The Pax Plena song of the week comes to you via country music Grammy Award winner (and Native Oklahoman) Carrie Underwood and is titled Wasted.

Most analyses of this song seem indicate that it is rooted in the dark theme of alcoholism. This assumption certainly isn’t a stretch given the title but more than this the song is apt for any circumstance in which the will to live outweighs the will to mourn. It embodies a classic notion of personal resolve that an individual can recover from wasted years, from being jaded, even from depression through a personal decision to live again.

Musically, there are various elements at work which make the song a powerful piece not the least of which being Underwood’s voice which is at times both soaring and contemplative- an atypical combination, indeed, for country music. Speaking as a fan, country music often inhabits the extremes of the style spectrum. It tends to be either really up-beat or fairly mellow. This song in particular seems to meld the two well.

The video below is a performance of Underwood’s hit. It has been hailed by critics as one of the best country music videos released in recent years. Shot in black and white, the video tells the story of two lovers, their break up, and how the situation is ultimately resolved.

Enjoy!

Wasted
Standing at the back door
She tried to make it fast
One tear hit the hard wood
It felt like broken glass
She said sometimes love slips away
And you just can’t get it back
Let’s face it

For one split second
She almost turned around
But that would be like pouring rain drops
Back into a cloud
So she took another step and said
I see the way out and I’m gonna’ take it

I don’t wanna’ spend my life jaded
Waitin’ to wake up one day and find
That I’ve let all these years go by
Wasted

Another glass of whisky but it still don’t kill the pain
So he stumbles to the sink and pours it down the drain
He says it’s time to be a man and stop living for yesterday
Gotta face it.

Cause’ I don’t wanna’ spend my life jaded
Waitin’ to wake up one day and find
That I’ve let all these years go by
Wasted

Oh I don’t wanna’ keep on wishing, missin’
But still every morning’ the color of the night
I ain’t spending no more time
Wasted

She kept drivin’ along
Till the moon and the sun were floating side-by-side
He looked in the mirror and his eyes were clear
For the first time in a while

Hey, yeah,
Oh, I don’t wanna’ spend my life jaded
Waitin’ to wake up one day and find
That I’ve let all these years go by
Wasted

Oh I don’t wanna’ keep on wishing, missing
But still every morning’ the color of the night
I ain’t spending no more time
Wasted

Oh, I don’t wanna’ spend my life jaded
Waitin’ to wake up one day and find
That I’ve let all these years go by
Wasted

Yeah, yeah
Oh I don’t wanna’ keep on wishing, missing
But still every morning’ the color of the night
I ain’t spending no more time
Wasted