Part 1
            Hello Central Kansas and around the world and welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”.  I am Fr. Mike Scully.  We play the top 10 as of whatever Sunday we are talking about, and today we are no different.  This program at Mix 103 continues to give you only the very best in radio entertainment, / by including not only the popular songs of today and yesterday, but we also seek to find meaning within them, meaning that can inspire and challenge each of our lives.  Our motto throughout the show is to enjoy the music and listen to the message so that the message can help us live a little better.  Our number 1 song last week was from Lewis Capaldi.
            It is Taylor Swift’s birthday on Friday when she will be 30 years old, and therefore we will begin with one of her songs that can lead to rather deep thought this Sunday morning.  It is the idea of how we want to be remembered after we have left a situation.  It is a thought that can guide how we act and what we say during that situation, whatever it is.  If we know that we will not be part of the situation again, one of the ways to govern our behavior is to think of how we want to be remembered.
            It is an interesting thought especially when you apply it to a love situation, and a dating situation.  Let’s say the relationship does not work out and you know that you will move on as you try to discover romantic love in your life.  How do you want your present “significant other” to think of you when you leave?  How do you want to be remembered by the person who is dating you now?  Is it a good image that they have of you?  Have you worked at being the type of person that someone will feel good about?
            That type of question comes from a study of Taylor Swift’s past top 10 song, “Wildest Dreams”.  The lady in the relationship has broken up with the man, and she talks about how he is going to feel about her.  “He said, ‘Let's get out of this town,’” she sings, “’drive out of the city, away from the crowds.’  I thought heaven can't help me now.  Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down.  He's so tall and handsome.  I can see the end as it begins.  My one condition is: say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset, red lips and rosy cheeks.  Say you'll see me again, even if it's just in your wildest dreams.”  The break up has occurred, and she is feeling the pain.
            And a very good thought that she has / is how she wants to be remembered by him.  She is feeling the pain of the breakup, but the thought is well worth it for her life—how does she want to be remembered after the breakup.
            That’s a pretty good theme for our show today, I believe.  How do we want to be remembered as we move out of a situation?  How do we want people to remember us when they will talk about us after we leave?  Let’s call our show today the question of “If You Want to be Remembered Well, Then…What” and see what the songs of our show suggest as we answer the question. 
            And starting us off on our show, this is Ms. Taylor Alison Swift and her song from her album “1989”, “Wildest Dreams”, from 2014, happy birthday to her, on MATT.
(double      WILDEST DREAMS / Taylor Swift
                               YOU BELONG WITH ME / Taylor Swift
 
Part 2
            Another one of her top 10 songs, Taylor Swift, from her album “Fearless,” and her song “You Belong with Me” on MATT from 2009.  It is a song of desire for another, but the other is with someone else: “If you could see,” the lady in the relationship sings, “that I’m the one who understands you, been here all along, so why can’t you see you belong with me.”  One of the pains of life comes early on when young people are trying to develop and understand love, and something to learn from that time is that we have to put up with the feelings of disappointment that come with it.  We have to control those disappointments in life—whether romantic or otherwise—and if we don’t, there will often be a desire to get back at whoever or whatever caused the disappointment, and such revenge, will only hurt us in the long run.  And if you want to be remembered well, our theme today, you will not be a person of revenge.
            Let’s do a triple play now of three top 10 songs beginning with the song at number 7.  It is a song about making a true commitment and a great song of a husband and a wife in her specific case with her husband, or between lovers if you think beyond her relationship.  “We’re in the homestretch of the hard times,” she begins her song, “We took a hard left, but we’re alright.  Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it, but we built this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move it.  When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter.  Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter.  Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same.  When there ain’t a crack in the foundation, I know any storm we’re facing will blow right over while we stay put.  The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”  Speaking with our theme, the song shows a positive coming out of a negative, which if she wants to be remembered well in the future, our theme today, she will continue to find positives coming from negatives.  From her album simply named “Girl”, Maren Larae Morris from Arlington, Texas and her song “The Bones” at number 7 on MATT.
(triple)       7 THE BONES / Maren Morris
                   2 SOMEONE YOU LOVED / Lewis Capaldi
                   5 I DON’T CARE / Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
 
Part 3
            MATT presenting Ed Sheeran singing with Justin Bieber there, from Ed Sheeran’s album “No. 6 Collaborations Project”, and they are at number 5 with the song “I Don’t Care” on MATT.  It is a song that has been in the top 10, including number 1, for a long time.  It is a story that speaks of the man in the relationship not being real happy with the situation he is in except for the fact that his significant other is there.  “I’m at a party I don’t wanna be at.  Don’t think I want to be at this party, I always feel like I’m nobody; who wants to fit in anyway ‘cause I don’t care when I’m with my baby, all the bad things disappear.  And you’re making me feel like maybe I am somebody.  I can deal with the bad nights when I’m with my baby.”  If you want to be remembered well, our theme today, you will learn to be people who are dependent on others as in the song, but we have to learn to be independent as well. 
          We have a new number 1 since the song before “I Don’t Care” was from Mr. Lewis Capaldi from Scotland and his song “Someone You Loved” is now at number 2.  He had the number 1 position for a total of 6 weeks, and the song comes from his album “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent”.  It is the story of pain because it is about the close of a romantic relationship.  “I'm going under,” the man in the relationship sings, “and this time I fear there's no one to save me.  This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy. I need somebody to heal, somebody to know, somebody to have, somebody to hold. I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.  Now the day bleeds into nightfall.  And you're not here to get me through it all.  I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug.  I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”  The relationship is over, and our theme comes into play—if she wants to be remembered well in a relationship, she will be interested in how her former boyfriend feels and at least be open to talk to him.  IMHO, of course.
            These songs always talk about life situations.  Our theme this week is the subject of being remembered well and what we should do to bring that about.  We invite you to stay with us.  After a short break, we will continue our presentation.  Let me take you to break with a thought from an anonymous author according to my quote book: “They can’t hurt you unless you let them.”  And—my thought—don’t let them!  You will be remembered well if you don’t let them hurt you.  Your dial is set for good thoughts—media-style Mix 103 and you are listening to “Message at the Top”.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 4
            You are in tune with MATT, your top 10 show on today’s best music in Central Kansas, Mix 103.  Thank you for joining us this morning.  We welcome you back to the songs that have been the most popular in this area according to Mediabase 24-7 over the past 39 years.  This show takes the top 10 and studies their messages, and then we call our show MATT.  I’m your host Fr. Mike.  It’s great to have you here.  We began our show with birthday person on Friday Taylor Swift’s song “Wildest Dreams” and the theme that we are taking from the song is “If You Want to be Remembered Well, Then What?”
            A double play right now beginning with a lady who has recently changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqua, but we knew her as Sinead O’Connor, “I said nothing can take away these blues ‘cause nothing compares to you”, she sings; “it’s been so lonely without you here, like a bird without a song.  Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling.  All the flowers that you planted in the backyard all died when you went away.  I know that living with you was sometimes hard, but I’m willing to give it another try.”  Well, she may be willing, but you get the distinct impression that he isn’t.  It looks like she is holding on to something that will never happen, and she had better face that fact.  If people remember her in the future, our theme today, to be a person who kept trying to love one man, her future is going to be pretty bleak.  This is a song that was immensely popular in the year of 1990, and a song of pain, her song “Nothing Compares 2 U”.  Happy birthday to her today as she turns 53 on MATT.
(double)  NOTHING COMPARES 2 U / Sinead O’Connor
                   4 SENORITA / Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
         
