KJLS-FM 103.3 10am Sundays
April 5, 2026
“Helping Another”
Part 1
Good morning, Central Kansas and around the world, and thank you for joining us this morning; welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”. Happy Easter to you as the Christian world celebrates that feast today. I am Fr. Mike, your host; get ready for top 10 songs of the past 46 years. We here at Mix 103 continue to give you only the very best in radio entertainment, / and that includes not only the songs that we play, but their messages as well. This morning we have some great songs all warmed up on our computers, including our current top 10 here at Mix 103, the number one popular music station of Central Kansas. Our plea to you is to enjoy the music and listen to the message so as to allow that message to be somewhat of a guide for you. Last week, Bruno Mars had the number 1 song—we’ll see if he stays there. We will begin with a thought about Christian belief and the concept of “bleeding” on behalf of another. It is a fitting theme if we think in Christian terms of what Jesus did for us on Easter day. And interestingly enough, that is Lady Gaga’s thought in our opening song.
The song is truly a religious song in the sense that the lady in the song compares herself to Mary Magdalene at the death of her friend Jesus. I find it a very interesting way for a lady to say to her man that she will continue to love him no matter what happens, exactly what Mary Magdalene said to Jesus. “Love is just a history” she sings, “that they may prove and when you’re gone, I’ll tell them my religion’s you. When Punktious”—a reference to Pontius Pilate one would guess—“when Punktious comes to kill the king upon his throne, I’m ready for their stones. I’ll dance with my hands above my head like Jesus said. I won’t cry for you, I won’t crucify the things you do. See, when you’re gone, I’ll still be Bloody Mary.” That is, she is still bleeding for Jesus after he’s gone, according to her explanation.
“Bleeding for” another is a way of saying that the person will help someone else’s pain. It implies that the person is well aware of the suffering that another is going through, and will remain devoted to that person as he/she witnesses what is happening. So a lady can be bleeding for another as the man that she loves goes through pain; similarly, a man is bleeding for another or helping another as he listens closely to what is bothering his friend in the relationship he has with her. It is an interesting concept that we will take through the songs of our show today and see how it fits in with the situation of the song.
To start us off, this is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or Lady Gaga, in double play, beginning with her song “Bloody Mary” from 2022 on MATT.
(double) BLOODY MARY / Lady Gaga
BORN THIS WAY / Lady Gaga
Part 2
Closing off a double play from her, Lady Gaga again, from her album “Born This Way,” the lead song from it from 2011 on MATT. It is a high song of meaning for me, what I call a 10+ category because of its stress on the importance of the individual, and the fact that God makes no mistakes. “My mama told me when I was young that we are all born superstars: ‘there’s nothing wrong with loving who you are’ she said, ‘‘‘cause he made you perfect. I’m beautiful in my way ‘cause God makes no mistakes. I’m on the right track. I was born this way. Don’t hide yourself in regret. Just love yourself and you’re set. There ain’t no other way. I was born this way. I’m on the right track. Don’t be a drag, just be a queen.” The message is that we should love who we are. In terms of our theme, can we say that we should help, that is care for ourselves. Yes, if it leads to a true love of self and not selfishness.
Let’s begin our countdown with this triple play. At number 10 is a song that speaks of a breakup which in my opinion as I study the circumstances, should happen. The lady in the relationship seems to have done things right in trying to establish whether the man is being honest with her or not. She has checked with a friend and then takes the time to talk to him directly. “Thought I might love you again,” she sings, “I’ll see how I feel. Now that you’re acting like that, I never will. Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal. Right now, I’m not even about you. The day I met you, I thought it was a blessing, In the heat of it, I always took your side. It’s a shame you out here tryna make it messy. We were good, I thought we made it through the ending. Could have picked it up exactly where we left it, took our future off your plate. Let’s go tit for tat, you asked for that. I was never as far away as you thought.” And then she breaks it off. In terms of our theme this week, we usually do not think of a breakup helping another, but sometimes it is the only thing that can help. From her album “So Close to What,” a song rumored to be a song that is in response to one her ex boyfriend wrote, the name of her song “Tit For Tat,” Tate McRae, number 10 this week on MATT.
(triple) 10 TIT FOR TAT / Tate McRae
UNTIL I FOUND YOU / Stephen Sanchez
UNHOLY / Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Part 3
A best Pop Duo Grammy award winner from a couple years ago, from British singer Sam Smith and German singer Kim Petras and their song “Unholy” on MATT. The song is named “Unholy” and it implies that making a firm commitment to love each other in marriage is a holy thing to do, and I think it is. It is from Sam Smith’s album “Gloria” and a song of cheating on a commitment. “Mommy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop,” they sing, “Doing something unholy. A lucky girl she got married to a boy like you. She’d kick you out if she ever knew. Dirty boy, you know everyone is talkin’ on the scene. I hear them whisperin’ ‘bout the places that you’ve been and how you don’t know how to keep your business clean. He left the kids at home so he can get that.” As I say, the song seems to be describing what some young couples do if their commitment is weak. In terms of the overall effect it has on the young family, it is certainly not good, and in general will cause real chaos all through their lives. In terms of our theme, there would be no helping the other in this relationship, and that is part of why it is such a difficult song.
Before them, we heard another top 10 song about commitment to a girlfriend. MATT presenting Mr. Stephen Sanchez and his song “Until I Found You”. “Georgia,” the man in the relationship begins his song, “wrap me up. I want you, in my arms, oh, let me hold you. I’ll never let you go again, like I did. I used to say, ‘I would never fall in love again, until I found her.’ I said, ‘I would never fall, unless it’s you I fall into’. I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her, I found you.” In an interview he says that he is singing it to his actual girlfriend, whom he left and then came back to again. As we think in terms of helping another, it certainly sounds like he will do it if she is in pain.
Our theme today is that idea of helping another which we took from Lady Gaga’s semi-religious song “Bloody Mary.” We will continue with that thought in just a few minutes as we listen to and study the music of in order of appearance—the band Parmalee, Olivia Dean for the first time, Taylor Swift for the first time, the duo MAX and gnash, and the band Coldplay. Here’s a thought about life from my quotebook, and this makes a lot of sense: “Life is like a camera. Focus on the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot.” I’m Fr. Mike for “Message at the Top” on Mix 103. Why not stay right where you are as you enjoy your Spring Easter Sunday morning with us. We’ll be right back.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Part 4
We are back for “Message at the Top” which gives you the top 10 popular songs of our area that have been most popular during the week which ends today, the first Sunday of April, 2026, Easter in the Christian world. Today we are playing our songs and studying them in the light of our theme which is “Helping another”, a theme taken from Lady Gaga’s song “Bloody Mary”. I’m your host, Fr. Mike. Thank you for joining us again this Easter morning. It is great to have you with us!
We begin this portion of our show this morning with a song about the decision for marriage even though it may be too soon, at least in other people’s minds. “Take my hand, let me make you mine,” they sing, “I’m through waiting, taking my time; never felt like this before, take my name and make it yours. I hope you don’t think it’s a little bit crazy saying this all so soon, but it’s the right time, knew it from the first time that I laid eyes on you. It’s okay, let ‘em say what they want; they might think I should wait, but I don’t wanna waste a minute, girl, I want you in it, every single part of my world.” One of the facts about love relationships of course is that they must begin sometime somehow. The band Parmalee sings in their song that the man in the relationship is pretty strong about feeling that the love is there right at the beginning, and that perhaps the lady might think it is crazy, but it is love at first sight for him, and that is guiding the relationship. In terms of our theme this week, no doubt with that feeling, there is also the desire to help with the cares of that person which is a pretty good way of saying that love is present. Usually a country group, this is the band Parmalee, and their song “Take My Name” from 2023 from their album “For You” on MATT.
(double) TAKE MY NAME / Parmalee
9 SO EASY / Olivia Dean
Part 5
The first of two top 10’s in the same countdown for her, Olivia Dean, from her album “The Art of Loving,” and her song “So Easy”, number 9 this morning on MATT. It is a song of the desire for love of one particular person. “I could be the twist, the one to make you stop,” she begins the song, “The icing on the cake, the cherry on the top. It’s heaven in my heart, and we could find you some space. I could be the world to you, the missing piece, that extra kind of chemistry. Some people make it hard; with me, that isn’t the case ‘cause I make it so easy to fall in love. So, come give me a call, and we’ll fall into us. I’m the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life. Anyone with a heart would agree: it’s so easy to fall in love with me.” So, a rather straightforward statement to someone looking for love of a particular person. In terms of our theme, a person with this much love for another will include the possibility of helping that other as much as possible.
Let’s go to another triple play this Easter Sunday morning. This first song reflects the thought that a person can love mineraloids. She says that she has always loved opals, a mineraloid. Opal is also Travis Kelce’s birthstone, Travis being Taylor Swift’s fiance. In the song, she took inspiration from the facts connected with opals, saying that opalite is a metaphor for the idea that happiness can be created voluntarily. Opal is also believed to symbolically represent hope, healing and positive energy. She sings: “Life is a song, it ends when it ends; I was wrong, but alright, you were dancing through the lightning strikes, but now the sky is opalite.” The song is about the lady’s state of mind and being perfectly content with what is happening in her life, and when that happens, it often means that that person will try to help others, our theme today. The first top 10 song for her in our countdown, at number 8 this morning, Taylor Swift from her album “The Life of a Showgirl” and her song “Opalite” on MATT.
