"Welcome to the real world"

Though it is very hard to pick my favorite song by John Mayer, as of now I would have to say it is "No Such Thing"

http://www.lyricscafe.com/m/mayer_john/johnmayer3.htm

I believe that the meaning that John Mayer is trying to get through in this song is that we should live outside the lines and enjoy every second that we have. We should look forward and not focus on memories (tiny tragedies, as he calls them). All in all, I think he is trying to say live life to its fullest.

The lyrics that I love most in this song are: "They love to tell you stay inside the lines/ But somethings better on the other side." These particular lyrics resonate with me because that is the view that I take on life. That people are always going to tell you to stick with what is seen as "normal" but I believe we should live outside that box and do what makes us happy. I think that part of my personality that made me chose this song was the part that wants to live free. John Mayer throughout this song says he wants to "Run through the halls of my highschool/I want to scream at the top of my lungs." I think he is saying that he wants to let loose and just live. "Live Free or Die Hard", just like the Bruce Willis movie (look at that pop culture reference). :)

I identify with this song so much because the values in this song are the values I take with me every single day of my life. I have always kind of seen this song that way, though. That is part of the reason it has always been on my top 5 favorite John Mayer songs.

It's All About the Future

John Mayer absolutely represents the values of our generation.

John Mayer first and foremost cares about the environment. He started his own organization called Mayercraft Carrier which is all about helping the environment. Their ultimate goal is to neutralize carbon dioxide emissions from the cruise (flights, drives, etc.). This is a collaboration with NativeEnergy and Reverb. A lot of this generation is very concerned with keeping the Earth alive and not slowly destroying it by not recycling, by not using eco-friendly cars, and destroying the ozone layer. So because John Mayer represents that will get him fans and vis-versa since John Mayer represents that his fans are more likely to support that as well.

In his song "Daughters" the lyrics go "fathers be good to your daughters cause daughters will love like you do. Girls become lovers who turn into mothers so mothers be good to your daughters too." This definitely represents that values of our generation. People are very family based these days. Actually, most of his lyrics represent the values of our society and how we see love, family, and just every day life.

Rock the Boat

I feel like early music had a lot more meaning than music does these days. Some may disagree with me and I can accept that but I feel like the lyrics and the meaning behind them were much deeper when music was first becoming popular. Rock and roll challenged high and low culture, sexuality, and race. So much came from this music. Take Elvis for example he "rocked the boat." Elvis was white but he had the feel that many black artists could give. Which is exactly what they were looking for. Elvis pushed the limits. With his music and just the way he performed. And while music is a large part of our culture in the 21st century I feel that it is used to pass the time and to enjoy. The lyrics and the artists don't challenge anything these days. I guess what I am trying to say is that I can't think of an artist these days that "rocked the boat" like Elvis.