Part 5
            At number 4, and having been number 1 off and on, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and their song ‘Senorita” on MATT.  It is a story in song of a couple who really don’t know for sure about each other yet.  “I love it when you call me Senorita,” the lady sings, “I wish I could pretend I don’t need you, but every touch is true.  Oh, I should be running.  You keep me coming for you; when you call me Senorita, I wish it wasn’t so hard to leave you.  Locked in the hotel, there’s some things that never change.  You say, ‘We’re just friends.’”  And all during the song, it feels as though things are just not quite right between them.  It is acted out in the video with the man leaving the girl.  Given our theme today, if you want to be remembered well in any relationship, you have to be a person who is always honest with the person you are with.
            Let’s forge right into another triple play, and begin with a song written by one of the best songwriters of our modern era in my humble opinion.  “This desert rose,” he sings, “each of her veils, / a secret promise.  This desert flower—no sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this.  I dream of rain, I dream of gardens in the desert sand.  I dream of fire—those dreams are tied to a horse that will never tire, and in the flames, her shadows play in the shape of a man’s desire.”  And the Arabic lines in the song translate roughly—according to Sting’s Internet sight—as: “It has been a long time, I’m the person who loves more.  My life is for you and you are my life.  There’s nothing else but you, only you.”  It is a dream that is guiding this whole process.  It seems as though that she is not even around the person in the song any more.  What the person in the song seems to want more than anything is to be connected with this person of his dreams—he wants to make her real in his life.  That relationship is very much alive only in his heart, and one can guess that it is not the way he wants to remember her in the future, our theme today.  He would much rather have her as his one and only.  This is from his album “Brand New Day” from the year 2000, with English and a couple Arabic lines from Gordon Matthew Sumner better known as Sting and his song “Desert Rose” on MATT. 
(triple)       DESERT ROSE / Sting
                               BLAME / Calvin Harris f/ John Newman
                               9 SUCKER /Jonas Brothers
 
Part 6     
            MATT presenting our number 9 song from the Jonas Brothers, former number 1, from their album “Happiness Begins”, their song “Sucker”.  It is the story in song of devotion to another, and what that other does to the man in the relationship.  “We go together,” they begin their song, “Better than birds of a feather, you and me.  We change the weather: I’m feeling heat in December when you’re ‘round me.  I’ve been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars.  I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough.  You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain.  It’s obvious, I’m a sucker for you.  Say the word and I’ll go anywhere blindly.  Any road you take you know that you’ll find me.  I’m a sucker for all the subliminal things.”  Subliminal things deal with the little things that a person does without even thinking.  In terms of our theme today, if you want to be remembered well, you will be a person who learns to both read and control subliminal feelings.
            Before them, we heard from Adam Richard Wiles, that is Calvin Harris, and English singer John Newman from Calvin Harris’ album “Motion,” and their song “Blame” from 2014.  It is the story of how we act in our lives when we have done something that is not right.  We often blame it on others.  “Guilt is burning,” the man in the relationship sings, “Inside I’m hurting.  This ain’t a feeling I can keep.  So blame it on the night; don’t blame it on me.  Can you see it: I was manipulated.  I had to let her through the door; I had no choice in this.  I’m so sorry, I promise I will be better this time.  Don’t blame it on me.”  The truth is that it was his fault—he didn’t have to let the other lady into his life, but he did.  And so, he tries to shift the blame—putting it on the night or the other person, claiming that that is the reason.  It would never be him in his mind, and he deserves another chance he says.  This type of rationalization and not accepting of the truth will usually not help a situation and if we want to be remembered well for something, our theme today, we should not be into blaming others.
            Important things being said here this morning as we work with the theme of “If We Want to be Remembered Well, Then What?”  We will continue with that thought in just a few moments.  Another thought here, this one from author Mark Victor Hansen, and a little dissertation on gaining self-confidence: “Don’t wait until everything is just right.  It will never be perfect.  There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions.  So what.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”  Great advice, and an excellent way to assure that we will be remembered well in future relationships.  I’m Fr. Mike for “Message at the Top” on Mix 103.  Why not stay right where you are as you enjoy life with us on this December Sunday morning.  We’ll be right back.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 7
            Every song has a message and most of the time that message can help us be better people.  Such is our belief on this show.  We are back for the second hour of “Message at the Top” which gives you the top 10 rock songs of our area for the reporting date of today, December 8, 2019.  I’m your host, Fr. Mike.  Thank you for joining us again this morning.  Get ready during this segment for songs from 3 groups, 2 single artists and 1 duo.  They will all fit into our theme that deals with what it takes to be remembered well in future life situations.
            Let’s continue our triple plays right now and begin this one with what the radio business calls a recurrent, that is a highly popular song that has left the charts recently.  Their song is a great song about, as the title says, high hopes.  It is has 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, as I have said who knows some things about what it takes to be remembered well in future relationships, namely being a person who always has hope.  This is a former number 1 song, a great song from the group Panic! At the Disco, their song “High Hopes” on MATT.
(triple)       HIGH HOPES / Panic! At the Disco
                   DIG IN / Lenny Kravitz
                               3 ONLY HUMAN / Jonas Brothers
 
Part 8 
            Moving up to number 3, from their album “Happiness Begins” again that was the Jonas Brothers again, and their song “Only Human” on MATT.  It is a song about the good feelings we have in love.  “You got all my love to spend,” the man in the relationship sings, “We gonna dance in my living room, slave to the way you move, hurts when I’m leaving you.  Love with an attitude, drunk to an 80’s groove.  It’s only human, you know that it’s real, so why would you fight or try to deny the way you feel?  You can’t fool me, stop pretending you’re shy, just come on and dance, dance, dance, dance.”  The song extols the feelings of love as expressed especially by dancing.  And feelings, as we have said many times, are just fine, and can be very hopeful of a good relationship, but because feelings are fickle, they often are hurt, and can bring about pain.  If a person wants to be remembered well in a relationship, our theme today, he/she should be a person who learns to control his/her feelings well. 
            Before them, we heard from the year 2002 and a 10+ category of meaning song, the highest I get, from Lenny Kravitz and his song “Dig In.”  “Wake up and shake it,” he sings, “you didn’t make your contribution.  There ain’t no time for you to spare.  If you ain’t part of the game, then how can you find a solution?  Nobody said that it would be fair.  When the mountain is high, just look up to the sky.  Ask God to teach you, then persevere.”  Great message, I believe.  You have to dig in for life to happen, and the way you do it, is to put forth a lot of effort by yourself, and then ask God to help.  “Once you dig in,” he sings, “you’ll find it coming out the other side.”  And once you dig in, you’ll find that you’ll have yourself a good time.  It will be a good time because you will feel good about yourself, you will have accepted the responsibility that goes with life.  You’ll find that you are part of the game, and therefore someone who can help with a solution.  Fitting into our theme is relatively easy—if you want to be remembered well after you are gone, be an example of someone who really tried to accomplish good things.
            Yet another triple play right now, and let’s begin this one with a song that celebrates the birthday of one of the artists.  Jay Z, that is Shawn Corey Carter who was the big 5-0 last Wednesday had a Grammy award winning song in the category of Best Rap/Song Collaboration, and he is singing with Justin Timberlake.  It is a song of wonder—why the man in the relationship allows the woman to treat him so badly.  “You take the clothes off my back and I let you.  You’d steal the food right out of my mouth and I watch you eat it.  I still don’t know why, why I love you so much.  Oh, you curse my name in spite to put me to shame, have my laundry in the streets dirty or clean, give it up for fame, but I still don’t know why, why I love it so much.  It’s amazing I’m in this maze with you.”  The man is caught up in the emotion of love and won’t get out of the relationship, although he should.  If he would, he would be happier in the long run.  And in general, if we want to be remembered well in the future, we should be people who are not totally dependent on another.  This is from Jay Z’s album “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” and the lead song from the year 2013 “Holy Grail” on MATT.
(triple)     HOLY GRAIL / Jay Z f/ Justin Timberlake
                   YOU MAKE ME FEEL / Cobra Starship
                   8 CIRCLES / Post Malone
 
