Blogocentric Formulations

Head Above Water

"Barrel of Monkeys" 
Day 4





"Head Above Water"
by Avril Lavigne
from Head Above Water (2019)

Head Above Water was Avril's sixth album, and it came after a five-year hiatus during which she was diagnosed and was struggling with Lyme disease. The album was a bit of a departure from her other albums, but a lot of critics praised the fact that it felt more emotionally raw and vulnerable than her prior works.

This song is particularly meaningful to me because the last time I was laid off, one of my wife's coworkers made me a playlist burned onto a CD (those were the days!) of music meant to cheer me up and encourage me, and this was the very first track on that playlist. I actually hadn't even realized that Avril Lavigne had released this album (nor was I familiar with her health struggles at the time), but this song was on repeat in my car for a really, really long time (even long after that stint of unemployment was over).

The song now, for me, is a bit of an anthem for anyone who seems overwhelmed with whatever life is throwing at them. I've recommended it to a few other friends over the years, when it seemed like they needed a little something to get them through a tough spot or help them feel seen in their struggles.


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