One thing about Catie's songwriting, although we may not know exactly what was going through her mind when she wrote the song, the stories she tells in the song are often pretty obvious...and if you've ever had the chance to see her in concert, she'll often share ideas about the origins of her songs and what they're about...but of course, not always...because sometimes, she'll just leave it up to you.
That's one great thing about songwriting, each listener makes the song their own through her or his own life's filters. Even if you probably know what Catie was saying, maybe something's happened or is going on in your own life that makes it special to you in a totally different way. So when gathered around with a bunch of friends, to talk about what a song means is often an interesting experience and an insight to the individual filters we are each listening with.
One of Catie's most popular and enduring songs is
Radical. As a lesbian, what I think Radical means may be entirely different from someone who is not...and in
her video of Radical...there are several different examples of couples who may see the song quite differently.
So...what does Radical mean to you? Have you lived your life 'Radically'?