Part 9
            That was rapper/singer/songwriter Austin Richard Post, better known as Post Malone, from his album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” and his song “Circles” at number 8 this morning.  The song is one of a break-up that has occurred and you’re not really sure whether the man in the relationship feels it is worth saving or not.  “Seasons change,” he sings, “and our love went cold, feed the flame ‘cause we can’t let go.  Run away, but we’re running in circles. Run away. I dare you to do something, I’m waiting on you again, so I don’t take the blame.  Let go, I got a feeling that it’s time to let go. I knew that this was doomed from the get-go.  You thought that it was special. But it was just the sex though. I got a feeling that it’s time to let it go.”  It is the situation of so many relationships, moving into the physical too soon, and then impossible to determine whether the relationship is real or not.  It is a song that the young really ought to listen to.  If you want to be remembered well in a relationship, you should be a person who has learned to keep the physical feelings under control. 
            Before him, we heard from the group Cobra Starship, a group formed in 2003 in New York City from their album “Night Shades” and their song “You Make Me Feel”.  They sing with rapper Jenice Dena Portluck, better known as Sabi in a song about finding the girl the man is looking for.  “Girl,” they begin their song, “I’ve been all over the world looking for you.  I’m known for taking what I think I deserve and you’re overdue.  What I been missing in my life, what I been dreaming of, you’ll be that girl.”  And the girl answers, I’ll be “everything you want.  I’m the baddest baby in the atmosphere, tell me what you want so we can do just what you like.  You make me feel that.”  The English language suffers a little, but the idea is clear—they both want to be with each other, and as we talk about being remembered in the future, such a good relationship is what people should strive for, even if they break up in the future.
            Our theme today is the thought of how we will be remembered after we leave a relationship, hoping to be remembered well.  Our next set of music and message will explore that thought with in order of appearance the music of birthday person Britney Spears, the group Plain White T’s, Lizzo, Joan Osbourne, Shaed and then the new number 1 song right now.  Let me go to break with this thought from one of the greatest Americans that has ever lived, Benjamin Franklin, and probably the foundational quote for bettering ourselves, and one that we have all heard no doubt, but good to be reminded about—“God helps those who help themselves.”  That says it all, and it is the way to keep ourselves in a good state of mind so that we will always be remembered well in any relationship.  I’m Fr. Mike, listen to these words of wisdom, and then I hope you come back for more.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 10
            Hi, everyone!  Welcome back to “Message at the Top”, our top 10 show on Mix 103.  I am Fr. Mike, and our show gives you the top 10 songs of today and yesterday along with their meanings.  And what is amazing about all of our songs is that with a little bit of help, they can actually teach us something about ourselves and about our behavior.  Our motto as always is to enjoy the music and listen to the message so that the message can help our lives.  The topic of our show today is the question, “If You Want to be Remembered Well, Then What?”
            Let’s begin this segment by wishing happy birthday to Britney Spears who was 38 years old last week.  She sings: “I think I did it again, I made you believe we’re more than just friends.  It might seem like a crush, but it doesn’t mean that I’m serious: that is just so typically me.  Oops, I did it again, I played with your heart, got lost in the game.”  One of the most difficult moments for a young man—in this case, but it happens for young women from their boyfriends as well—is the time when the other in the relationship says that it is not serious.  If we want to be remembered well, our theme today, when we break up with someone, it should not be because of something that we have done to hurt another.  Britney Spears here from the songs of meaning of the year 2000 and her song, “Oops, I Did It Again” on MATT. 
(triple)     OOPS I DID IT AGAIN/ Britney Spears
                   1, 2, 3, 4 / Plain White T’s
                   10 GOOD AS HELL / Lizzo
 
Part 11 
            What does it mean to be feeling like you are as “good as hell?”  I asked my secretary that question and her answer was “not very good.”  I think that would be the interpretation of that song, “Good as Hell” from Melissa Viviane Jefferson better known as Lizzo at number 10 and we’ll make it our theme next week.  She’s not feeling very good because her boyfriend has left: “I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feelin’?  Feeling good as hell.  Tired of the false words, go on dust your shoulders off, keep it moving.  If he don’t love you anymore, just walk your fine backside out the door.”  I cleaned up the words there a bit.  The lady in the song seems to want the relationship, but he has not cooperated, and so she is telling him to take a walk.  Amen, exactly what she should do.  If you want to be remembered well in the future, our theme today, one of the things should be that you have direct communication.  Although, I’m not sure that the way she says it in the song is a “nice” direct communication.
            Before her, we heard from a group formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1997, and are known for their songs about profound love, the group Plain White T’s from their album “Big Bad World,” one of our number songs, “1, 2, 3, 4” from the years 2008 and 2009.  "Give me more loving than I’ve ever had; make me feel better when I’m feeling sad; tell me I’m special even though I know I’m not; make me feel good when I hurt so bad.  Barely getting mad, I’m glad I found you; I love being around you.  Give me more loving from the very start, piece me back together when I fall apart, tell me things you never even tell your closest friends.  You make it easy.  It’s as easy as 1-2, 1-2-3-4.  There’s only one thing to do, three words for you: I love you."  The simple proof that love is deep is this: when a person is in love, he/she will show it by actions.  And tying it into our theme today, when you want to be remembered well in future relationships, then the relationship you are in had better be one in which you love the other as much as you can.
            Our closing double play begins with quite a song.  Joan Osborne is an American singer/songwriter born in the hills of Kentucky.  Her most famous song was this one, not written by her interestingly enough.  The song asks questions about God.  “If God had a name,” she sings, “what would it be?  What would you ask if you had just one question?  What if God was one of us.  If God had a face, what would it look like?  And would you want to see him if seeing meant that you would have to believe.”  Joan Osborne does not give any answers in her song, but it does seem as though the questioning leads to a conclusion.  The refrain states that “God is great, yeah.  God is good.”  What at first may sound like a mockery of God can be praise of God.  It is an important song for the many critics of religion in our world, and there are many of them at this time of life especially.  As we think of our theme today, if you want to be remembered well in a relationship, one of the characteristics might be that you are a believer in God.  Of course, you would expect me to say that.  This is from 1995 from her album “Relish”, the name of the song “One of Us” on MATT. 
(double)    ONE OF US / Joan Osborne
                               6 TRAMPOLINE / Shaed
 
Part 12
            MATT presenting there the trio Shaed from Washington DC and their song at number 6, “Trampoline” on MATT.  The song has a storyline of a person having a dream.  According to an explanation on the internet, the dream suddenly turns to terror, but instead of running from it, the person embraces it.  Here are some words: “I’ve been having dreams jumping on a trampoline, flipping in the air; I never land, just float there.  As I’m looking up, suddenly the sky erupts.  Flames alight the trees, spread to falling leaves, now they’re right upon me.  Wait if I’m on fire, how am I so deep in love?  When I dream of dying, I never feel so loved.”  It was our theme last week when we spoke about the positive things in life that we should see.  I call it a song of some negative coming upon the person, but he/she accepts it and actually makes it a positive.  If we want to be remembered well in future relationships, we ought to be people who search for the positive even though there are negatives. 
            And the new number 1 song is from Maroon 5 and their song “Memories”.  “Here’s to the ones that we got,” they sing, “Cheers to the wish you were here but you’re not.  ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories of everything we’ve been through. Toast to the ones here today, toast to the ones we lost on the way ‘cause the drinks bring back all the memories and the memories bring back you.  There’s a time that I remember when I did not know pain, when I believed in forever and everything would stay the same.  Now my heart feels like December when somebody says your name ‘cause I can’t reach out to call you.  But I know I will one day.  Everybody hurts sometimes, everything will be alright.”  So some pain, but I like their statement of hope.  If we want to be remembered well in future relationships, our theme today, we ought to be people who learn to have hope for the future.
            We have used that idea of being remembered well in future relationships.  My prayer for you and me is that we will be remembered well in every relationship that we enter in the future because it will show that we are truly loving people.  If you want to contact me for any reason, my e-mail address is: frmikescully@yahoo.com or the address at the radio station: KJLS-FM, Hays, 67601.  My website is www.frmikescully.com where you can obtain a transcript of the show and some meditations on our music and some great movies.  You can reach us on the web every Sunday morning at www.hayspost.com and clicking on Mix 103.  Thank you for being with us today.  My thanks to the producers of our show, and to our sponsors, especially Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays, Holy Family Elementary School in Hays, and Hays Car and Truck Alignment.  I hope you join us next Sunday.
            Before our final thought, a little advertisement for the job of being a minister—our world needs a lot of help, and I give thanks to the ministers of our area for trying to help.  I hope you young people keep that possibility of being a minister in your thought.
            A final quote from humorist Mark Twain, and so be prepared for satire.  He was talking about diplomacy, and said: “The principle of give and take is the principle of diplomacy--give one and take ten.”  It is our thinking unfortunately too often, and it is NOT a thought for which we will be remembered well.  We close our show with the new number 1 song “Memories” from Maroon 5, and as you listen to it, may I remind you that you are listening to the Mix on 103 and our final advice to you is as it always is, to hold a good thought.  My name is Fr. Mike Scully.  Peace to you, and be good!
1 MEMORIES / Maroon 5