(triple) 8 OPALITE / Taylor Swift
LIGHTS DOWN LOW / MAX f/ gnash
PARADISE / Coldplay
Part 6
A 10+ category of meaning song for me, the highest I get because of its statement about the possibility that paradise begins right here—this group really have some great songs of meaning: Coldplay, from their album “Mylo Xyloto”, and their song “Paradise” from the year 2011, and an interesting video by the way—as usual for them. The song tells the story of a girl who seems to be lost, and then she finds herself. “When she was just a girl,” they begin the song, “she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep, dreamed of paradise every time she closed her eyes.” And, as I mentioned, she seems to find that this world really is paradise. They sing, “So, lying underneath those stormy skies, she said ‘I know the sun must set to rise. This could be paradise.’” It is a great message, I believe, which says not to run away from the problems and say that life is better someplace else when it really is better right here. One of the ways to help people and ourselves, our theme today, is to realize that we can make a paradise as we live right now, and certainly as we work with the one that we love.
Before them, we heard from Maxwell George Schneider, better known simply as MAX, and singing with him Garret Charles Nash better known as gnash and the song from 2016 “Lights Down Low”. It comes from MAX’s album “Hell’s Kitchen Angel”. The song is an infatuation song. “Can I stop the flow of time?” they sing, “Can I swim in your divine? ‘Cause I don’t think I’d ever leave this place. Turn the lights down low. I’m feeling you breathing slow. ‘Cause, we’re just reckless kids trying to find an island in the flood.” They are both searching for love as they discover their love for each other and in life, and as we think of people that need help this morning, one group of people would be those who must get over the recklessness of growing up, and spend some quality time on understanding and then pursuing love.
Our theme this morning deals with that thought of helping people, that theme having come from a song from Lady Gaga. We are exploring the idea of what each of the songs of our show today say about caring for others. Still to come on MATT is music from people like Olivia Dean again and Shawn Mendes. Let me take you to break with this thought from John Wayne, no less. “Life is hard. It’s harder if you’re stupid.” Amen. And real “life” means staying away from intentional stupidity and trying to help others in the process. It is great to have you with us on 100,000 watts of power, today’s best music Mix 103, and MATT. We’ll be right back.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
We are back for “Message at the Top” on Mix 103 on the first Sunday of April 2026, Easter in the Christian world. Thank you for giving a little of your time to us this Easter morning. I’m Fr. Mike, ready to lead you through the second hour of our show today, and during this segment, as usual, music of the top 10 from the present and the past. We urge you to keep enjoying the music but to listen to the message because that message may even help us a little, I believe. We are talking of helping others today.
We begin this second hour together with two triple plays, and this first one begins with our number 7 song, making it two songs in our top 10 from Taylor Swift. In this second song, as we have explained over the many weeks it has been in the top 10—it entered the top 10 last October—it cleverly involves a study of one of the plays of William Shakespeare, namely his play “Hamlet” and Hamlet’s once-upon-a-time presumed future wife Ophelia. In the story, Mr. Shakespeare has Ophelia drown herself after a rejection from Prince Hamlet and after her father’s death at the hands of Hamlet. So a tragic situation, but the song writes a different ending. The song is a powerful anthem about being rescued from the brink of emotional and psychological collapse by an all-consuming lover. He brings about a true resurrection for her and according to the people who should know about such things, as I have said, resembles the likes of her famous current boyfriend. “Late one night,” she sings, “you dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” It is exactly what is supposed to happen if there is a deep love of each other, and if the feelings are true, they have certainly found the love they desire, and as we keep saying with songs with that message—if they have a deep love for each other, you can bet that they will help each other, “helping another” being our theme today. This is the number 7 song from Taylor Swift and her album “The Life of a Showgirl,” and the song “The Fate of Ophelia”, the second song from that album this morning on MATT.
(triple) 7 THE FATE OF OPHELIA / Taylor Swift
MY HEART WILL GO ON / Celine Dion
6 BACK TO FRIENDS / sombr
Part 8
Number 6 in our countdown here on MATT: Shane Michael Boose, better known as sombr, from his album “I Barely Know Her” and his song “Back to Friends” on MATT. It is a song about the fact that the couple have given themselves completely to each other physically, and now one of them just wants to be friends, and that is a contradiction. He sings, “How can we go back to being friends when we just shared a bed? How can you look at me and pretend I’m someone you’ve never met?” It seems as though the lady in the relationship wants to have a breakup or at least a temporary time apart, but the two have already made it clear that they are committed to each other. It is unfortunately a common enough experience. In terms of our theme, usually a person who wants out of a true love relationship after a commitment has been made, does not understand the idea of commitment, and will have a difficult time truly loving and helping that person, our theme today. Good song to study.
Before him, we heard Canadian singer Ms. Celine Marie Claudette Dion— that is, Celine Dion, and her beautiful and famous love song from the 1997 movie “Titanic,” winner of four Grammy awards “My Heart Will Go On”. “Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you go on far across the distance and spaces between us. You have come to show you go on—near, far, wherever you are. I believe that the heart does go on. Once more you open the door and you’re here in my heart, and my heart will go on and on. Love can touch us one time, and last for a lifetime, and never let go ‘til we’re gone.” It is one of greatest love songs of our era, and you can look at it as both helping each other’s pain, “helping another” being our theme today.
Continuing our countdown and continuing triple plays, let’s go into our top 5 right now, and a song about the desire for a partner in her life, or as she says in a traditional way, a husband. “Where is my husband,” the lady sings, “Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old? Why he already testing my patience? I only fear he taking time with other women that ain’t me / while I’ve been reviewing applications. Wait til I get my hands on him. I’ma tell him off too for how long he kept me waiting, anticipating, praying to the Lord to give him to my loving arms. And despite my frustrations. And he must need me completely. Help me, Lord. I need you to tell me.” I describe it as a tongue-in-cheek desire to find where love is, the desire of a lady to find a person who truly loves her, a statement, I believe, of someone’s need for romantic love. In terms of our theme this week, searching for and finally finding that love will be the beginning of hopefully a happy life that will be lived forever while they are alive, and certainly a relationship that will concentrate on helping each other, our theme today. This is a lady who calls herself Raye, a British singer/songwriter whose real name is Rachel Agatha Keen from her album “This Music May Contain Hope,” and her song at number 5, “Where is My Husband” on MATT.
(triple) 5 WHERE IS MY HUSBAND / Raye
STITCHES / Shawn Mendes
4 ORDINARY / Alex Warren
Part 9
From his album “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” that was Carlsbad, California-born Alexander Warren Hughes or simply Alex Warren, and his song “Ordinary”, number 4 on our countdown this week on MATT. The song is about the opposite of its title. The name of it is “Ordinary” and it is about what is not ordinary. It is a song which talks of an “ordinary” love relationship and says that what he has for a friend of his is not part of “the ordinary.” He begins with the thought that everything is pretty much ordinary: “They say ‘The holy water’s watered down and this town’s lost its faith. Our colors will fade eventually.” But he has a solution; he continues: “So, if our time is runnin’ out day after day, we’ll make the mundane our masterpiece.” Right there, as I have said, is a great description of how to make a love relationship be a necessary part of true love--make the mundane happenings so special that they become masterpieces, and if we learn to do that, we will be people who truly try to help one another, our theme today. It came into the top 10 on May 11 of last year and is still there after spending a record setting 19 weeks at number 1.
Before him, we heard the song on my website this coming Tuesday, that is www.frmikescully.com and the song “Stitches” from Shawn Peter Raul Mendes, a 17 year old singer/songwriter at the time he released the song in 2015, Shawn Mendes, from Toronto, Canada and his song from his album “Handwritten”. “I thought that I'd been hurt before,” he sings. “But no one's ever left me quite this sore. Your words cut deeper than a knife. Now I need someone to breathe me back to life, got a feeling that I'm going under. But I know that I'll make it out alive if I quit calling you my lover, (and) move on. You watch me bleed until I can't breathe. Shaking, falling onto my knees, and now that I’m without your kisses, I'll be needing stitches. Just like a moth drawn to a flame, you lured me in, I couldn't sense the pain, your bitter heart cold to the touch.” Tough words, and really painful thoughts. Thinking of our theme this week, sometimes helping another means that we have to let them go so that both can start again.
It is a theme that we took from Lady Gaga and her semi-religious song “Bloody Mary.” To take us to break, here’s a thought about cats of all things from Mark Twain, so be ready for sarcasm: “If man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” He must have liked cats, and from his life and work, we know that he was into helping others. Hey, don’t even think of touching that dial—it is set for today’s best music, Mix 103 and MATT, and we’ll be right back.
