We welcome all contributions to Gashed. This issue we have a contribution from Ken from New York...
A Renegade's Journey...
by Ken Grand-Pierre
Art is my life. I love the way in the world we live that people are all unique and different. How we can take thoughts, ideas, and dreams from our minds and make them real and share them with the world. Ever since I was little I dreamed of doing something big, be someone big, and be someone people can look up to, a person that can inspire people to chase after their dreams with art. A piece of art that has changed my life is a song. This song is also my favorite in the world. It is called Renegade Cavalcade by the band Ash. The song is written by songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and leader of Ash Timothy Wheeler of Northern Ireland.
Of course the when I first heard it and the millions of times I’ve listened to it I never realized how much it reflected on me and who I wanted to be. But now with the transitions I’ve made through my life and the epiphany of growing up from a boy to a young man, I’ve grown to notice how lyrics can impact others in a way they’ll never forget. The song symbolizes what its like to be different and to realize its okay. Growing up in the 90’s the world was changing as it still is today, but back then accepting things and people that are different were just the coming into fruition. I used to be the boy people picked on, the kid who was obsessed with super heroes, comics, and basically less than ordinary.
I was looked upon as an outcast and never understood why but I never once let it bring me down. I cannot say that I haven’t changed since then because that would be utterly ludicrous to say, but I can proudly say that I have never once changed who I am for others. As the songs lyrics state “I’m never gonna Crack, They’re can be no turning back” to me meaning that if you change who you are you’ll eventually reach a point where you don’t know who you are inside and to me that’s always been a fear which is paramount in my life because I have witness many who have had identity crisis and go through terrible ordeals within the confines of their own minds, but never me.
Art comes in many forms, in music and writing and paints and anything you can think of. Renegade Cavalcade is such a piece of art that anyone can relate to. Most importantly of all, it brings the world together; anyone can be an artist if they truly want it and if they believe in themselves. The song speaks of unity, the chorus lyric “We belong in a gutter singing, this song, all the bells ringing” in a way symbolizes how despite how everyone’s different it’s important we unify under one banner and that to me is one of the most important lessons anyone can ever learn.