Part 1
            Hello Central Kansas and around the world!  Happy close of the Thanksgiving weekend to you, and I hope it was a good one for you.  Right now, thank you for joining us this first day of December, 2019, the first Sunday of December, as we are right on top of the Christmas season beginning Advent in the Christian world.  Welcome to “Message at the Top.”  Get set for the top 10 songs of our area right now as determined by the research from your requests, and get ready for some top 10 songs of the past as well.  I am Fr. Mike Scully, and you have your dial set to today’s best music Mix 103, number one in Central Kansas.  Our show gives you both the songs and the meanings of the songs.  Our motto continues to be to enjoy the music, and at the same time, listen to the message with the knowledge that the message will really help our lives.  Our number 1 song last week was from Lewis Capaldi.  We’ll see if he stays there today.
            Today is Tyler Robert Joseph’s birthday.  He is 31 years old.  Together with Josh Dunn, they make up the duo called Twenty One Pilots, and they have three songs that have been in the top 10 recently, and I thought it would be good to begin with them today, and use the first one as our theme today.  It comes from the soundtrack of the movie “Suicide Squad” and speaks of the fact that there are people in the world who are mixed up for some reason, and all of us have to be careful as we deal with those people and really all people.  “All my friends are heathens.  Take it slow,” they sing.  They then sing of people who were loved and now are criminals, and you don’t really know whether people around you are criminals or otherwise.  Their advice is to never forget and watch out. 
            There are a couple of spins that one can take with the song.  You could use the whole criminal idea that is clear in the movie, but I like the idea of recognizing that some people have a lot of pain in their lives, and therefore should be treated with special care.
            A thought about pain.  In the different leadership manuals of learning, pain plays a distinctive place because it is so commonplace.  Allow me to give you three thoughts about pain, all of which are tremendous ways to deal with the pain of our lives.  First from Lance Armstrong: “Pain is temporary.  It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.  If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”  That is, put up with the pain.
              I really like this one from author Tony Robbins: “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you.  If you do that, you're in control of your life.  If you don't, life controls you.”  That is, use the pain that comes your way.
              And finally, a tremendous quote from Aeschylus, the ancient Greek playwright who died in 455 BC.  I’ll read it slowly so that you can get it: “He who learns must suffer.  And even in our sleep / pain that cannot forget / falls drop by drop upon the heart, / and in our own despair, against our will, / comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.”  That is, God allows the pain so that we can learn from it.  Super thought.  Let’s call our show today: “Ways to Help with Mental Pain,” and starting us off is a song of people in pain from Twenty One Pilots and their song “Heathens” from 2016 on MATT.
(double)    HEATHENS / Twenty One Pilots
                               RIDE / Twenty One Pilots
 
Part 2
            The second of three songs that they have taken to the top 10, and we will give you the other one next, this one from their album “Blurryface”, Twenty One Pilots, and their song “Ride” from the year 2015 on MATT.  It talks of life—that is, trying to live it as best we can, but life is difficult at times.  The person in the song is enjoying the ride, taking his/her time living, but it often feels like he/she is falling, that is without direction.  During the life, the person thinks about what it means to be a friend of someone, whether he/she would die for the other or not.  Then it seems the person in the song feels like he/she is thinking too much, saying “Help me” either to a friend or perhaps even to God.  It is a very interesting song, and one that you can spend a lot of time analyzing along with the video.  In terms of our theme, the person is trying to face reality, but he is in pain and he/she finds himself / herself looking for help.  The way to face the pain is to seek someone out who will help with the pain.
            As promised, let me give you the third of the three songs that the duo Twenty One Pilots have taken to the top 10.  It is a song about getting over the past and concentrating on the present and future.  “I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink,” they sing, “but now I'm insecure and I care what people think.  My name's 'Blurryface' and I care what you think.  Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days when our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out.  Out of student loans and treehouse homes, we all would take the latter.  Used to dream of outer space but now they're laughing at our face, saying, ‘Wake up, you need to make money.’”  In terms of our theme this week, one which they gave us with their song “Heathens”, one of the ways to help with the pains of life is to learn to be a little more mature.  We can’t be kids all our lives.  MATT presenting here Twenty One Pilots again and their song “Stressed Out,” former number 1 also from their album “Blurryface” from 2015 on MATT. 
(triple)       STRESSED OUT / Twenty One Pilots
                   MARVIN GAYE / Charlie Puth f/ Meghan Trainor
                   3 MEMORIES / Maroon 5
 
Part 3
            That was from Maroon 5 and their song “Memories” from a future album, number 3 right now on MATT.  “Here’s to the ones that we got,” they sing, “Cheers to the wish you were here but you’re not.  ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories of everything we’ve been through. Toast to the ones here today, toast to the ones we lost on the way ‘cause the drinks bring back all the memories and the memories bring back you.  There’s a time that I remember when I did not know pain, when I believed in forever and everything would stay the same.  Now my heart feels like December when somebody says your name ‘cause I can’t reach out to call you.  But I know I will one day.  Everybody hurts sometimes, everything will be alright.”  So some pain, but I like their statement of hope.  In terms of our theme, hope is a necessity if we want help with mental pain of life.
            Before them, we wished happy birthday to Charlie Puth who will be 28 tomorrow, and his song which is a tribute to a Motown star, and he sings with Meghan Trainor.  It is from Charlie Puth’s album “Diamonds and Rain”, and their song “Marvin Gaye” from 2016 on MATT. “Let's Marvin Gaye and get it on;” they sing, “You got the healing that I want just like they say it in the song.  Until the dawn, let's Marvin Gaye and get it on.”  Obviously, referring to Marvin Gaye’s famous song, the people in the relationship want sexual healing which is just fine for people who are truly committed to one another, but my guess is that the full commitment is not there yet.  As we think of some ways to help someone in pain, the best way is to stay away from the pain that comes from a broken sexual relationship that is too early. 
            Every song has a message, and that is what we are all about here on MATT—discovering the messages located in the songs, and with our theme today, what are some ways to help with pain.  Our lead song came from Twenty One Pilots and their song “Heathens.”  I’m Fr. Mike inviting you to stay with us.  After a short break, we will continue to learn from the songs of our show.  We need these breaks so that we can thank our sponsors from time to time.  Let me take you to that break with a thought from my quote book, and it is marked anonymous: “It is just as easy to expect the best as to look for the worst.”  That is pretty good and if we really know it, it will save us a lot of pain, I think.  Your dial is set for learning, media-style by popular music—Mix 103 and you are listening to “Message at the Top”.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 4
            You, my friends, are in tune with MATT, your top 10 show of the best mix of music around these parts, Mix 103.  We call our show MATT because we take the top 10 songs of our area, and study their messages in the hopes that our lives that are often so complicated because of our lifestyles, those lives can be better by using the messages of the songs that we play.  I’m Fr. Mike, your host, and it is great to have you with us this first day of the winter month of December, winter beginning a little later, although winter has made an appearance already.  The theme that we are using today came from a song from Twenty One Pilots and their song “Heathens.”  That theme is “Some Ways to Help with Mental Pain.”
            Let’s go to the group Imagine Dragons, and a good song of meaning.  It was nominated for a couple of Grammys and is a song that says to all of us to “never give up on your dreams,” which is part of the words of the song.  The person in the song sets the stage of not being just another person: “I was dreaming of bigger things, not a follower, I was lightning before the thunder.”  Other kids were making fun of him, but now he sings, “I’m smiling from the stage while you were clapping in the nosebleeds.  Never give up on your dreams.”  It is a great leadership song—follow your dreams, be what you can be.  Considering it with the theme of some ways to help with pain, especially mental pain, one of the ways is to include the self-encouragement to be all she/he can be.  This is Imagine Dragons, from their album “Evolve” and their song “Thunder” on MATT. 
(double)  THUNDER / Imagine Dragons
                   DAUGHTERS / John Mayer
 