Part 10
Welcome back to the show that gives you the top 10 of today and yesterday along with their messages. We call it MATT. As we like to say, if a song is in the top 10, you will hear it here! I’m your host, Fr. Mike. This morning we’re playing all of our songs in the light of the thought of helping others. Get ready for our segment 10 presentation which today features the top 3 songs of Easter in modern music, at least in my thinking.
And the first one speaks of what a Christian should be doing as a result of what Jesus did—that is, wake up to what is happening. Waking up is a way of describing what must happen to people who should change their lives around. Tim Bergling, a Swedish producer, musician and DJ better known by his stage name of Avicii, gives that message of a plea for transformation in his song from 2013 called “Wake Me Up”. The singer is Aloe Blacc with production contribution from Mike Einziger. Great words here: “Feeling my way through the darkness,” they sing, “guided by a beating heart, I can’t tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start. They tell me I’m too young to understand. They say I’m caught up in a dream. Well, life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes. So wake me up when it’s all over, when I’m wise and I’m older. All this time I was finding myself, and I didn’t know I was lost. Life's a game made for everyone, and love is the prize.” Incidentally the video with an extension of the message of the song is an excellent one to study as well. The theme of the song is the idea of finding out who we are by understanding the prize of true love. And once we do, we will be helping ourselves and others, our theme today. This is a super song from the recent past, one of my 10+ category songs, the highest I get, from Avicii’s album “True,” from the year 2013 and “Wake Me Up” on MATT.
(triple) WAKE ME UP / Avicii f/ Aloe Blacc & Mike Einziger
BRING ME TO LIFE / Evanescence
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN / Poison
Part 11
Not an Easter song as such, but containing what I call “Easter thoughts,” a magnificent statement by the band Poison, from their album “Flesh and Blood,” “Something To Believe In” from 1990 on MATT, one of my 6 songs with the most meaning since 1980. The song was a statement of real concern on the part of heavy metal, a segment of our society, interestingly enough, who are a real concern themselves for some of that society. The group sings of almost insurmountable problems: church hypocrisy, the Vietnam-caused confusion of living, the death of a close friend, the homeless, the embarrassing chasm between the rich and the poor. And their plea is a prayer in their refrain: “Give me something to believe in; if there’s a Lord above, give me something to believe in. O Lord, arise!” What should we hold on to, that is, the something to believe in? Incredibly, it is the Lord, as the group Poison calls him, and to me, that is the Easter message—hold on to the Lord, and things will change for the better in our lives. And again the tie into our theme today—we do that and we will help others and ourselves.
Before them, another truly Easter song from the past, one of my 10+ category songs, the highest I get, and another great Easter transformation-type song from their album “Fallen,” Evanescence, “Bring Me To Life”. They sing about “waking up” again. Here, the thought of “waking up” is a way of describing what must happen to people who should change their lives around. “Wake me up,” they sing, “wake me up inside, save me; call my name and save me from the dark. Wake me up, bid my blood to run. Save me from the nothing I’ve become.” I really like the song. It is something like a prayer to our God to help us wake up. We have to wake up and really live—that is their message, and a great theme for Easter. And when we do that—wake up and really live—we will see that others need help, and will help them, our theme today.
And we continue to pursue that thought with our top 3 songs right now. At number 3 this week is the Academy Award winning Best Song of the Year. It comes from the Korean movie and music of Huntr/X, three talented Korean ladies and the theme of a Netflix film that follows a Korean girls group—Huntr/X—who lead double lives facing off against a rival boys band, the Saja boys whose members are secretly demons. The words recall that story. “I was a ghost, I was alone, given the throne; I didn’t know how to behave, I was the queen that I’m meant to be. I lived two lives, tried to play both sides, but I couldn’t find my own place. Called a problem child ‘cause I got too wild. But now that’s how I’m getting paid. We’re going up, it’s our moment. You know together we’re glowin, gonna be golden. I’m done hidin’ now, I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be, oh, our time, no fears, no lies, that’s who we’re born to be.” As I have said with the song, it sounds like a song of determination to do the right thing, and in terms of our theme, if one is always trying to do the right thing, that person will spend some time trying to help other people, our theme today. This is Huntr/X from the soundtrack of the best animated feature of this year according to the Academy Awards, “KPop Demon Hunters” the name of it, and their song at number 3, former number 1, “Golden” on MATT.
(double) 3 GOLDEN / Huntr/X
2 MAN I NEED / Olivia Dean
Part 12
From London, England, the second song from her in the top 10, Olivia Dean, also coming from the album “The Art of Loving,” and her song “Man I Need” on MATT. The whole song is the statement of what I call the virtue which is most needed in any relationship, namely, communication. “Talk to me,” she begins her song, “looks like we’re making up for lost time; need you to spell it out for me. Don’t be shy, just come be the man I need. Tell me you got something to give. I want it. I kinda like when you call me wonderful, whatever the type of talk it is. Come on then, I gotta know you’re meant to be the man I need. Talk to me. I’d like to think you feel the same way, but I can’t tell with you sometimes. So, let’s get on the same page. Stop making me read between the lines.” So, communication, and she gives the reason why. In terms of our theme this week, if a couple have achieved perfect communication, they will certainly spend time helping one another.
And at number 1 for three weeks altogether is the song “I Just Might” from his album “The Romantic”, Bruno Mars, that is Peter Gene Hernandez. It is a song of wanting another to show her love for him by good dancing. “It would break my heart,” he sings, “if I find out you can’t move. You better show me now ‘cause when I take you to the floor, you gotta get down. Hey, Mr. DJ, play a song for this pretty little lady ‘cause if she dance as good as she look right now, I just might make her my baby.” It is a rather selfish song in the sense that the man is really only thinking of himself, but some general thoughts on dancing might be in order as we think of the song. As usual with him—Bruno Mars—the song has quite a good dance video. In terms of our theme this week, dancing can be and usually is a good form of helping others, our theme today.
We have heard some thoughts about that idea of helping another with a secondary theme of Easter. My prayer for you and for me is that we will all understand the value of other people and be open to helping them. My thanks to the producers of “Message at the Top,” and to the staff here at Mix 103, and to our sponsors, my friends at TMP-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays, Holy Family Elementary School in Hays, Auto World in Hays and Hays Car and Truck Alignment. If you have some song suggestions, or if you want to comment on anything I have said, feel free to write me here at KJLS-FM, Hays, KS 67601 or e-mail me at frmikescully@yahoo.com. My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find a transcript of the show along with some meditations on the Gospels and songs and some pretty good movies. You can join us on the web every Sunday morning at 10 CDT by tuning in your listening device to KJLS radio or your computer to www.hayspost.com and clicking on KJLS or Mix 103. My closing thought for you comes from a Filipino proverb as reported by my quote manual: “The hardest person to wake up is the person who is already awake.” Now, think about that—it is another way of saying that the people who think that they have it altogether in life are often the ones who need to wake up the most. As Bruno Mars and his song “I Just Might” leads us out, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music Mix 103 and our advice to you among other things is to hold a good thought. From the beautiful state of West Virginia and beautiful downtown Lawrence, KS. my name is Fr. Mike Scully. Be safe, peace to you, and be good!
1 I JUST MIGHT / Bruno Mars
March 29,2026
“Livin’ While We’re Alive”
Part 1
Hello Central Kansas, and happy Spring again, and thank you for joining us this morning; welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”. I am Fr. Mike, your host; get ready for top 10 songs of the past 46 years including the top 10 of today. We here at Mix 103 continue to give you only the very best in radio entertainment, / and that includes not only the songs that we play, but their messages as well. This morning we have some great songs all warmed up on our computers. Our thoughts will wander from life to love, from revenge to friendship, and from pain to happiness. It’s great to have you with us today.
I neglected to acknowledge Jon Bon Jovi’s birthday earlier this month—his birthday is March 2, now 64 years old—and so I wanted to remedy that with the lead song dedicated to him. It will lead us to talk a little about life. His group Bon Jovi had a song in 2000 that speaks of life. This reading about life is from an author by the name of Gail Kittleson and I can identify with this:
THE OLDER I GET
The more I notice outrageous beauty,
The less easy answers I have,
The less I know, the more I wonder,
The kinder I am with weakness,
The more honest I am with myself,
The less rigid I am,
The wiser I long to be,
The more I realize how impatient I’ve always been with life,
The less I think of what others think,
The closer I feel to old, old friends,
The more natural / prayer seems,
The longer I listen,
The greater my appreciation of harmony,
The more comfortable I am with solitude,
The more I see good coming out of difficulties,
The more grateful I am to be alive.
And Jon Bon Jovi would say the more I can say “It’s my life, and I’m proud of it.” “This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted,” they begin their song here, “no silent prayer for the faith-departed. I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd. You’re gonna hear my voice when I shout it loud: it’s my life. I just want to live while I’m alive.” They are saying: be aware that we have this life, and that we have to do something with it. We don’t waste it. To me, of course, that means that we should live it according to some guide in life—like a Christian one, or one based on love. But however we describe it, true life is as they sing, “living while we’re alive”. MATT presents our theme setter this morning. Happy birthday finally to Jon Bon Jovi—this is the group Bon Jovi and an interesting video to the song, “It’s My Life” on MATT.
