Friday Tunes: Peace of Mind

This week’s installment of labour themes in popular culture is Boston’s Peace of Mind. Living in the classic-rock radio ghetto of Calgary in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, I’ve heard this song likely close to one hundred times but only just recently gave the lyrics some thought. The song is about the pressure to succeed in one’s career and was written about people Tom Scholz worked with at Polaroid in the early 1970s.

As I approach what is essentially the end of my own career path (having no ambitions beyond being a professor), I’m starting to feel work pressure ease a bit. This has created a bit more space for me grapple with Scholz’s admonishment that life is short and we are much less essential to our employers than we might like to imagine. In the end, peace of mind (however we define it) is likely to be more satisfying than workplace accolades.

Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone

I picked an interesting cover of this song by Gary Schutt, where all of the instrumental parts (including the drums) are done on a guitar.



Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying
Future's coming much too slow
And you wanna run but somehow you just keep on stayin'
Can't decide on which way to go

Yeah, yeah, yeah

[chorus]

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.

Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone

[chorus]

Take a look ahead, take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Now everybody's got advice they just keep on givin'
Doesn't mean too much to me
Lot's of people out to make-believe they're livin'
Can't decide who they should be.

[chorus]

Take a look ahead, take a look ahead. Look ahead.

-- Bob Barnetson