skynyrd fan has to hear!