(double) IT’S MY LIFE / Bon Jovi
LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER / Bon Jovi
Part 2
From the album “Slippery When Wet,” from 1986, Mr. Jon Bon Jovi and friends, their song “Livin’ On A Prayer”, as we wish happy birthday to the leader of the group Bon Jovi. It is a story of two people who are struggling to make it in this world, in fact, they are literally just living on a prayer. Tommy and Gina encourage one another with a refrain that speaks of love in the midst of poverty: “We’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got. It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not. We’ve got each other and that’s a lot for love. We’ll give it a shot. Take my hand, we’ll make it, I swear.” They are absolutely correct, of course. They will make it, and love will bring them through it all. The problem comes in perseverance. It is not easy to continue to “hold on” in the face of a tough life. But if they do, life can happen, and it will be a good one, life, our theme today.
Let’s begin our countdown with this triple play. At number 10 this week is a song of a breakup which in my opinion as I study the circumstances, should happen. The lady in the relationship seems to have done things right in trying to establish whether the man is being honest with her or not. She has checked with a friend and then takes the time to talk to him directly. “Thought I might love you again,” she sings, “I’ll see how I feel. Now that you’re acting like that, I never will. Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal. Right now, I’m not even about you. The day I met you, I thought it was a blessing, In the heat of it, I always took your side. It’s a shame you out here tryna make it messy. We were good, I thought we made it through the ending. Could have picked it up exactly where we left it, took our future off your plate. Let’s go tit for tat, you asked for that. I was never as far away as you thought.” And then she breaks it off. In terms of our theme this week, sometimes a breakup is needed for personal growth in our personal lives. From her album “So Close to What,” a song rumored to be a song that is in response to one her ex boyfriend wrote, the name of her song “Tit For Tat,” Tate McRae, number 10 this week on MATT.
(triple) 10 TIT FOR TAT / Tate McRae
YOU RIGHT/ Doja Cat f/ The Weeknd
COLD HEART / Elton John & Dua Lipa
Part 3
Sir Elton John and Ms. Dua Lipa singing of a cold heart there, the name of the song from 2021 and Elton John’s album “The Lockdown Sessions” on MATT. The song says that life is not so good when a love has gone cold in a relationship. “It’s a human sign when things go wrong,” they sing, “when the scent of her lingers and temptation’s strong. Cold, cold heart hardened by you, some things lookin’ better, just passin’ through. And I think it’s gonna be a long time ‘til touchdown brings me ‘round again to find I’m not the man they think I am at home. And this is what I should have said; well, I thought it, but I kept it hid: cold, cold heart.” I interpret it to mean that the lady in the relationship caused the cold heart between them and he should have told her, but he didn’t. In terms of our theme, as I said, their relationship is going to cause a problem with their having a good life.
Before them, we heard from 2022, Doja Cat and The Weeknd, from Doja Cat’s album “Planet Her,” and their song “You Right”. It is a song about selfishness. In the song, the lady has a boyfriend, but she wants someone else. “I got a man,” she sings, “but I want you. It’s just nerves makin’ me think about someone new. You know, I got so much to say, I try to hide it in my face, and it don’t work; you see through that / I just wanna get with you. You right, got my guy, but I can’t help it, I want you.” And the man responds, “Girl, I want you like you want me too, I feel that energy.” It is a mixed up relationship, and it’s mixed up because of the selfishness involved on her part, and probably his too. She wants what she wants, and he’s fitting right into the pattern. When selfishness takes over relationships, the chances are that the good life both want, our theme today, will never happen.
That is how we are spending our time with these songs today—answering the questions concerning living the lives that we have. Let me take you to break with this thought from humorist Josh Billings, the pen name of Henry Wheeler Shaw who died in 1885, “The trouble with people is not that they don't know / but that they know so much that ain't so.” Yes, indeed. And if we manage to get everything correct, and know for sure, then we will be better people as we live our lives. In our next segment, we have in order of appearance: music from Chappell Roan, Olivia Dean for the first time today, sombr, and a double play from Adele. My plea to you: don’t even think of touching that dial. This is MATT on Mix 103.
You, my friends, are in tune with “Message at the Top,” your top 10 show on Mix 103. Welcome back to the songs that have been the most popular in this area during this week that ends today, almost the last day of March 2026. We are giving you the top 10 of today and some top 10 songs of the past as well. I’m your host, Fr. Mike. It’s great to have you here. We have taken our theme from March birthday person Jon Bon Jovi and his band Bon Jovi, that theme concerning a line in one of their songs: “I just want to live while I’m alive.”
As promised, let’s go to a song about a place in LA, and her mother is not happy about it from Kayleigh Rose Amstutz better known as Chappell Roan, the best new artist of the year according to the Grammys last year. “I know you wanted me to stay, “she sings, “But I can't ignore the crazy visions of me in LA. I heard that there's a special place. I'm having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee. Oh, Santa Monica, I swear it's calling me. Won't make my mama proud. It's gonna cause a scene. She sees her baby girl, I know she's gonna scream what have you done. You're a pink pony girl and you dance at the club. Oh mama, I'm just having fun on the stage in my heels. It's where I belong down at the Pink Pony Club.” In terms of our theme, she must decide on what kind of life that she wants to lead then and in the future. She probably ought to listen to her mother a little more, my opinion of course. Her song which was part of the Grammys last year and quite a dance routine, “Pink Pony Club”, number 6 of all the songs of 2025 according to me on MATT.
(double) PINK PONY CLUB / Chappell Roan
9 SO EASY / Olivia Dean
Part 5
New to our top 10 this week, and the first of two top 10’s in the same countdown for her, Olivia Dean, from her album “The Art of Loving,” number 9 this morning on MATT. It is a song of the desire for love of one particular person. “I could be the twist, the one to make you stop,” she begins the song, “The icing on the cake, the cherry on the top. It’s heaven in my heart, and we could find you some space. I could be the world to you, the missing piece, that extra kind of chemistry. Some people make it hard; with me, that isn’t the case ‘cause I make it so easy to fall in love. So, come give me a call, and we’ll fall into us. I’m the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life. Anyone with a heart would agree: it’s so easy to fall in love with me.” So, a rather straightforward statement to someone looking for love of a particular person. In terms of our theme, if a person is choosing another for life in love, one must be careful to choose correctly, even as the strong desire to be loved is present.
And yet another triple play now. It begins with our number 8 song as we speak. It is a song about the fact that the couple have given themselves completely to each other physically, and now one of them just wants to be friends, and that is a contradiction. He sings, “How can we go back to being friends when we just shared a bed? How can you look at me and pretend I’m someone you’ve never met?” It seems as though the lady in the relationship wants to have a breakup or at least a temporary time apart, but the two have already made it clear that they are committed to each other. It is unfortunately a common enough experience. In terms of our theme, once you find the romantic love you are looking for, it is important to keep it as a true guide, and to live your life with that fact, our theme today. Good song to study. Number 8 in our countdown here on MATT: Shane Michael Boose, better known as sombr, from his album “I Barely Know Her” and his song “Back to Friends” on MATT.
(triple) 8 BACK TO FRIENDS / sombr
SEND MY LOVE/ Adele
EASY ON ME / Adele
Part 6
Closing off a double play from her, from her album “30”, the highest selling album of 2021 and her song “Easy on Me”, Adele, on MATT. Its message is what a divorce does and the pain that comes from it. “There ain’t no gold in this river that I’ve been washing my hands in forever. I know there is hope in these waters, but I can’t bring myself to swim. When I am drowning in this silence, let me in. Go easy on me, I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me. I had no time to choose what I chose to do, so, go easy on me. There ain’t no room for things to change when we are both so deeply stuck in our ways. You can’t deny how hard I have tried. I changed who I was to put you first, but now I give up, go easy on me.” The lady is choosing to do a very painful thing, and in terms of our theme, she is facing the fact that her life is pretty messed up and she wants to do something about it.
Before that song, the beginning of the double play from her, Adele Laure Blue Adkins, that is, Adele, this time from her album “25,” “Send My Love” from 2016. It is a song of a relationship that has ceased, and she is saying it exactly as it is in her mind anyway. “This was all you, none of it me,” she sings. “You put your hands on my body and told me you were ready for the big one, I’d be your last love everlasting—you and me. Send my love to your new lover. Treat her better. I was running, you were walking. You couldn’t keep up, you were falling down.” So, the lady in the relationship is blaming the boyfriend for the breakup. My guess is that it is as much her fault as his, but be that as it may, the situation will easily give rise to very mixed up lives. Both of them will have to find a balance between what they want in life and what should be in life, our theme today.
Our theme this Spring Sunday morning deals with life and how we are leading it at the presenttime. We are exploring the idea with each of the songs of our show today. Still to come on MATT is music from people like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. Let me take you to break with this thought from Albert Einstein. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Amen, Dr. Albert! It is great to have you with us on 100,000 watts of power, today’s best music Mix 103, and MATT. We’ll be right back.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
We are back for “Message at the Top” on Mix 103. Thank you for giving a little of your Sunday to us. I’m Fr. Mike, ready to lead you through the second hour of our show this almost last day in March morning, and during this segment, music inspired by habits all the way to the way people dance. We urge you to keep enjoying the music but to listen to the message because that message may even help you and me, I believe.