Part 5
            That was John Mayer from his album “Heavier Things” and his song “Daughters” from the year 2004, a Song of the Year from the Grammy Awards on MATT.  The song is one of the best songs for parents that has been produced by rock artists.  "I know a girl,” he sings, “she puts the color inside of my world.  But she’s just like a maze where all of the walls all continually change, and I’ve done all I can to stand on her steps with my heart in my hands. / Now, I’m starting to see maybe it’s got nothing to do with me.  Fathers, be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do.  Girls become lovers who turn into mothers; so mothers, be good to your daughters too.  You see that skin?  It’s the same she’s been standing in.  Since the day she saw him walking away, now she’s left cleaning up the mess he made.”  In my opinion, it is one of the strongest statements in modern music about the importance of parents.  The father of his girlfriend had left her and her family, and as he sings, ‘Now she’s left cleaning up the mess.’  Parents and what they do probably have more effect on the growing child than any other factor in our environment, and one of the ways to prevent pain in the world, our theme today, is for parents to be aware of the pain they cause their children when they yell at one another.  Great song.
            Another triple for us right now beginning with a song whose storyline includes a person having a dream.  According to an explanation on the Internet, the dream suddenly turns to terror, but instead of running from it, the person embraces it.  Here are some words: “I’ve been having dreams jumping on a trampoline, flipping in the air; I never land, just float there.  As I’m looking up, suddenly the sky erupts.  Flames alight the trees, spread to falling leaves, now they’re right upon me.  Wait if I’m on fire, how am I so deep in love?  When I dream of dying, I never feel so loved.”  It was our theme last week when we spoke about the positive things in life that we should see.  I call it a song of some negative coming upon the person, but he/she accepts it and actually makes it a positive.  That idea of accepting the negative and finding a positive fits right into our theme this week: working with mental pain means looking for the positives that are around in life.  MATT presenting here the trio Shaed from Washington DC and their song at number 6 “Trampoline” on MATT.
(triple)       6 TRAMPOLINE / Shaed
                               HONEY I’M GOOD / Andy Grammar
                               9 THE BONES / Maren Morris
 
Part 6     
            From her album simply named “Girl”, Maren Larae Morris from Arlington, Texas and her song “The Bones” at number 9 on MATT.  It is a song about making a true commitment and a great song of a husband and a wife in her specific case with her husband, or between lovers if you think beyond her relationship.  “We’re in the homestretch of the hard times,” she begins her song, “We took a hard left, but we’re alright.  Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it, but we built this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move it.  When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter.  Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter.  Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same.  When there ain’t a crack in the foundation, I know any storm we’re facing will blow right over while we stay put.  The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”  Speaking with our theme, the song shows another positive coming out of a negative, which is one of the ways to do away with mental pain.
            Before her, MATT presented a really good song of meaning from birthday person Andy Grammer who will be 36 Tuesday from his album “Magazines or Novels” and his song of fidelity to a friend, “Honey I’m Good”.  To me, his song is a high song of meaning because of his decision that he will not have another drink in the establishment where he is because he does not want to be unfaithful to his spouse or friend back home.  That is great, and I think we need more songs like it so people can learn some better behavior.  “It’s been a long night here,” he sings, “and a long night there, and these long legs are near everywhere.  You look good, I will not lie, but if you ask where I’m staying tonight, I gotta be / like you got me all wrong. My baby’s already got all of my love, so honey, I’m good.  I could have another but I probably should not; I got somebody at home, and if I stay I might not leave alone.  No, honey, I’m good.  I gotta bid you adieu.  To another I will stay true.”  It has a great video also of people being faithful to one another after years of being together.  In the song, some ways to help someone in pain, our theme today is to keep the commitments that we have made no matter what.  Another good song.
            And we have played our way to a brief pause.  In our next segment, get ready for music from / in order of appearance Post Malone, Sara Bareilles, Nelly Furtado, the Jonas Brothers, Santana and the Jonas Brothers again.  Leading us into our break, here is a thought from author Michael Angier: “Recognize that everything you do, every step you take, every sentence you write, every word you speak—or don’t speak—counts.  Nothing is trivial.  The world may be big, but there are no small things.  Everything matters.”  That is a pretty good thought, and if everyone of us understood it, there would be a lot less pain in the world.  I’m Fr. Mike for “Message at the Top”.  Don’t even think about touching that dial!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 7
            We are back, as we celebrate the first day and first Sunday of December together, what the Christian world calls the First Sunday of Advent as we prepare for Christmas.  I hope today is a good one for you.  This is “Message at the Top”.  I’m Fr. Mike, ready to begin our second hour together and lead you without interruption through another 30 minutes of music and message today, and all of our songs this morning are working on a theme which takes the songs’ meanings, and asks them about some ways to overcome pain, especially mental pain in our lives.
            As promised let’s go to Mr. Austin Richard Post, known by the music world as Post Malone.  The song is one of a break-up that has occurred and you’re not really sure whether the man in the relationship feels it is worth saving or not.  “Seasons change,” he sings, “and our love went cold, feed the flame ‘cause we can’t let go.  Run away, but we’re running in circles. Run away. I dare you to do something, I’m waiting on you again, so I don’t take the blame.  Let go, I got a feeling that it’s time to let go. I knew that this was doomed from the get-go.  You thought that it was special. But it was just the sex though. I got a feeling that it’s time to let it go.”  It is the situation of so many relationships, moving into the physical too soon, and then impossible to determine whether the relationship is real or not.  It is a song that the young really ought to listen to.  One of the sources of pain, I believe is moving into a love relationship too soon, and the way to correct it is not to do it.  This is rapper/singer/songwriter Post Malone, from his album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” and his song “Circles” at number 10 on MATT.
(triple)       10 CIRCLES / Post Malone
                   BOTTLE IT UP / Sara Bareilles
                               POWERLESS (SAY WHAT YOU WANT)/ Nelly Furtado
 
