Rachel Platten has finally released “Stand By You,” her follow up single to her smash hit “Fight Song,” and I got to say it’s pretty darn catchy. The song itself deals with the nature of loving someone unconditionally and standing by them through thick and thin, which has caused some critics to deem it “Fight Song – Part Two.” It’s really nothing like “Fight Song” other than it’s positive messaging. Take a listen:
From the first second of the song, I was hooked. When I bought it, I hadn’t heard the song in it’s entirety, which is a very rare thing for me. I’m very frugal when it comes to spending my money on iTunes and I don’t usually make purchases without being absolutely sure I’ll like the song (i.e. I hear it on the radio a couple times, etc.). In fact, I thought I’d regret the $1.29 on this purchase, feeling Platten was a one hit wonder with “Fight Song,” but I was in love with “Stand By You” from the first note and willing to eat my words about her being a one hit wonder. The soft piano and fading into the first verse is perfect and ingenious. And when she reaches that full chorus – which makes you want to dance around and sing along – I was sold. Add in snappy lyrics like “If your wings are broken, borrow mine so yours can open too,” and “Even if we can’t find Heaven, I’ll walk through Hell with you,” and you got a hit. It’s such a positive, upbeat song that will brighten your day…we need more songs like that.
I saw a criticism of the song on iTunes where the person said they loved the song, but thought it should be entitled “Can’t Find Heaven.” In fact, I found a clip where Platten performed the song during the pre-“Fight Song” era and it was referred to as “Can’t Find Heaven.” Initially, I thought that song title was catchier than “Stand By You.” And given the fact the first lyric that appears in the song is “Even if we can’t find Heaven” and it’s part of the major hook of the song, it’s a pretty prominent string of words. I was especially on board for a name change particularly because “Stand By You” made me think of Stand By Me, which I really only know of from The Big Bang Theory, whereas a title of “Can’t Find Heaven” seems unique to me and doesn’t remind me of Wil Wheaton (which I’m not saying is a bad thing, it’s just when you hear a Rachel Platten song you should probably think of Rachel Platten).
But then I started thinking about why they probably chose “Stand By You” over “Can’t Find Heaven,” and realized that “Stand By You” is probably the better choice. At first thought, “Stand By You” seems the better title in regards to the message of the song: she’s going to stand by her love no matter what happens. But the same could be argued for a title of “Can’t Find Heaven:” their relationship has imperfections and they are not in a bliss that is Heaven. Overall, though, “Can’t Find Heaven” has a negative connotation of not being able to do something whereas “Stand By You” has the positive message of never giving up on someone. And, really, “Stand By You” expresses the sentiment of not giving up a little bit better than “Can’t Find Heaven.”
But, really, if the only argument/complaint I’m going to have about a song is it’s title, then I think you know it’s pretty good.