First to music inspired by different habits that we have, and the beginning of a double play from him. It is a song about a relationship problem, and it is not resolved yet. The man in the relationship’s problem is that the lady of the relationship has led him to her through bad habits: “Every time you come around, you know I can’t say no, every time the sun goes down, I let you take control. I can feel the paradise before my world implodes, and tonight had something wonderful. My bad habits lead to late nights ending alone, conversations with a stranger I barely know, swearing this will be the last, but it probably won’t. I’ve got nothing left to lose, or use, or do—my bad habits lead to wide eyes staring into space, and I know I lose control of the things that I say. I was looking for a way out, now I can’t escape. My bad habits lead to you.” He discovered that his life, our theme today, his life was not what it should have been, but he seems to be trapped, and his life will continue to hurt until he figures out something about his personal habits. From his album which is an equals sign, the first of two in a row from him, “Bad Habits” from Mr. Ed Sheeran on MATT.
(triple) BAD HABITS / Ed Sheeran
SHIVERS / Ed Sheeran
7 WHERE IS MY HUSBAND / Raye
Part 8
The close of yet another triple play with our number 7 song this morning. It comes from Raye, a British singer/songwriter whose real name is Rachel Agatha Keen from her album “This Music May Contain Hope,” and her song “Where is My Husband” on MATT. It is a song of desire for a partner in her life, or as she says in a traditional way, a husband. “Where is my husband,” the lady sings, “Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old? Why he already testing my patience? I only fear he taking time with other women that ain’t me / while I’ve been reviewing applications. Wait til I get my hands on him. I’ma tell him off too for how long he kept me waiting, anticipating, praying to the Lord to give him to my loving arms. And despite my frustrations. And he must need me completely. Help me, Lord. I need you to tell me.” I describe it as a tongue-in-cheek desire to find where love is, the desire of a lady to find a person who truly loves her, a statement, I believe, of someone’s need for romantic love. In terms of our theme this week, searching for and finally finding that love will be the beginning of hopefully a happy life that will be lived forever while they are alive.
Before her, we heard the close of a double play from Mr. Ed Sheeran from his equals sign album and his song “Shivers”. It is a song about strong feelings for another: “I took an arrow to the heart,” he sings, “I never kissed a mouth that tastes like yours—strawberries and then something more. I want it all. Lipstick on my guitar, fill up the engine, we can drive real far, go dancing underneath the stars. I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes, I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like my soul’s on fire. I love it when you do it like that, and when you’re close up, give me the shivers. You wanna dance till the sunlight cracks, and when they say the party’s over, then we’ll bring it right back.” He is very much in love, and in terms of our theme, his life could be pretty good if he takes care to nurture that relationship.
Our number 6 song this week is the beginning of two songs from Taylor Swift in the top 10 as does Olivia Dean. In this first song, as we have explained over the many weeks it has been in the top 10—it entered the top 10 last October—it cleverly involves a study of one of the plays of William Shakespeare, namely his play “Hamlet” and Hamlet’s once-upon-a-time presumed future wife Ophelia. In the story, Mr. Shakespeare has Ophelia drown herself after a rejection from Prince Hamlet and after her father’s death at the hands of Hamlet. So a tragic situation, but the song writes a different ending. The song is a powerful anthem about being rescued from the brink of emotional and psychological collapse by an all-consuming lover. He brings about a true resurrection for her and according to the people who should know about such things, as I have said, resembles the likes of her famous current boyfriend. “Late one night,” she sings, “you dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” It is exactly what is supposed to happen if there is a deep love of each other, and if the feelings are true, they have certainly found the love they desire, and something that will live as long as they do on this earth, living life to the fullest being our theme today. This is the number 6 song from Taylor Swift and her album “The Life of a Showgirl,” and the song “The Fate of Ophelia”, the first song that we’ll hear from that album on MATT.
(triple) 6 THE FATE OF OPHELIA / Taylor Swift
GOOD 4 U / Olivia Rodrigo
5 OPALITE / Taylor Swift
Part 9
The second top 10 song for her in our countdown, at number 5 this morning, Taylor Swift again from her album “The Life of a Showgirl” again, and her song “Opalite” on MATT. She says that she has always loved opals. Opal is also Travis Kelce’s birthstone, Travis being Taylor Swift’s fiance. In the song, she took inspiration from the facts connected with opals, saying that opalite is a metaphor for the idea that happiness can be created voluntarily. Opal is also believed to symbolically represent hope, healing and positive energy. She sings: “Life is a song, it ends when it ends; I was wrong, but alright, you were dancing through the lightning strikes, but now the sky is opalite.” The song is about the lady’s state of mind and being perfectly content with what is happening in her life, one that she is living well, our theme today.
Before her, we heard from Olivia Rodrigo from the year 2021 from her album “Sour,” “good 4 u” the name of the song. It is a story in song of a person who is very bitter about a breakup. The lady in the relationship is in pain because the man in that relationship decided to move on, and she is reflecting on it. At first it sounds like she is okay that he has achieved what he wanted after he left her, but as you listen, you hear how bitter she really is. “Well, good for you,” she sings, “I guess you moved on really easily. You found a new girl and it only took a couple weeks. Remember when you said that you wanted to give me the world. And good for you, I guess that you’ve been working on yourself. Well good for you. I guess you’re getting everything you want. It’s like we never even happened. What is up with that? Well, the heck with you. You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do. You look happy and healthy. Not me, if you ever cared to ask. Maybe I’m too emotional, but your apathy’s like a wound in salt.” I changed the words a little. So she is really angry at him even while she sarcastically says “Good for you.” In terms of our theme, unfortunately part of life that we must deal with is pain and disappointment. And we can learn from it.
I really get into these songs because their messages are such that they can help our lives. No wonder I keep telling you to enjoy the music—that’s just fine—but to listen to the message and learn from it. Our next 30 minutes of music and message will explore our theme of living while we are alive with people like the girl group Huntr/X and Demi Lovato. May I take you to break with this thought from George Bernard Shaw: “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” Ah, yes. In fact, we can accomplish quite a lot if we go into life with a stronger attitude. I’m Fr. Mike, listen to these words of wisdom, and then I hope you come back for more / wisdom.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Part 10
Thank you for joining us this Spring Sunday morning. I am Fr. Mike and this is “Message at the Top” on today’s best music Mix 103. Our show gives you the top 10 songs of today and yesterday along with their meanings. And what is amazing about them is that with a little bit of help, those songs can actually teach us something about ourselves and about our behavior. With that in mind, we keep imploring you to enjoy the music AND listen to the message. The topic of our show today is the thought of life and living it as best as we can right now.
Number 4 in our countdown is a song about the opposite of its title. The name of it is “Ordinary” and it is about what is not ordinary. It is a song which talks of an “ordinary” love relationship and says that what he has for a friend of his is not part of “the ordinary.” He begins with the thought that everything is pretty much ordinary: “They say ‘The holy water’s watered down and this town’s lost its faith. Our colors will fade eventually.” But he has a solution; he continues: “So, if our time is runnin’ out day after day, we’ll make the mundane our masterpiece.” Right there, as I have said, is a great description of how to make a love relationship be a necessary part of true love--make the mundane happenings so special that they become masterpieces, and if we learn to do that, it will be the incentive to live our life to the fullest, our theme today. It came into the top 10 on May 11 of last year and is still there after spending a record setting 19 weeks at number 1. From his album “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” this is 25 year old Alexander Warren Hughes or simply Alex Warren, and his song “Ordinary”, number 4 on our countdown this week on MATT.
(triple) 4 ORDINARY / Alex Warren
NEON LIGHTS / Demi Lovato
HOW LONG / Charlie Puth
Part 11
The song featured on my website www.frmikescully.com last Friday. MATT presenting there Charles Otto Puth Jr. better known at Charlie Puth, a 34 year old singer/songwriter, the pride of Rumson, New Jersey from his album “Voicenotes,” and his song “How Long” from 2017. It is a song about the man in the relationship who made a mistake, and his girlfriend wants to know whether it is the end of the relationship or not. “She said, ‘Boy, tell me honestly. Was it real or just for show?’ She said, ‘Save your apologies, I just gotta know. How long has this been going on?’” The man admits that it is his fault, and she is just about to leave if it is a real problem. Exactly what she should do, I believe. Again, part of life, our theme today, is learning difficult things, and part of those difficult things is that sometimes people lie, and we are caught in the process.
Before him, we heard from her album “Demi,” “her” being Demi Lovato and the song “Neon Lights” from 2013. The song is a statement of the lady in a relationship about her relationship with a friend, and her relationship is full of strong emotions. “Be still, my heart,” she sings, “cause it’s freaking out right now, shining like stars ‘cause we’re beautiful. You’re all I see in all these places, you’re all I see in all these faces. So let’s pretend we’re running out of time. You’ll be coming home with me tonight and we’ll be burning up like neon lights.” The lady has a good feeling about their relationship and that idea of feeling good about life is something that we want in the one life we live, our theme today, but we also have to remember—as I remind us all the time—love is more than emotions.