Part 8 
          Happy birthday to her, her being Nelly Kim Furtado who is 41 years old tomorrow and her song “Powerless (Say What You Want)” from 2003.  The song is from her album “Folklore.”  “Paint my face in your magazines,” she begins her song, “Make it look whiter than it seems.  Paint me lover with your dreams, shove away my ethnicity.  Burn every notion that I may have, and say just what is on my mind without offending your might.  Cuz this life is too short to live it just for you.  But when you feel so powerless, what are you gonna do.  So say what you want, say what you want.”  It seems to be a song of protest about what we are doing to each other, but we seem powerless to do anything about it, no matter what we say.  Tying that into our theme, feeling that we are powerless is one of the causes of mental pain. 
            Before her, we heard from another birthday person, Sara Beth Bareilles who will be 40 years old this Saturday.  It is from her album “Little Voice,” her song “Bottle It Up” from 2007.  Her song begins: “There’ll be girls across the nation that will eat this up.  I know it’s your soul, but you could bottle it up and get down to the heart of it.  No it’s my heart—you’re out of luck.  Don’t make me tell you my love.  I am aiming to be somebody this somebody trusts with her delicate soul.  I don’t claim to know much except soon as you start to make room for the parts that aren’t you, it gets harder to bloom in a garden of love.  Only thing I ever could need, only one good thing worth trying to be, and it’s love.”  And the problem is: he’s not living his part of the bargain, she says.  And that causes pain, our theme today.  The way to help with the pain is for every one of us to keep our part of any bargain we make.  
            Yet one more triple play right now beginning with the current number 4 song in our top 10, and a song about the good feelings we have in love.  “You got all my love to spend,” the man in the relationship sings, “We gonna dance in my living room, slave to the way you move, hurts when I’m leaving you.  Love with an attitude, drunk to an 80’s groove.  It’s only human, you know that it’s real, so why would you fight or try to deny the way you feel?  You can’t fool me, stop pretending you’re shy, just come on and dance, dance, dance, dance.”  The song extols the feelings of love as expressed especially by dancing.  And feelings, as we have said many times, are just fine, and can be very hopeful of a good relationship, but because feelings are fickle, they often are hurt, and can bring about pain.  The way to help with that pain, our theme today, is to realize that they are only feelings.  At number 4, from their album “Happiness Begins,” this is the Jonas Brothers, and their song “Only Human” on MATT.
(triple)       4 ONLY HUMAN / Jonas Brothers
                   INTO THE NIGHT / Santana f/ Chad Kroeger
                   8 SUCKER / Jonas Brothers
 
Part 9           
            The second time we have heard from them today, our number 8 song from the Jonas Brothers, former number 1, from their album “Happiness Begins” again, their song this time “Sucker” on MATT.  It is the story in song of devotion to another, and what that other does to the man in the relationship.  “We go together,” they begin their song, “Better than birds of a feather, you and me.  We change the weather: I’m feeling heat in December when you’re ‘round me.  I’ve been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars.  I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough.  You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain.  It’s obvious, I’m a sucker for you.  Say the word and I’ll go anywhere blindly.  Any road you take you know that you’ll find me.  I’m a sucker for all the subliminal things.”  Subliminal things deal with the little things that a person does without even thinking.  In terms of our theme today, those subliminal things may cause pain, and the way to get away from that pain is to carefully consider how those subliminal things fit into the complete relationship, and if it is bad, to get out of the relationship.
            Before them, MATT presented the group Santana from their “Ultimate Santana” album, and the song “Into The Night”, with lead singer Chad Kroeger from Nickelback from 2007.  He is singing about the gift of a happy love relationship, and begins with good poetry: “Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell, it was love from above, that could save me from hell.  She had fire in her soul; it was easy to see how the devil himself could be pulled out of me.  There were drums in the air as she started to dance, every soul in the room keeping time with their hands, and we sang and the voices rang like the angels sing, and we danced on into the night.”  It is one of those “happily in love” love songs, like everything is just fine, and we’ll live happily ever after.  My fear is always that such a love relationship could fall apart, and when that happens, there is usually pretty severe pain.  But in terms of our theme today, the way to help with the pain is to be a friend to such a one.
            These songs have so much to say at times.  We will continue to listen to our top 10 in just a few minutes.  Our theme is the idea of finding some ways to help with pain.  Get ready for a final segment that will give you Ryan Cabrera and Bruno Mars along with Ed Sheeran twice and Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello and also the number 1 song in our country right now.  First, here is a very practical thought from Albert Einstein, not only a brilliant man, but a very wise man with regard to all of our lives: “Not everything that counts can be counted, / and not everything that can be counted counts.”  Important to remember this time of year, I believe, and that man always gave us lessons that will help our mental pain.  My name is Fr. Mike; this show is MATT; this station is the Mix, and we’ll be right back!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 10
            Every song has a message, and most of the time that message will help our lives.  Such is our thought as we continue on MATT.  Welcome back to the show that gives you the top 10 of today and yesterday along with their messages.  We call it MATT.  I’m your host, Fr. Mike, and we have taken off from an idea from birthday person Tyler Joseph and together with Josh Dunn make up Twenty One Pilots and their song “Heathens” and we’re talking about some ways to help with mental pain.
            We begin our final half-hour together with a song from Ed Sheeran together with Justin Beiber, and a song that has been in the top 10, including number 1, for a long time.  It is a story that speaks of the man in the relationship not being real happy with the situation he is in except for the fact that his significant other is there.  “I’m at a party I don’t wanna be at.  Don’t think I want to be at this party, I always feel like I’m nobody; who wants to fit in anyway ‘cause I don’t care when I’m with my baby, all the bad things disappear.  And you’re making me feel like maybe I am somebody.  I can deal with the bad nights when I’m with my baby.”  There is pain in the man’s life, but he can do something about it, our theme today, by building a closer relationship with the one he loves.  MATT presenting Ed Sheeran singing with Justin Bieber here, from Ed Sheeran’s album “No. 6 Collaborations Project”, and they are at number 5 with the song “I Don’t Care” on MATT.
(triple)     5 I DON’T CARE / Ed Sheeran & Justin Beiber
                   IT WILL RAIN / Bruno Mars
                   2 SENORITA / Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
 
Part 11 
            At number 2, and having been number 1 off and on, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and their song ‘Senorita” on MATT.  It is a story in song of a couple who really don’t know for sure about each other yet.  “I love it when you call me Senorita,” the lady sings, “I wish I could pretend I don’t need you, but every touch is true.  Oh, I should be running.  You keep me coming for you; when you call me Senorita, I wish it wasn’t so hard to leave you.  Locked in the hotel, there’s some things that never change.  You say, ‘We’re just friends.’”  And all during the song, it feels as though things are just not quite right between them.  It is acted out in the video with the man leaving the girl.  Given our theme today, they are both suffering from mental pain, and they had best sit down and immerse themselves in direct communication.
            Before them, we heard from Peter Gene Hernandez or Bruno Mars from the album “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” and his song “It Will Rain” from 2014.  The song is a statement of love to someone from a negative point of view.  He is singing that he loves her, and it will really show if they break up.  The video to the song depicts the same thing adding the possibility that they have already broken up.  “If you ever leave me,” the man in the relationship sings, “leave some morphine at my door ‘cause it would take a whole lot of medication to realize what we used to have.  There’s no religion that could save me no matter how long my knees are on the floor.  So keep in mind all the sacrifices I’m makin’ to keep you by my side, to keep you from walkin’ out the door.  ‘Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you.  Every day, it’ll rain, rain, rain.”  In the song, the man talks about how he has made sacrifices for the relationship.  You wonder whether the person has to point that out, making sacrifices that is.  If you have to point it out, the chances are that the relationship will fail, and then the pain begins, our theme today. 
            Another double play gets us closer to number 1 and it begins with a song that is also from Ed Sheeran, this time with rapper/singer/songwriter Khalid.  It is a story about a man and a woman who refuse to be taken in by the glamorous life and therefore are quite happy with their self-esteem and they do not have to be fake.  “Everybody’s looking for a come-up,” they sing, “and they wanna know what you’re about, me in the middle with the one I love and we’re just try’n to figure everything out.  We don’t fit in well ‘cause we are just ourselves.  This is my only fear that we become beautiful people.  Drop-top, designer clothes, front row at fashion shows, ‘What d’you do?’ And ‘Who d’you know?’  Let’s leave the party.  That’s not who we are.”  In terms of our theme today, there is some pain in not being in the “in” crowd, but their time together has managed to control that pain.  Singing with Khalid this time, number 7 in the top 10, Ed Sheeran again from his album “No. 6 Collaboration Project” and their song “Beautiful People” on MATT.
(double)    7 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE / Ed Sheeran & Khalid
                               ON THE WAY DOWN / Ryan Cabrera
 
