Music Review // Daniel Isaiah "I've Got a Lot Riding on You"

One of the things I love about words is that with this title by Daniel Isaiah you can take it two different ways and it can still be as meaningful.   To have a lot riding on someone can in some sense make it feel like you're betting on them- you're hoping they go far and do what is expected of them.  It can almost come across as a threat like, "Don't blow this, kid".   This could be a way of looking at this song in a business relationship as well.

But then at the same time, you can dive into the idea of this being about a significant other or some sort of emotional relationship and it can come across like words of encouragement.  As a father, I like to think of this as a message to a child because we're literally relying on the youth to take care of us (and this planet, economy, etc) when we get older.

Daniel Isaiah has this soft-singing with a piano sound and I think that the delivery also showcases how this song could be taken.   It can be this sort of heart-felt idea, where it could be a loving message from parent to child or husband to wife, but at the same time you can just imagine it as being stern and a serious note to not blow it for the future, to an athlete or perhaps even a politician, depending upon what type of games you like to play.

This video has lyrics up as subtitles and Daniel Isaiah is just shown playing the piano but I think that helps put that emphasis on what this song is about.  The song states that we cannot change what is gone and "We'll never fix what can't be fixed".  I think a lot of people try to fix things that simply cannot be fixed so it's important to move on and find a new way.  The song continues "We are not broken, just licking our wounds" and that really should inspire you to get back out there and persist.