As usual, we close our show with the top 3 songs on our countdown at the present time. At number 3 this week is the Academy Award winning Best Song of the Year. It comes from the Korean movie and music of Huntr/X, three talented Korean ladies and the theme of a Netflix film that follows a Korean girls group—Huntr/X—who lead double lives facing off against a rival boys band, the Saja boys whose members are secretly demons. The words recall that story. “I was a ghost, I was alone, given the throne; I didn’t know how to behave, I was the queen that I’m meant to be. I lived two lives, tried to play both sides, but I couldn’t find my own place. Called a problem child ‘cause I got too wild. But now that’s how I’m getting paid. We’re going up, it’s our moment. You know together we’re glowin, gonna be golden. I’m done hidin’ now, I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be, oh, our time, no fears, no lies, that’s who we’re born to be.” As I have said with the song, it sounds like a song of determination to do the right thing, and in terms of our theme, if one is always trying to do the right thing, one will live one’s life as best as it can be lived, our theme today. This is Huntr/X from the soundtrack of the best animated feature of this year according to the Oscars, “KPop Demon Hunters” the name of it, and their song at number 3, former number 1, “Golden” on MATT.
(double) 3 GOLDEN / Huntr/X
2 MAN I NEED / Olivia Dean
Part 12
Falling from the number 1 position, now at number 2 from London, England, the second song for her in the top 10, Olivia Dean, also coming from the album “The Art of Loving,” and her song “Man I Need” on MATT. The whole song is the statement of what I call the virtue which is most needed in any relationship, namely, communication. “Talk to me,” she begins her song, “looks like we’re making up for lost time; need you to spell it out for me. Don’t be shy, just come be the man I need. Tell me you got something to give. I want it. I kinda like when you call me wonderful, whatever the type of talk it is. Come on then, I gotta know you’re meant to be the man I need. Talk to me. I’d like to think you feel the same way, but I can’t tell with you sometimes. So, let’s get on the same page. Stop making me read between the lines.” So, communication, and she gives the reason why. In terms of our theme this week, if a couple have achieved perfect communication, and they are inclined toward love, they are living life as best as it can be lived.
And returning to the number 1 position is the song “I Just Might” from his album “The Romantic”, Bruno Mars, that is Peter Gene Hernandez. It is a song of wanting another to show her love for him by good dancing. “It would break my heart,” he sings, “if I find out you can’t move. You better show me now ‘cause when I take you to the floor, you gotta get down. Hey, Mr. DJ, play a song for this pretty little lady ‘cause if she dance as good as she look right now, I just might make her my baby.” It is a rather selfish song in the sense that the man is really only thinking of himself, but some general thoughts on dancing might be in order as we think of the song. As usual with him—Bruno Mars—the song has quite a good dance video. In terms of our theme this week, dancing is not going to make life the best it can possibly be, but it might help.
We have looked at that idea today—the idea of living life to the fullest—”living while we are alive” is the way Bon Jovi described it. It came from birthday person earlier this month, Bon Jovi and his group’s great sounding song “It’s My Life.” My prayer for you and for me is that we will always try to live life well. If you would like to reach me, I hope you do. My e-mail address is: frmikescully@yahoo.com or the address at the radio station: KJLS-FM, Hays, America 67601, and my website www.frmikescully.com. Feel free to give me your thoughts about anything I have said. Thank you for your time today. My thanks to the producers of our show, and to our sponsors, especially, Hays Car and Truck Alignment, Auto World in Hays, Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, and Holy Family Elementary School in Hays. My closing thought for you comes from my favorite writer Mark Twain, and here he is not being sarcastic: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Ah, yes. That is absolutely great way to be stronger in our lives. As we listen to the number 1 song in our land, from Bruno Mars and his song “I Just Might”, may I remind you to hold a good thought. From wild and wonderful West Virginia through downtown Lawrence, KS, I’ll tell you that my name is Fr. Mike Scully. Be safe, peace to you, and be good!
1 I JUST MIGHT / Bruno Mars
March 22, 2006
“What Can Make Us Happy”
Part 1
Good morning Central Kansas and around the world, and happy Spring to all of you as we celebrate the second last Sunday in March and the first Sunday of Spring, 2026. Thank you for joining us this morning and welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”. I am Fr. Mike, your host; get ready for top 10 songs of the past 46 years. We here at Mix 103 continue to give you only the very best in radio entertainment, / and that includes not only the songs that we play, but their messages as well.
This coming Saturday is Lady Gaga’s birthday when she will be 40 years old, and I thought it would be good to celebrate her birthday with a remembrance of a song from 2018. It was awarded a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, and also nominated for Record of the Year, as well as Song of the Year and was from the artists and actors of the movie “A Star is Born.” “Tell me somethin’ girl,” the man sings, “are you happy in this modern world or do you need more? I’m falling.” And then the lady sings, “Tell me somethin’, boy, aren’t you tired tryin to fill that void? I’m falling.” So both are falling and both are searching. Of course, then, they find each other and apparently their searching brought about happiness and commitment.
It brings up the question of what can make us happy. Well, there is such a thing as a Happiness Report. I’m fascinated by that idea, and I have mentioned this before. The Happiness Report is determined by 14 different variables, for example income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. The Index in 2026 showed that Finland is the happiest country in the world for nine years in a row, with Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland holding the next top positions this year.
Of interest, the United States is at number 24, Canada is at number 18, and the lowest rating at number 147 is Afghanistan.
All of that can be interesting, of course, but probably the more important thing for all of us is how we can be more happy than we are right now. Let’s see what the songs of our show say about that. We will be asking the question of what can make us happy as we think of Lady Gaga’s birthday, and speaking of that happiness here is the Grammy award winning Pop Duo Group Performance for 2018, from the movie “A Star is Born”, this is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, that is, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, the song, “Shallow” on MATT.
(double) SHALLOW / Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
10 MUTT / Leon Thomas
Part 2
We’ll listen to our top 10 in countdown fashion this morning, and that was number 10 from Brooklyn-born Leon George Thomas III or just hip-hop artist Leon Thomas. He says of the song that the song along with the whole album named after the song was created shortly after a significant break-up. His ex had given him a dog and as he started working on the album, he began to notice similarities between his dog’s behavior and his own. Interesting. The album is called “Mutt” and the name of the song is the same. One of the things that he noticed was his desire for the feelings of love. “She said,” he begins his song, “’Take your time, what’s the rush?’ I said, ‘Baby, I’m a dog, I’m a mutt. Pardon my bluntness—I see pretty faces, so I got trouble trusting. But I’ll let my guard down for you, said I’ll be vulnerable so you can break my heart if you want to.” And, to his chagrin, she does. He’s using some chemicals to create the feelings of love, and it messes up his natural desires and actions. In terms of our theme, breakups will not make us happy, but it is something that we can learn from.
Let’s continue our countdown at number 9 which will begin a triple play. The song is “Aperture” and it is a song about emotional openness, vulnerability, and letting love and light into one’s life and a great song to study. The title—Aperture--refers to the adjustable opening in a camera lens that controls how much light enters an image, and in the song, it serves as a metaphor for the human heart and emotional openness. So, a song about personal growth, vulnerability and embracing the unknown. And the video acts out that message extremely well. And so the words reflect that journey. “It’s best that you know what you don’t,” he sings, “Aperture lets the light in. We belong together. It finally appears: it’s only love. I won’t stray from it: I don’t know these spaces. Time won’t wait on me. I wanna know what safe is.” His own explanation is that the song was inspired by his experiences, meeting new people, and immersing himself in music that encouraged freedom, openness and joy. He intended the song to reflect the power of embracing transitions, accepting flaws, and allowing positive change into one’s life. In terms of our theme this week, that is certainly a recipe for happiness. From his album “Kiss All the Time; Occasionally, Disco” this is Harry Styles at number 9 this week and “Aperture” on MATT.
(triple) 9 APERTURE / Harry Styles
HIGH HOPES / Panic! At the Disc0
YOU SAY / Lauren Daigle
Part 3
A beautiful sound, I believe, the song “You Say” from 2018 from Christian artist Lauren Daigle from her album “Look Up Child”, on MATT. Her song is an incredible song for the pop music charts. She begins her song: “I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up. Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low? Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know. You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You say I am held when I am falling short. When I don’t belong, You (capital Y in the lyrics) say that I am Yours. And I believe what You say of me, I believe the only thing that matters now is everything You think of me. In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity.” So, a prayer actually to God full of hope in what God can do. You can easily see why a clergy person like me would like this song. I firmly believe that anyone turning to our Higher Being as she is there will bring about true happiness in their lives, our theme today.
Before her, we heard a number 1 song for a number of weeks, a great song about high hopes, in fact the name of the song from the year 2018 again. The group is Panic! At the Disco. Their song is an excellent song of meaning and excellent advice. “Had to have high hopes for living,” they sing, “shooting for the stars when I couldn’t make a killing. Didn’t have a dime but I always had a vision, always had high hopes. Mama said, fulfill the prophecy, be something greater, go make a legacy, rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams.” Smart Mama, I believe, who is inspiring him. In terms of our theme, the way to be happy is to have great hope.
