Chances
by Gregg Wattenberg and John Ondrasik

Chances are when said and done
Who’ll be the lucky ones who make it all the way?
Though you say I could be your answer
Nothing lasts forever no matter how it feels today

Chances are we’ll find a new equation
Chances roll away from me
Chances are all they hope to be

Don’t get me wrong I’d never say never
‘Cause though love can change the weather
No act of God can pull me away from you

I’m just a realistic man, a bottle filled with shells and sand
Afraid to love beyond what I can lose when it comes to you
And though I see us through, yeah

Chances are we’ll find two destinations
Chances roll away from me
Still chances are more than expectations
The possibilities over me

It’s a fight with two to one, lay your money on the sun
Until you crash what have you done? Is there a better bet than love?
What you are is what you breathe, you gotta cry before you sing

Chances, chances
Chances lost are hope’s torn up pages
Maybe this time

Chances are we’ll be the combination
Chances come and carry me
Chances are waiting to be taken, and I can see

Chances are the fascinations
Chances won’t escape from me
Chances are only what we make them and all I need

A friend of mine suggested that I listen to this song, and I instantly fell in love with it. In fact from what I can tell, he has great taste in music, far better than I do. I love music, but I often listen to NPR on the radio in the mornings going to work, and most of the times on the way home. If I’m not listening to NPR or an audiobook. I don’t often listen to music on the radio because we have crappy stations around here. Too bad I don’t have Sirius/XM satellite radio. If I did, I’d probably listen to more music. The music I hear from my students is often ear shatteringly bad, so it’s nice when someone introduces me to some new music, especially when they have great tastes. This song was just the beginning on a journey of great music from this particular friend of mine.

Every once in a while, I enjoy featuring a song instead of a poem on Tuesdays. Songs really is poetry set to music, especially a good song. “Chances” is the title of a song written by Gregg Wattenberg and John Ondrasik, and recorded by Ondrasik under his stage name Five for Fighting. The song was released on July 21, 2009, as the first single from the band’s 2009 album, Slice. The song was the band’s fourth single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

If you are interested in listening to the song and watching the video, check out http://youtu.be/n8cfbBgXIow. Interestingly, the video was filmed at Singing Springs Movie ranch a week before the Station Fire burned 250 square miles in the Angeles National Forest. All structures and vegetation seen in the video were destroyed.