Part 12
            MATT presenting Ryan Cabrera from his album “Take It All Away,” and his song, “On the Way Down”, from the year 2004.  He began his song: “Sick and tired of this world, there’s no more air, trippin over myself, goin’ nowhere, waiting, suffocating, no direction, and I took a dive.  And on the way down, I saw you, and you saved me from myself.”  It is a love song to the person who helped him, but, as I study it from a different point of view, I see a little more.  He sings: “I’ve been wondering why it’s only me—have you always been inside waiting to breathe.  It’s alright, sunlight on my face.  I wake up and I’m alive.”  It could very well be God who has helped him, and he realizes it.  Whatever the meaning, love is finally being given to him, and someone is caring for him, and that is one of the greatest feelings that we have—and something that will help with any mental pain.
          And number 1 is once again from Mr. Lewis Capaldi from Scotland and his song “Someone You Loved.”  He has had the position for a total of 6 weeks, and the song comes from his album “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent”.  It is the story of pain because it is about the close of a romantic relationship.  “I'm going under,” the man in the relationship sings, “and this time I fear there's no one to save me.  This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy. I need somebody to heal, somebody to know, somebody to have, somebody to hold. I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.  Now the day bleeds into nightfall.  And you're not here to get me through it all.  I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug.  I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”  The relationship is over, and therefore there is pain, and the way to handle it is to simply move on.  Easier said than done!
            We have talked of that—some things to help with mental pain—today, and there were a number of great lessons that the songs teach us, I believe.  My prayer for you and for me is that we will all be able to understand the mental pain that comes our way, and turn to a Higher Power for help.  My thanks to our producers and to our sponsors, in particular Holy Family Elementary School, Hays Car and Truck Alignment, and TMP-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays.  If you want to contact me by mail, I hope you do so at KJLS-FM, Hays, KS, 67601 or my e-mail address is frmikescully@yahoo.com.  My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find meditations on these songs and some great movies as well.  Before we listen to the number 1 song in our country and area right now, let me give you another thought for this upcoming week.  It comes from Cheryl Hanson quoting her father Jim Hanson, the Muppets creator, at Hanson’s funeral, and it’s a relatively famous quote: “I believe in taking a positive attitude toward the world.  My hope is to leave the world a little better than when I got here.”  Great thought there.  Our goal must always be to leave the world a little better than when we got here.  What a great lesson to learn and one that will help take away pain in our world.  As you listen to the number 1 song once again from Lewis Capaldi and “Someone You Loved”, may I remind you that you are in tune with today’s best music Mix 103, and our advice, among all the other positive things we have given you is to hold a good thought.  My name is Fr. Mike Scully.  Peace to you, and be good.
1 SOMEONE YOU LOVED / Lewis Capaldi

Part 1
            Hello Central Kansas and around the world and happy Thanksgiving which comes this week, at least those of you in the United States.  Welcome to MATT on today’s best music Mix 103.  It’s great to have you with us today as we look at the top 10 songs of yesterday and today.  I’m Fr. Mike Scully, your host for MATT and it’s my pleasure to serve us up some great songs and some great messages.  We take the most popular songs of the past 39 years and talk about their messages and exactly what that should mean for us.  The guiding thought of our show is to enjoy the music, and listen to the message!
            As we approach the Thanksgiving weekend, we know that in one way or another, we all should be considering some things for which we could be thankful.  I thought we’d consider that thought this Sunday morning before the Thanksgiving holiday with a good positive song that can lead to positive thoughts of thanksgiving.
            The number 8 song right now is a song that I interpret in a positive way.  It is a story in song of a person having a dream.  According to an explanation on the internet, the dream suddenly turns to terror, but instead of running from it, the person embraces it.  Here are some words: “I’ve been having dreams jumping on a trampoline, flipping in the air; I never land, just float there.  As I’m looking up, suddenly the sky erupts.  Flames alight the trees, spread to falling leaves, now they’re right upon me.  Wait if I’m on fire, how am I so deep in love?  When I dream of dying, I never feel so loved.”  So, I call it a song of some negative coming upon the person, but he/she accepts it and actually makes it a positive.  As we think of Thanksgiving today, such a positive thought in life is something for which we should be thankful, and it leads me to say that there are a number of positive thoughts in our songs that moves us to be thankful.
            Let me remind you of a little history which puts this Thanksgiving break into perspective.  Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, commemorating the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621.  The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by President George Washington for November 26, 1789.  President Abraham Lincoln revived the custom in 1863 during the down days of the American Civil War.  And in 1941 Congress decreed that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November.  The customary turkey dinner is a reminder of the wild turkeys served at the Pilgrim’s first thanksgiving feast.  From a couple of turkeys to what will take place this weekend in just about every home in America.  Now that’s quite a jump.
            Incidentally, from someone who has some feelings about God in life, as I do as a clergyperson, God was very much a part of that original celebration, since the early settlers in America were most aware of God’s presence in everything that happened.  But one doesn’t have to believe in God to be thankful.  One of the traits of good human living must be the desire to be thankful to others, and to carry a thankful attitude into everything we do and receive.
            The song “Trampoline” leads me to say that there are positive things around us and indeed we hear such positive things in the songs of our world that can lead us to be thankful.  It is with such a thought that we allow this number 8 song to be our guide this upcoming Thanksgiving celebration.  Let’s look at the songs of our show from a thanksgiving point of view this morning, calling our show “Some Positive Things for which We should be Thankful” and starting us off with our thanksgiving theme, MATT presenting here the trio Shaed from Washington DC and their song at number 8 “Trampoline” on MATT.
(double)    8 TRAMPOLINE / Shaed
                               UNWRITTEN / Natasha Bedingfield
 
Part 2
            MATT presenting a super song from Natasha Bedingfield, from her album named after the song, the number 1 song of meaning in 2006, “Unwritten” on MATT.  It is a 10+ category song, the absolute highest rating of good meaning that I get.  It is a poetic statement about the fact that we are determining what kind of life we are going to lead.  “I am unwritten,” she sings, “can’t read my mind, I’m undefined.  I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned.  Staring at the blank page before you, let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.  Release your inhibitions, feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in.  No one else can speak the words on your lips, drench yourself in words unspoken, live your life with arms wide open.  Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.”  Marvelous words.  I look at it as a statement of where we are / and that from now on, no matter what has happened in our lives before, from now on, we will be able to live our future with arms wide open.  We can begin again.  That is something for which to be thankful, to be sure, our theme today.
            Now, a triple play as we think of the upcoming Thanksgiving day and all three of them beginning with the work “Thank”, the only three songs from our top 10’s since 1980 which begin that way.  This first one is an English singer/songwriter born in London in 1971.  “My tea’s gone cold,” she begins her song here, “I’m wondering why I got out of bed at all.  The morning rain clouds up my window, and I can’t see at all, and even if I could, it’d all be gray”—now that is excellent imagery of real negativity, but the song is just the opposite, because even though she has those negative feelings, she goes on to say, “But your picture on my wall—it reminds me that it’s not so bad.”  And the person in the song goes on to thank her boyfriend.  It is an exact statement of our theme this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.  This is a former number 1, the number 1 song of meaning of 2001 in MATT’s opinion from her album “No Angel,” Dido, and her actual name is quite long, but she goes by the name of Dido, actually her first name.  Her song is “Thank You” a great Thanksgiving song on MATT. 
(triple)       THANK YOU / Dido
                               THANK YOU, NEXT / Ariana Grande
                               THANK U / Alanis Morissette
 