We have much more music and message to come on this second last Sunday of March Spring morning. In our next segment, we will hear more music from our top 10, of course, as well as music from Lukas Graham, Zayn Malik and his group One Direction. And here’s a thought about living from my quote manual and United States writer Ashley Brilliant: “Before I knew the best part of my life had come, it had gone.” Think about that! We may very well be living the best parts of our lives right now—that would improve our happiness level, to be sure. Our show is “Message at the Top”, I am Fr. Mike, and I hope your Sunday morning is a good one / and that we are making it even better. Don’t go way; “Message at the Top” on Mix 103 will be right back.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Part 4
Welcome back to the top 10 show of Mix 103—top 10’s from the present and from the 2000’s, and even 90’s and 80’s as well. Our theme this Sunday morning has come from birthday person on Saturday, Ms Lady Gaga, and that theme is the thought of what can make us happy in our world. I am Fr. Mike and our show is MATT, and our plea to you on the show is to enjoy the music and listen to the messages. Those messages can often bring us to a happy life.
As promised, let’s go to Lukas Graham, that is Lukas Forchhammer and band from Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a beautiful love song with some pretty deep meaning. “You still look perfect as days go by,” he sings, “even the worst ones, you make me smile. I’d stop the world if it gave us time. ‘Cause when you love someone, you open up your heart, when you love someone you make room. If you love someone, and you’re not afraid to lose them, you probably never loved someone like I do. I thought it would be hard to find the one ‘til I found you. And I find it bittersweet ‘cause you gave me something to lose.” I believe that is a great thought about love—when you love someone you are always afraid to lose them. As we think of what can make us happy, certainly as we are in love we will always want to count on the love, but we will always be careful that we keep it. This is the group Lukas Graham and their song “Love Someone” from 2018 on MATT.
(double) LOVE SOMEONE / Lukas Graham
8 THE FATE OF OPHELIA / Taylor Swift
Part 5
The number 8 song from Taylor Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl,” and the song “The Fate of Ophelia”, the first song that we’ll hear from that album. As we have explained over the many weeks it has been in the top 10—it entered the top 10 last October—it cleverly involves a study of one of the plays of William Shakespeare, namely his play “Hamlet” and Hamlet’s once-upon-a-time presumed future wife Ophelia. In the story, Mr. Shakespeare has Ophelia drown herself after a rejection from Prince Hamlet and after her father’s death at the hands of Hamlet. So a tragic situation, but the song writes a different ending. The song is a powerful anthem about being rescued from the brink of emotional and psychological collapse by an all-consuming lover. He brings about a true resurrection for her and according to the people who should know about such things, as I have said, resembles the likes of her famous current boyfriend. “Late one night,” she sings, “you dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” It is exactly what is supposed to happen if there is a deep love of each other, and if the feelings are true, they have certainly found the love they desire, and something that will make both of them very happy, our theme today.
Let’s continue our countdown with another triple play beginning it with our number 7 song at the present time. It is a song about the fact that the couple have given themselves completely to each other physically, and now one of them just wants to be friends, and that is a contradiction. He sings, “How can we go back to being friends when we just shared a bed? How can you look at me and pretend I’m someone you’ve never met?” It seems as though the lady in the relationship wants to have a breakup or at least a temporary time apart, but the two have already made it clear that they are committed to each other. It is unfortunately a common enough experience. In terms of our theme, once you find the love you are looking for, it is important to keep it as a true guide, and to get out of it will not make the couple very happy, our theme today. Good song to study. Number 7 in our countdown here on MATT: Shane Michael Boose, better known as sombr, from his album “I Barely Know Her” and his song “Back to Friends” on MATT.
(triple) 7 BACK TO FRIENDS / sombr
STORY OF MY LIFE / One Direction
I DON’T WANNA LIVE FOREVER / Zayn/Swift
Part 6
Zayn Malik, once upon a time from the band One Direction who we heard before that song, and Taylor Swift, and their song “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from 2017. It is from the soundtrack of the movie “Fifty Shades Darker” and the song of two people in love, and apparently both of them feel that they have really hurt the relationship, and wonder whether it will be something that can heal. It is the subject of meditation on my website on Wednesday. Both of them sing: “I don’t wanna live forever ‘cause I know I’ll be livin’ in vain; and I don’t wanna fit wherever; I just wanna keep callin’ your name until you come back home.” Sounds like they both have to bite the bullet and simply talk with each other, and that is without a doubt something that can make people happy, our theme today.
Before them, as we just said, we heard the five member and then four member group One Direction who were founded in London England in 2010 and went on a hiatus in 2016. It is from their album “Midnight Memories,” and their song “Story of My Life” from 2013. It is a sad song about how things sometimes do not happen correctly. “Written in these walls,” they sing, “are the stories that I can’t explain. I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days. She told me in the morning she don’t feel the same about us in her bones, seems to me that when I die, these words will be written on my stone. And I’ll be gone, gone tonight. The story of my life: I take her home, I drive all night to keep her warm, and time is frozen: I give her hope, I spend her love until she’s broke inside.” Like I say, a little sad, sounding like the person is close to despair. In answer to our theme question: what should make us happy, we would say: learn to work with the sadness that will be part of our lives.
The thought of what can make us happy is the title of our show this morning as we are looking at the top 10 and some top 10 songs of the past. Our next segment of music and message will explore that theme with music from the past in the persons of the bands 5SOS and lovelytheband and top 10 music at the present time from numbers 4, 5 and 6. Let me close this segment with a thought specifically about being happy. It comes from Goldie Hawn: “The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are, and not who people think you are.” Pretty good stuff. I’m Fr. Mike, listen to these great thoughts, and then I hope you come back for more.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Part 7
Good morning, everyone. This is “Message at the Top”, on Mix 103. Thank you for joining us again on 100,000 watts of power. I am Fr. Mike, and our show gives you the top 10 songs of our area, as well as some top 10 of the past. And what is amazing about them is that with a little bit of help, those songs can actually teach us something about ourselves and about our behavior. The topic of our show today is the thought of what can make us happy. It came from birthday person on Saturday Lady Gaga and her song that she sang with Bradley Cooper, “Shallow.”
In our playlist today is the group 5 Seconds of Summer. They sing here: “Remember the words you told me, ‘love me till the day I die’, Surrender my everything ‘cause you made me believe you’re mine. Yeah, you used to call me baby, now you’re calling me by name. You push and I’m pulling away from you. I give and you take. Youngblood, say you want me out of your life, but you need it, all of the time. Youngblood, say you want me back in your life, so I’m just a dead man crawling tonight ‘cause I need it all of the time.” It is a song addressed to “Youngblood” which is probably a generic name for all young people saying a great message: if you say something you had better mean it. It is one of the most important ways to show that you actually are happy, our theme today. This is from 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS and their song “Youngblood” on MATT.
(triple) YOUNGBLOOD / 5SOS
BROKEN / lovelytheband
6 WHERE IS MY HUSBAND / Raye
Part 8
The close of yet another triple play with our number 6 song this morning. It comes from Raye, a British singer/songwriter whose real name is Rachel Agatha Keen from her album “This Music May Contain Hope,” and her song “Where is My Husband” on MATT. It is a song of desire for a partner in her life, or as she says in a traditional way, a husband. “Where is my husband,” the lady sings, “Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old? Why he already testing my patience? I only fear he taking time with other women that ain’t me / while I’ve been reviewing applications. Wait til I get my hands on him. I’ma tell him off too for how long he kept me waiting, anticipating, praying to the Lord to give him to my loving arms. And despite my frustrations. And he must need me completely. Help me, Lord. I need you to tell me.” I describe it as a tongue-in-cheek desire to find where love is, the desire of a lady to find a person who truly loves her, a statement, I believe, of someone’s need for romantic love. In terms of our theme this week, searching for and finally finding that love will certainly make us happy.
Before her, we heard from the group lovelytheband from the album “Finding it Hard to Smile” and their song “Broken” from the year 2017. The couple in the relationship that they sing about are both trying to get over loneliness by spending time together. “I like that you’re broken,” they sing, “broken like me. Maybe that makes me a fool. I like that you’re lonely, lonely like me, I could be lonely with you.” They met at a party, and they sing “These aren’t my people, these aren’t my friends. She grabbed my face and said I like that you’re broken, broken like me, lonely like me.” So, both of them lonely and broken, but you get the feeling that they will not remain that way very long. In terms of our theme, the only way they will be happy in their lives is for both of them to work at that relationship in order to overcome the feelings of loneliness and brokenness.
Continuing our top 10, we go into the top 5 and a song that has been on our countdown for quite a while. It is a song which talks of an “ordinary” love relationship and says that what he has for a friend of his is not part of “the ordinary.” He begins with the thought that everything is pretty much ordinary: “They say ‘The holy water’s watered down and this town’s lost its faith. Our colors will fade eventually.” But he has a solution; he continues: “So, if our time is runnin’ out day after day, we’ll make the mundane our masterpiece.” Right there, as I have said, is a great description of how to make a love relationship be a necessary part of true love--make the mundane happenings so special that they become masterpieces, and if we learn to do that, it will make us quite happy, our theme today. From his album “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” this is 25 year old Alexander Warren Hughes or simply Alex Warren, and his song “Ordinary”, number 5 on our countdown this week on MATT.
