“My Silver Lining” — First Aid Kit

It’s often said that every cloud has a silver lining. Sometimes you’ve have to wait a very long time for it to come along, though…

I’ve been a big fan of Swedish indie folk/Americana group First Aid Kit for a few years. They’re quirky and interesting, whilst writing some great songs in a language that isn’t their native tongue. Let’s just say they do a much better job of this than I would do trying to write lyrics in Swedish.

And their vocals and harmonies are just beautiful. You can feel an almost otherworldly connection between sisters Klara and Johanna Soderberg when they sing together. This isn’t just a couple of excellent vocalists accompanying one another…they sing together in a way you’ll be hard pushed to find anywhere else.

When the journey through life gets difficult, you start to doubt yourself. You’re looking for answers in places that don’t have any to offer…inappropriate friends, the bottom of a wine bottle, or the fleeting company of strangers.

Everyone tells you that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”…and other well-meaning but fundamentally unhelpful nonsense. The last thing anyone needs when there in a dark place is to be told to “man up” (or “women up” as appropriate).

When you’ve waited too long for the upside to your suffering to come along, you don’t need motivational quotes from the internet. You need someone to hold your hand and walk alongside you as you find a different path. That isn’t usually easy to find…

I don’t want to wait anymore
I’m tired of looking for answers
Take me some place where
There’s music and there’s laughter

Sometimes a temporary upside will do. I’d settle for music and laughter when things are tough for me too.

We don’t expect deep seated problems to be solved overnight. But sometimes just being able to forget our troubles for a while is enough of a silver lining for us to make it through another day.

When you feel completely helpless…the victim of your circumstances, whether or not you’ve played a part in making them…getting out is hard…

Regret, remorse, hold on
Oh no, I’ve got to go
There’s no starting over
No new beginnings
Time races on

But, as First Aid Kit put it…sometimes you’ve just got to keep on keeping on…

You don’t necessarily believe the future will be better than the past, but you know if you give up now things definitely won’t get any better. Your only hope is to keep going…

Can’t worry ‘bout what’s behind you
Or what’s coming for you
Further up the road
I try not to hold on to what is gone
I try to do right what is wrong
I try to keep on keeping on
Yeah, I just keep on keeping on

Some days keeping on keeping on is a victory all by itself. We shouldn’t underestimate the strength of character it takes to keep going day after day when everything seems set against us.

The relentless, never-ending daily challenge of just getting through each day so we can wake up the following morning and do it all over again can wear down the best of us.

Keeping on keeping on is much harder than it looks.

Despite the lyrics I’ve quoted above, “My Silver Lining” isn’t a dark and depressing song. I find it an uplifting story of encouragement when the world seems set against me. I draw inspiration from the lovely words and astonishing harmonies.

Klara and Johanna Soderberg nailed it when they wrote…

I’ve woken up in a hotel room
My worries as big as the moon
Having no idea who or what or where I am
Something good comes with the bad
A song’s never just sad
There’s hope, there’s a silver lining
Show me my silver lining
Show me my silver lining

First Aid Kit’s “Stay Gold” album, from which “My Silver Lining” is taken, did reasonably well in the album charts and I’ve seen the Soderberg sisters perform in concert a few times, via the miracle of television.

If you don’t know them, you’re in for a treat with this tender, heartfelt, ethereal and beautiful song. And if you’re watching the video, the question you need to be asking yourself is “who exactly is driving that beautiful drop-top Mercedes”…

Here’s Klara and Johanna Soderberg (sorry I don’t know how to make my keyboard do the umlaut over the “o”) as First Aid Kit with “My Silver Lining”…just keeping on keeping on…

The video is below or, if you prefer, you can enjoy the song on Spotify here… https://open.spotify.com/track/5BkNCuxzzid0gz9sx3NNbX

PS — just before we get to the video, if you enjoyed this article, please give it a “clap”…or even more than one if you’re feeling kind. You can also follow me on Medium (here) or Twitter (here) to get new articles as soon as they’re published.