SONG OF THE DAY – “WHAT IF” by Five For Fighting

January 15, 2013

This is such a beautiful song and one of my favorites. I think you really can only appreciate it when you watch the video, so make sure to scan down to the bottom of the page to watch the it.

I remember when the song was released and I told my son that he just HAD to watch the video. We were listening to the song in the car on the way to golf. When we got to his golf academy we pulled it up on the iPhone to watch it together. He looked at me when it was over and sarcastically said, “Thanks a lot mom!” and he jumped out of the car. Needless to say, he listened to the song for days afterwards.

Five For Fighting – otherwise known as John Ondrasik – makes beautiful music. There are not five members of the band as the name may imply; in fact, the name for the “band” is a hockey reference, as John is an avid hockey fan. John Ondrasik is a singer-songwriter who tells incredible stories through his music. I have long listened to his music and have loved songs such as “Superman (It’s Not Easy)”, “Chances,” “The Riddle,” and “100 Years.”

His new album, Bookmarks, was just released in 2013 and is his sixth album. This song, “What If” is incredibly moving. He writes about the song on his website, saying the following:

The inspirational, “What If,” a clarion call to rise above what divides us and asks a simple “What if you were me and what if I were you? Ondrasik remarks, “Americans are immersed in a shallow culture of instantaneous perception and rabid stereotype. What if we could truly understand each other’s experience and point-of-view? Walk in those proverbial shoes?  It might not change our ideologies and beliefs, but perhaps we would have a bit more empathy and understanding for one and other…or not…What If?”