Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello, my name is Scott Rollins. Welcome to the Rockin' Into Retirement podcast. If you grew up during the greatest generation of classic rock and you've listened to your favorite music on vinyl, cassette, cds and digital, then this is a place for you to relive some of your favorite songs. Each episode will tell the story behind a classic rock song and the band that created it. More importantly, we'll use wisdom from each song to explain various topics to help optimize our lives. The topics will be especially applicable to those already retired or nearing retirement age who want to keep rocking for a long time. In today's episode, we'll discuss a song that tries to persuade us to live in the moment and take action now and not wait to make a positive change. We'll look at how we can expand this to help us make better choices, and to make them right now. Look at how we can expand this to help us make better choices and to make them right now. The song written by Sammy Hagar and performed by the version of Van Halen that he was a part of and, if you haven't guessed it yet, is titled Right Now. First, let's talk about the song, and even before that, let's talk a little bit about Van Halen.

Speaker 1: 1:04

The original lineup was formed back in 1974 and consisted of the Van Halen brothers Eddie on guitar, alex on drums, michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth on lead vocals. Roth left in 1984, right at the height of their success, to pursue a solo career. This was right after their hit album 1984, which featured their only number one hit, jump. A chance encounter later in 85 brought Sammy Hagar to take Ross' place. This was actually set up by Sammy's mechanic, claudio Zampoli. At the time, sammy's black Ferrari was in his shop. It was the same Ferrari that Sammy drove in the video for the song I Can't Drive 55. Zampoli was even featured at the beginning of the video for I Can't Drive 55. Eddie happened to bring in his Lamborghini to the shop and noticed the Ferrari. Zampoli mentioned that it belonged to Sammy Hagar and that Eddie should call him to see if he might want to join the band. And sure enough, eddie called him from the mechanic's office, and the rest is rock and roll history.

Speaker 1: 2:26

While Right Now didn't come out until 1991, eddie originally composed the instrumental piano piece years before and the song remained unused for nearly a decade because, as Eddie put it, nobody wanted anything to do with it. Eddie even considered using the track for an album which would feature guest singers, with Joe Cocker in mind to perform the song, since it seems similar to Joe's version of Feeling Alright. It wasn't until Sammy joined Van Halen that Right Now finally eventually came to fruition. Sammy first started the lyrics for Right Now when he was undergoing a moment of personal reflection. He wrote them while he was experiencing marital difficulties, drawing inspiration from a Zen book he was reading on the beach. The song's message emphasizes living in the moment and not being afraid of making changes. Living in the moment is a key focus of mindfulness. One definition I remember hearing about mindfulness is paying attention on purpose in the present moment, without judgment, as if your life depended on it. We'll talk more about this as we go through the lyrics. The collaboration between Eddie's instrumental and Hagar's lyrics also happened somewhat by accident. Samer recalled hearing Eddie play the piano piece while they were hanging out. He was playing pinball and Eddie was playing music on a piano. They eventually collaborated and the song became part of their third album with Sammy Hagar, which came out in 1991. The lyrics right now showed Sammy's attempt to elevate Van Halen's image away from that of just a party band. He considered these lyrics the best he'd ever written for the band, reflecting his artistic growth and desire to address more serious topics. He once mentioned that he was tired of writing cheap sex songs and that he and Eddie wanted to get serious and talk about world issues.

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The song came out during the heyday of MTV, when they were still focusing on music videos, which was primarily from the early 80s to the mid-90s. The video displayed different messages as subtitles, but Sammy actually originally hated the idea because he thought the subtitles would distract attention away from the song's lyrics. He was upset because they felt they were the best lyrics he'd written and that the messages on the video would distract people from his message. Before filming for the video, he took a vacation and while on it he got sick. When he came back for the filming, he was still upset, and it showed. When the video, though, went on to win Video of the Year in 1992, he came around and eventually liked the video. While it added many words related to social issues and some showing humor, some stuck with his message in the lyrics. Some of those include right now, opportunity is passing you by and right now, nothing is more expensive than regret.

Speaker 1: 5:09

Hi, this is Scott. I just want to take a quick break from the podcast to encourage you to go back and listen to the song through your favorite medium. If you don't own it, please buy it or listen to it on your favorite streaming service. We only use parts of the song to listen to and comment for the purpose of this podcast. By buying or streaming, you get to give the artist their due. Let's take a look and listen to Sammy's lyrics Don't want to wait till tomorrow.

Speaker 1: 5:54

Why put it off another day? One by one, little problems build up and stand in our way. The part mentioning don't want to wait till tomorrow brings to mind a Chinese proverb about when to start something. It goes kind of like this the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. This is one of the few, if only, times I'll talk about saving financially for retirement, but this really fits. If you haven't started yet, you need to do it now. But more importantly and specific to this podcast, if you haven't started preparing your body and mind to retire for a long health span, the time is right now, before little problems turn into big ones. One step ahead, one step behind it. Now you've got to run to get, even Make future plans. Don't dream about yesterday. Hey, come on, turn this thing around.

