Music Review // Michel Neray "Let the Wild Orchids Grow"

Michel Neray has found a way to create folk rock music that has elements of someone such as Tom Petty in it, in a more classic rock sense, but also that 1990's era of acoustic rock where bands like Del Amitri had hits with songs like "Roll to Me".   Even just thinking about a band like Toad the Wet Sprocket in comparison, Neray offers up a style that has been done before but isn't utilized enough.

The lyrics in here are interesting as there is the line: "You've gotta live the life you choose and choose the life you live", which is a way of saying we're all responsible for our own happiness.  Then the line is spoken: "Well, I shrugged my shoulders and I said" before the title.  There is also a reference to a dragon being his friend, but I'm most interested by these lyrics: "As long as there's another town / I know my road won't end".

To some extent, I feel like we all have that mentality- or at least the busy person does- where as long as we have something to do we can't die and our happiness can't end if what we're doing is making us happy.   And there are obviously people who had plans and still didn't live to see them play out, but that mentality of not stopping and you can go on forever is one I can identify with.  

Whether you're looking for a song to help on a long drive or just to motivate you to get out of bed, I think the general idea of "Let the Wild Orchids Grow" is that we're still here, we're still alive, and so while we are we should do what makes us happy and make the best of it.   We all need that reminder sometimes and this song is a good way to remember it.