Barbaric Yawp!!

“Not everybody has to sing the melody.”  -Pete Seeger-

“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world.” – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass -

Some of you may wonder on occasion (or perhaps not) from where the quotes I love to use come.  I wish I could tell you that I peruse volume upon volume of literary works at the local library, glasses resting on my nose, searching for just the right phrase penned by some artistic genius that pierces my heart and soul.  The truth; however, is that I have a "quote app" on my fancy iPhone.  When I have idle time, I let the phone flood my senses with quotes from people of all walks of life.  Some move me.  Some puzzle me.  Some make me think.  Some make absolutely no sense to me and I simply flip to the next one.  If it makes you feel better, picture me in the stacks of a college library, quietly pondering all the world's problems.

Today's first quote by Pete Seeger,  a musician of sorts, not only puzzled me but actually disturbed me.  Read it again carefully.  Mr. Seeger says that not everyone has to sing the melody.  WHAT?  Ok, not everyone HAS to.  My question to you is, "why WOULDN'T you?  His quote not only promotes, but practically gives you permission to just play second fiddle.  It says that it's ok to stay in the background and sing harmony.  Truthfully, if that's who you are and your soul doesn't struggle with that, who am I to suggest otherwise?  But here's the thing.  We ALL have a melody.  You don't have to sing THE melody, but I would certainly encourage you to sing YOUR melody. 

We all have a voice.  We all have a song.  We all have something important to add; to contribute.  How dare someone tell me I should just sing backup!!  I much prefer the quote by Walt Whitman which is actually the final line of his famous poem, Leaves of Grass.  I encourage you to read it.  It's lovely.  Robin Williams uses this famous line in the movie Dead Poet's Society when he is encouraging a student, who is somewhat shy, to cry out.  He's asking him to dig deep and look inside to the voice he has to share.  In this touching scene, Robin Williams' character finally pushes the young man until anger releases a barbaric YAWP!!!  Literally, the man yells YAWP!!  Beautiful.

What do you have to say?  What does the inner voice in you have to shout?  No matter how small or insignificant you feel that voice is, don't rob the world of what you have to share.  Your voice is a small part of an incredibly vast universe.  Combined with the small voices of everyone and everything else in our universe, YOUR voice is what completes the harmony in our little symphony called life.  Sing your song and sing it out loud.  Sing your melody.  Don't settle for backup.  Grab the microphone and be a rock star!

Sound your barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.  I can't WAIT to hear what you have to sing.