After hours of watching MTV, my cousin and I felt like we heard every song in rotation more than once. He and I were self-proclaimed “music heads.” We spent many hours in our lives listening to music together. The most amazing part of our listening to songs is the fact that we enjoyed all genres. At the time, we were most interested in R&B and Hip-Hop. However, every once in a while, there would be a song that struck our interests within other genres. “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls is one of those songs.
Fast-forward to today. My cousin is no longer with us. I am happy that he’s in a better place. He was an angel and now he gets to be where he truly deserves. While I still miss him, I understand these feelings will never go away. However, I am constantly reminded of him in a couple different ways. Firstly, he now has a nephew who is named after him, and I see so much promise and resemblance between the two, it makes me cry tears of joy. Secondly, every time I hear a song or watch a movie that my cousin and I used to watch together, it makes me feel nostalgic and warm.
Rewind back to the 90s. My cousin and I sat on the sofa. We contemplated the idea of changing the channel on the television set and try to catch a sitcom. Before we could press any buttons, the official music video for “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls made its way on TV. My cousin didn’t change the channel. I asked if everything was, ok? Surprisingly, he said “I love this song. It describes exactly how I feel in life.” Up to this point in our lives, we enjoyed music at a very high level. We talked about beats, instruments, vocals and performance. However, we never really had a down to earth conversation about how music can impact lives.
“How does this song make you feel?” I asked. I was eager to hear his response. I had no idea how he was going to answer the question. We were both kids, but I was about four years younger. I didn’t think I would be able to comprehend his emotional response. When he was ready to divulge, I understood what he was saying very clearly.
My cousin was born with a deficient organ. As a result he needed to have surgery and take medications daily. He never complained about these things. He simply drew a connection between his true feelings and the lyrics on “Iris.” He continued, “I pray and fight through my condition with all my strength, but like the song [“Iris”] people may not understand what you’re going through. It makes you want to hide from the world, but then you get to a point where you just want people to know who you are.” Those words live permanently in mind.
“Iris” was written and recorded by American alternative rock band, Goo Goo Dolls. The song appears on the City of Angels soundtrack and the band’s sixth album-Dizzy Up the Girl.
On the charts, “Iris” reached number one in Australia, Canada, and Italy. Number three in the United Kingdom and nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The song is a fan favorite and it’s often performed during their live sets.
It is one of the best-selling singles in the history of Ireland.
Lyrics
And I’d give up forever to touch you
‘Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be
And I don’t want to go home right now
The singer would metaphorically sacrifice eternity just to feel a human connection with a partner. They mutually experience the emotional need to share what’s in their hearts with each other. The singer could essentially experience heaven on earth if this bond were to be created.
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later, it’s over
I just don’t wanna miss you tonight
Rather than focusing on the future, the singer decides to live in the present, cherishing each moment of life. The singer is only interested in developing the emotional connection and suggests that it occurs immediately because of the uncertainty of the future.
And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
The singer can express his true feelings with the partner. However, with everyone else in the world, he may choose to hide from them because it is easy for them to misunderstand who he is and what drives him. Everything in life has a beginning, middle and ending-relationships are no exception although love may be eternal. Rather than being viewed the way others who sparingly paint your portrait might perceive it, a good way to foster understanding is to express who you are truly.
Vocals
Goo Goo Dolls delivers a unique vocal that sounds excellent within the genres of alternative rock, soft rock and pop rock. The vocals make the song sound like an anthem. The vocals are arranged in such a way that it invites the fans to sing along with music.
Instrumentation
“Iris” is based in drum and guitar. The steady drum beat and chords supplement the vocals in encouraging everyone to sing it like an anthem.
Performance
When Goo Goo Dolls perform live, “Iris” is usually a part of the set, often times being one of the band’s closing songs.
