Stories & Songs | Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Live Forever

It was late October last year...one evening I was on my computer and for some random reason I decided to look up Drew and Ellie Holcomb. I'd heard of them, from other artists who went to their concerts, but I'd never heard any of their music. So I decided to fix that. :)

I instantly LOVED not only Drew and Ellie's music, but them. How is it that you can love people so much when you've never met them?! They are genuine, deep, real, authentic, hard-working, music-loving, cross-country-traveling, sweet, and talented people...old souls with a heart for others and for Jesus. (If you've ever met them, and they're not, please tell me, because if I'm not mistaken, they are all that. :))

The song at the top of the list when I searched for Drew and Ellie's music on YouTube was called Live Forever. Drew tells the story behind the song:
"My sister has 3 beautiful young children. Christmas of 2008 I spent Christmas morning watching them see what "Santa" had brought them and I saw their innocence and joy and wished I could bottle it up and drink it. 6 months later their whole family left Nashville and moved to Panama. I was brokenhearted, and I wrote "Live Forever" for them, hoping that they will never lose or forget how loved they are and what abundant life there is in the world, even amidst all our disappointments and failures." 
(More on the song here and here.)

Musically, the song follows a pretty classic approach: start out quiet, and gradually build until the end. Drew and Ellie's voices are filled with a raw honesty and earnestness as they sing words that means so much to them personally. Since they filmed the music video, they now have a baby girl of their own, sweet and adorable EmmyLou. :) 

The music video is one of my favorites ever as far as music videos go. It was shot in the middle of summer in Memphis...Drew wrote the following about filming it:
"I have always wanted to make a music video for this song, but found it difficult to put on film the emotion the song has for me. I finally decided that the only way to do it was to incorporate my family, the very ones I wrote the song for. We gathered in Memphis, my hometown, to film us doing what we love; laughing, eating, and enjoying each other's company in places where we have a deep history. The Hi Tone Cafe. Central BBQ. My Uncle's Farm, and my Great Grandfather's 1942 Jeep, still in my father's possession. My nieces and nephew steal the show with their innocence, their joy, and their courage."

Here are the lyrics:

Laughter is the only thing that'll keep you sane
In this world that's dying more and more everyday
Don't let evil get you down
In this madness spinning round and round

I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue

Some people say faith is a childish game
Play on, children, like it's Christmas day
Sing me a song, sing me a melody
Sing out loud, you're a symphony

I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue
I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue

Take courage when the road is long
Don't ever forget you're never alone

I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue
I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue

Oh yeah, I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue
Oh yeah, I want you to live forever
Underneath the sky so blue

I want you to live forever 

So, without further ado, may I present...Live Forever:

On a personal note...if I could trade lives with anybody for a day (or even just a couple of hours) it'd have to be Ellie. We both play piano/keys, guitar, and mandolin...and to travel around the country making wonderful music like she does? I would love that. :) 

Also...Drew's band is so talented...and I have to tell y'all a funny dream I had the other night. I dreamed that I met one of The Neighbors, Nate Dugger, who plays guitar. In the video he plays a black Gibson hollow body electric (see, I told you I was a musical instrument geek!), so I dreamed that I got to play the intro to Live Forever on his guitar.....y'all, it was awesome. One day I'm going to do that in real life. :)

I'm a light and location geek, too...so in case you thought the locations in the video were awesome and you want to go there...as Drew mentioned, they filmed at the Hi-Tone Cafe (0:21), Central Barbecue (1:44), and a park in Memphis by the Mississippi River (0:06); they also shot at Shelby Park (0:04) and the Academy Street pedestrian bridge in Nashville (0:01, 0:09). 

Hope y'all enjoy the song!


For the love of music and the glory of God,
Rebekah