(triple) 5 ORDINARY / Alex Warren
HAPPIER / Marshmallo
4 OPALITE / Taylor Swift
Part 9
Number 4 this morning comes from Taylor Swift again. It is from her album “The Life of a Showgirl” again, and her song “Opalite” on MATT. She says that she has always loved opals. Opal is also Travis Kelce’s birthstone, Travis being Taylor Swift’s fiance. In the song, she took inspiration from the facts connected with opals, saying that opalite is a metaphor for the idea that happiness can be created voluntarily. Opal is also believed to symbolically represent hope, healing and positive energy. She sings: “Life is a song, it ends when it ends; I was wrong, but alright, you were dancing through the lightning strikes, but now the sky is opalite.” The song is about the lady’s state of mind and being perfectly content with what is happening. And if she is perfectly content, you can bet that it is part of what makes her happy.
Before her, we heard from the man who calls himself Marshmallo, without the “w”, that is Christopher Comstock and his song “Happier”. It featured the English rock group Bastille. The video is an inspiring story, but the song uses the thought of a way to make a person happier, the name of the song. And it’s really a very sad song because the way he is going to make his girlfriend happier is to leave the relationship. “Lately, I’ve been thinking,” he begins the song, “I want you to be happier. With all that has happened, I think that we both know the way that the story ends. Know that means I’ll have to leave. Lately, I’ve been thinking I want you to be happier. So, I’ll go.” I look at it as the ultimate decision in romantic love—to let someone go since they want it. It is a valiant decision and my guess is that his life will indeed be happy our theme today, because of his attitude of love but only in the future.
Our final segment is up next for you with some music from another birthday person and also the top 3 songs in our land this week according to Mediabase 24-7. Leading us to break, here is a thought from Wilson Mizner: “Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet them on your way down.” Words of wisdom, there, and something that will make all of us happy. I’m Fr. Mike, our show is MATT, this excellent radio station is Mix 103, and we’ll be right back.
If it is in the top 10, you will hear it here—on the MATT music network. Good morning, everyone. We are back for your top 10 show on Mix 103 that gives you the songs as well as their messages. I’m your host Fr. Mike. Thanks for taking the time to join us today. Our plea to you as usual is to enjoy the music—which you are doing, or else you wouldn’t be here, but to listen to the message so it can help you in life. Our final segment includes the talents of birthday person Mariah Carey, Olivia Dean, Bruno Mars and Huntr/X.
Besides Lady Gaga, there is another famous music person whose birthday is this week. Her name is Mariah Carey and she will be 57 years old this Friday. She is one of the best selling music artists of all time with over 220 million records sold worldwide. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and her accolades include five Grammy awards, 10 American Music Awards and 14 Billboard Music Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. One talented artist, and let’s dedicate our segment 10 presentation to her this morning.
First in this triple play of her songs is a love song basically extolling the beauty of a young lady. “Hop on the back of my bike,” the man in the relationship sings, “Let the good wind blow through your hair. Ride on through the middle of the night, let the moonlight kiss your skin. You’re beautiful, and your mind is beautiful. And I can’t pretend that that doesn’t mean a thing to me. I like when you run red lights, don’t stop ‘til you thrill me. Take me anywhere ‘cause it’s beautiful.” Strong emotions caused by the feelings of the people involved. As we think with our theme of what will make us happy, good feelings make a person act and think better, to be sure, but we have to remember, as I say often, true love is more than simply feelings. Mariah Carey here singing along with American rapper Miguel, and their song from 2013 and her album “Me: I Am Mariah”, “#Beautiful” on MATT.
(triple) # BEAUTIFUL / Mariah Carey
LOVE TAKES TIME / Mariah Carey
WE BELONG TOGETHER / Mariah Carey
Part 11
Closing off a triple play from birthday person Mariah Carey, and her song “We Belong Together” from 2005 from her album “The Emancipation of Mimi” on MATT. “When you left,” she sang, “I lost a part of me. It’s still so hard to believe. Come back, baby, please, ‘cause we belong together. Who else am I gonna lean on when times get rough. Who’s gonna talk to me on the phone till the sun comes up. Who’s gonna take your place. There ain’t nobody better. We belong together.” The scenario is one that we frequently have in these songs. She is completely convinced that they belong together, but you’re not sure that he is. As we work with our theme this morning that we have called “what will make us happy,” one of things that we have to learn in life is that not everything that we want will make us happy and we simply must adjust to the circumstances.
Before her, her again—Mariah Carey and her song “Love Takes Time,” one of the top songs of 1990, from her album named after her. Time is one of the things that is so necessary when we really want to know another person. You can’t know a person overnight. The story line of this song is a common one: she sings of someone who has let the love of her life slip away, and now she is trying to cope with the pain, and it is extremely difficult to do, as you listen to her. It simply takes time, and she has to learn that. As we consider some things that will make us happy, the knowledge of the title of that song is one of them—love takes time, and we must allow for that time.
From 1990, we travel to 2026—March 22 of that year, today—and the top 3 songs as we speak. At number 3 is the Academy Award winning Best Song of the Year. It comes from the Korean movie and music of Huntr/X, three talented Korean ladies and the theme of a Netflix film that follows a Korean girls group—Huntr/X—who lead double lives facing off against a rival boys band, the Saja boys whose members are secretly demons. The words recall that story. “I was a ghost, I was alone, given the throne; I didn’t know how to behave, I was the queen that I’m meant to be. I lived two lives, tried to play both sides, but I couldn’t find my own place. Called a problem child ‘cause I got too wild. But now that’s how I’m getting paid. We’re going up, it’s our moment. You know together we’re glowin, gonna be golden. I’m done hidin’ now, I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be, oh, our time, no fears, no lies, that’s who we’re born to be.” As I have said with the song, it sounds like a song of determination to do the right thing, and in terms of our theme, if one is always trying to do the right thing, it will bring happiness . This is Huntr/X from the soundtrack of the best animated feature of this year according to the Oscars, “KPop Demon Hunters” and their song at number 3, former number 1, “Golden” on MATT.
(double) 3 GOLDEN / Huntr/X
2 I JUST MIGHT / Bruno Mars
Part 12
Falling from the number 1 position, now at number 2, “I Just Might” from his album “The Romantic”, Bruno Mars, that is Peter Gene Hernandez on MATT. It is a song of wanting another to show her love for him by good dancing. “It would break my heart,” he sings, “if I find out you can’t move. You better show me now ‘cause when I take you to the floor, you gotta get down. Hey, Mr. DJ, play a song for this pretty little lady ‘cause if she dance as good as she look right now, I just might make her my baby.” It is a rather selfish song in the sense that the man is really only thinking of himself, but some general thoughts on dancing might be in order as we think of the song. As usual with him—Bruno Mars—the song has quite a good dance video. In terms of our theme this week, dancing usually makes people happy.
And returning to the number 1 position, from London, England, Olivia Dean, coming from the album “The Art of Loving,” and her song “Man I Need”. The whole song is the statement of what I call the virtue which is most needed in any relationship, namely, communication. “Talk to me,” she begins her song, “looks like we’re making up for lost time; need you to spell it out for me. Don’t be shy, just come be the man I need. Tell me you got something to give. I want it. I kinda like when you call me wonderful, whatever the type of talk it is. Come on then, I gotta know you’re meant to be the man I need. Talk to me. I’d like to think you feel the same way, but I can’t tell with you sometimes. So, let’s get on the same page. Stop making me read between the lines.” So, communication, and she gives the reason why. In terms of our theme this week, if a couple have achieved perfect communication, and they are inclined toward love, they will both be very happy.
Our thought today has revolved around that idea of what will make us happy. It came from a song of Lady Gaga whose birthday is Saturday, the name of the song being “Shallow” which she sings with Bradley Cooper. My prayer for you and me is that we will all develop lives that will make us truly happy. My thanks to the producers of “Message at the Top,” to the staff here at Mix 103, and to our sponsors, Hays Car and Truck Alignment, a great place for your car or truck, Auto World in Hays, my friends at TMP-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays, and at Holy Family Elementary School in Hays. If you have any suggestions for me, or if you want to comment on anything I have said, feel free to write me here at KJLS-FM, Hays, KS 67601 or e-mail me at frmikescully@yahoo.com. My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find meditations on the Gospels and these songs and some great movies and a transcript of the show. You can catch us on the web every Sunday morning at www.hayspost.com and choosing Mix 103 at 10 am CDT. One final thought leads us out. It comes from Wayne Huizenga: “Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts.” Indeed. As Olivia Dean and her song “Man I Need” leads us out, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music, Mix 103 and our final advice to you is to hold a good thought. As we celebrate Spring, my name is Fr. Mike Scully, and from the beautiful state of West Virginia through downtown Lawrence, KS, be safe, peace to you, and be good!
1 MAN I NEED / Olivia Dean