Bernard Spiel tells you about standing outside the fire... or not

Nope. I am totally walking inside the fire, hoping that I get burned.

In a series of posts that I will hope will be wildly successful such that it will double my followers, I will break down, or (for those of you who like bigger words) analyze song lyrics.

How does one stand in the fire? Well, it's a country song, so it's not like it's hard to figure out. Here are the lyrics to "Standing Outside the Fire" as recorded by Garth Brooks.

We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk it the tables being turned

We call them fools
Who have to dance within the flame
Who chance the sorrow and the shame
That always come with getting burned

But you got to be tough when consumed by desire
'Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire

So, to stand inside the fire, one simply has to do the opposite of what the song says that many do. That being wait around for love, or, worse yet, not try for it at all. But, and perhaps this is a criticism of a song that I loved growing up, how many people really don't try for love? Most of us, each in our own way, no matter what love means to us, try for love. Even the religiously celibate pursue a close personal relationship with their Creator.

In other words, this song is merely an affirmation of a lifestyle of continuing to "take a chance [that] love might exist." The chorus goes on to say "I can't abide standing outside the fire," effectively using a word that pretty much no one uses in a song that discusses an otherwise common topic, that of "taking a chance on love."

So, cheers to this single from 1993's "In Pieces" album for following the tried-and-true guideline for successful country lyric song-writing: tell the folks something that they already know, and probably already do. Oh, and if you make a video, the use of a little fire probably wouldn't hurt. (Skip to about 1:57 in to see some awesome early-90s pyrotechnics. Hey, it beats what Billy Joel did.)

Oh, and, of course, the video has nothing to do with someone chasing love... it depicts a disabled kid trying to make the regular track team. C'est la vie.