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Another Chinese proverb mentions a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The wisdom from one step ahead, one step behind reminds me of that. Journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step. The takeaway from this is that, while you may have a large, lofty goal, it begins with the action of just one step. Taking that initial action of the first step is really important, but it's also important to keep moving forward, no matter how small that tiny action may be. Taking one step ahead and continuing to do that will eventually help you reach your destination, as long as you keep progressing. But every step back makes us feel we must now run to catch up.

Speaker 1: 7:38

The key is overcoming procrastination, breaking your goals into small, manageable steps and continuing. I'd been waiting for quite some time to start this podcast, but I finally decided to take that first step, which was the hardest, but after taking that step it's gotten easier. One reason people procrastinate is due to fear or uncertainty. Just focus on those small steps in front of you and don't be overwhelmed by the full journey. Build momentum through small actions. The next part of the lyrics talk about make future plans, don't dream about yesterday. Hey, come on, turn this thing around.

Speaker 1: 8:10

In his book the Power of Now, eckhart Tolle talks about focusing on the present instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. He mentions that the present moment is all we have and now should be the focus of your life. He mentions how we often create suffering by dwelling on past events and also by being anxious about the future. Instead, we should focus on what we can control the now. The ancient Stoic philosophers had a similar view of time, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the present moment, while recognizing the connections of past, present and future. They viewed the past as unalterable and beyond our control. They encouraged learning from past experiences without dwelling or ruminating on them. They advocated for reflecting on the past to learn from it, but cautioned against becoming trapped by regrets. The present moment was of utmost importance to the Stoics. They believed that the present is the only time domain where we have direct control over and where we can take meaningful action. Marcus Aurelius emphasized this by saying Do not dream of the future. Concentrate the mind on the present moment. They encourage mindfulness and full engagement with the present, viewing it as a key to living a virtuous and fulfilling life. While acknowledging the uncertainty of the future, the Stoics didn't view ignoring it entirely. Instead, they recommended a balanced approach of at least planning for things that may happen, but not becoming anxious about things that haven't happened. This quote sums it up If you are depressed, you're living in the past. If you're anxious, you're living in the future. If you're at peace, you are living in the present, right now. Come on, it's everything Right now. Catch your magic moment. Do it right, here and now, right now. Hey, it's your tomorrow Right now. Come on, it's everything Right now. Catch your magic moment. Do it right, here and now.

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Going back to the video, this next section lyrics were the only ones shown word for word in the video, and just before they were played, it said right now, maybe we should pay attention to the lyrics. This is where you can actually see Sammy, in the background too, and he doesn't look too happy during the filming. However, as mentioned earlier, he came around after the success of the video, and I'm sure he really appreciated this part. The next section goes like this it means everything Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm and nothing falls into place Only missed by a fraction, slipped a little off your pace.

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This talks about being more consistent and to try to keep moving ahead. But if you don't, it's when things don't fall into place and it doesn't take much to slow you down. A big message here is to keep making those small incremental steps forward. But if you mess up, make sure to get back on pace as soon as you can and keep moving forward. The more things you get, the more you want. Just trade in one for the other. Working so hard to make it easy Got to turn. Come on, turn this thing around.

Speaker 1: 12:01

This talks about the idea that things won't buy you happiness and addresses what is known as the hedonic treadmill, where, as you acquire more things, your expectations and desires for more things increase, leading to an ongoing cycle of continually wanting more. This also applies to the idea of keeping up with the Joneses. If you see others with a new car or new things, you may want to do the same. To remedy this, mindfulness practices can help you appreciate the present moment. Instead of more things, it means everything. It's enlightened to me Right now. What are you waiting for? Oh yeah, right now.

Speaker 1: 13:09

These lyrics are important in that everywhere else. Throughout the song, the lyrics are talking to us to take action, and here they mention what they did for Sammy they enlightened him and also what they can do for you if you follow his philosophy of the song. They're almost snuck in near the end where the sound starts fading, which I feel makes it even more critical that you need to focus to hear them. While some of our future songs and episodes may have a line of lyrics or a song title from which we can draw inspiration, this one has a whole lot of nuggets of wisdom. We'll delve into many more of these areas we discussed in more detail in future episodes, along with many other areas to help you prepare for a long and healthy retirement. So stay tuned.

Speaker 1: 13:49

As of now, I have over 300 songs in my playlist that I plan on addressing for future episodes. Our next episode talks about one of those things you can do right now to make significant changes to your health. As a hint, this song is by a Canadian band that discusses one thing you can stop doing right now. Until then, keep on rocking. Thanks for listening. I really appreciate it. If you enjoyed this podcast or this specific episode or found any help from it, please share it with a friend or two. Again, please also go ahead and listen to the complete song to give credit to the artists. Hopefully, each time you hear it, you'll remember some aspect of this episode that will help improve your life.