Part 3
            A classic Thanksgiving song, 1998 was the year, Alanis Morissette, “Thank U” from her album “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” on MATT.  She is a lady whose recording history began in Ottawa, Canada, and now has sold over 60 million albums world-wide.  She is quite an accomplished actress as well.  She explained this song this way “Basically, I had never stopped in my whole life,” she said, “hadn’t taken a long breath, and I took a year and a half off and basically learned how to do that.  When I did stop and I was silent and I breathed, I was ready to deal with things.  I was left with an immense amount of gratitude, and inspiration, and love and bliss, and that’s where the song came from.”  And so, she thanks India, terror, disillusionment, frailty, consequence, clarity, nothingness, and especially silence.  What a great idea.  It is the proverbial, “take the time to smell the roses” type of story, and she is thankful that she had the opportunity.  For her, life means saying thank you to someone.  She includes a number of things to be thankful for, exactly what our theme is this Thanksgiving weekend.
            Before her, we heard a different Thanksgiving type song from Ariana Grande Butera better known as Ariana Grande, and her song, “Thank You, Next”.  It is a clever song that one can study, maybe along with the video.  The message is a very good one but she approaches it in a different way.  The message is that of thanking all of the people who have helped her understand love a little more.  First of all, she thanks her boyfriends, then she seems to thank her girlfriends, and in particular one girlfriend named Ari.  The song makes us think one thing about her life which really isn’t true, but the message is the important thing.  I have problems with the language, and how I wish artists did not use the language they do, but nonetheless it has a message that says that we have to be thankful no matter what happens, our theme today and that, my friends, is a great message. .
            Our Thanksgiving show of MATT is on your radio right now, coming from the studios of Mix 103 in Hays, KS and my room at St. Conrad’s Friary in Lawrence, KS.  During the show, we are concentrating on the top 10 songs right now, and especially the song “Trampoline” from Shaed and up next for you, we have music from Shawn Mendes along with Camila Capaldi, Post Malone and the Jonas Brothers along with some songs from Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift.  Before we go to break, here is a thought about thankfulness coming from an old proverb: “Who does not thank for little / will not thank for much.”  Good thought—therefore be thankful even for little things.  Stay with us, this is today’s best music Mix 103 and MATT.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 4
            You are in tune with “Message at the Top,” your top 10 show on the best mix of music in this area, Mix 103.  Welcome back to the songs which have been the most popular in this area as we celebrate Thanksgiving weekend together.  We take the top 10 of today and yesterday and study their messages, and then, call our show MATT.  Our thought is that you can enjoy the music, and at the same time, you should listen to the message.  I’m your host, Fr. Mike Scully.  It’s great to have you here.  We have taken our theme from the season we are celebrating, as well as from Shaed and their song “Trampoline” and our theme is: “Some Positive Things for Which We Should Be Thankful.”
            Let’s go to another song about commitment, this time to a person who has been hurt in other relationships.  “I know people make promises all the time,” he sings, “Then they turn right around and break them when someone cuts your heart open with a knife, and you’re bleeding.  But I could be that guy to heal it over time.  So don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me, ‘cause you might look around and find your dreams come true with me, spend all your time and money just to find out that my love was free.”  The man in the relationship is doing two things, one making a permanent commitment and two, trying to heal the lady’s situation.  In terms of our theme today, the lady should be thankful to him for that, I believe.  MATT presenting here from Justin Timberlake and his album “The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2” and his song “Not a Bad Thing” from 2014 on MATT. 
(double)  NOT A BAD THING / Justin Timberlake
                   10 CIRCLES / Post Malone
 
Part 5
            Our theme last week, MATT presenting the rapper/singer/songwriter Post Malone, whose real name is Austin Richard Post, from his album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” and his song “Circles” at number 10.  The title of our show last week dealt with when we should let a relationship go, and the song is one of a break-up that has occurred and you’re not really sure whether the man in the relationship feels it is worth saving or not.  “Seasons change,” he sings, “and our love went cold, feed the flame ‘cause we can’t let go.  Run away, but we’re running in circles. Run away. I dare you to do something, I’m waiting on you again, so I don’t take the blame.  Let go, I got a feeling that it’s time to let go. I knew that this was doomed from the get-go.  You thought that it was special. But it was just the sex though. I got a feeling that it’s time to let it go.”  It is the situation of so many relationships, moving into the physical too soon, and then impossible to determine whether the relationship is real or not.  It is a song that the young really ought to listen to.  With our theme of positive things for which we should be thankful, the young man ought to be very thankful that he is able to do some correct thinking in the midst of his feelings.
            Another triple for us right now, and most of the songs that we give is in triples.  This one begins with number 2 right now and a story in song of a couple who really don’t know for sure about each other yet.  “I love it when you call me Senorita,” the lady sings, “I wish I could pretend I don’t need you, but every touch is true.  Oh, I should be running.  You keep me coming for you; when you call me Senorita, I wish it wasn’t so hard to leave you.  Locked in the hotel, there’s some things that never change.  You say, ‘We’re just friends.’”  And all during the song, it feels as though things are just not quite right between them.  It is acted out in the video with the man leaving the girl.  Given our theme today, the couple must work out their relationship, and they should be very thankful that they had a good relationship to begin with.  Falling back into the number 2 position, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and their song ‘Senorita” on MATT. 
(triple)       2 SENORITA / Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
                               BLANK SPACE / Taylor Swift
                               7 SUCKER / Jonas Brothers
 
Part 6     
            The first time we will hear from them today, our number 7 song today from the Jonas Brothers, former number 1, from their album “Happiness Begins”, their song “Sucker” on MATT.  It is the story in song of devotion to another, and what that other does to the man in the relationship.  “We go together,” they begin their song, “Better than birds of a feather, you and me.  We change the weather: I’m feeling heat in December when you’re ‘round me.  I’ve been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars.  I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough.  You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain.  It’s obvious, I’m a sucker for you.  Say the word and I’ll go anywhere blindly.  Any road you take you know that you’ll find me.  I’m a sucker for all the subliminal things.”  Subliminal things deal with the little things that a person does without even thinking.  In terms of our theme today, for a couple in love, they both ought to be thankful for the subliminal things that they share with the other.
            Before them, from her album of the Year “1989”, and a Grammy nominated song, Taylor Swift from 2014 and “Blank Space.”  The song is about a girl who is fooling around with love, and it hurts both her and her boyfriend every time she fools around.  “So, it’s gonna be forever,” she sings, “or it’s gonna go down in flames.  You can tell me when it’s over if the high was worth the pain.  They’ll tell you I’m insane ‘cause you know I love the players and you love the game.  ‘Cause we’re young and we’re reckless.  We’ll take this way too far.  Got a long list of ex-lovers.”  And later she sings, “I get drunk on jealousy, but you’ll come back each time you leave, ‘cause I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.  I’ve got a blank space, and I’ll write your name.”  As I say, she is fooling around with love and in the video especially, it is clear that she is hurting everyone involved including herself.  As we think of positive things for which we can be thankful, about the only one here is the possibility that she will finally realize what she is doing.
            We are talking about the top songs of our land from the present and the past according to Mediabase 24-7 on MATT.  Our theme this morning has come from the holiday we will be celebrating and from Shaed’s song “Trampoline”, calling our show “Some Positive Things for Which We Should Be Thankful”.  Here’s another quote on Thanksgiving, this one from Abraham Lincoln as he proclaimed the holiday on October 3, 1863: “It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.  I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens.”  Not bad, Abe—I really agree with his statement.  This is today’s best music Mix 103 and MATT.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 7
            We are back for “Message at the Top” and we welcome you to the continuation of the top 10 songs of our area of today and yesterday as determined by our research and your requests.  We call our show MATT because we take those top 10 songs and analyze their meanings in the light of how we can live better in this complicated world.  Our thought always is to enjoy the music, and to listen to the message.  I am Fr. Mike Scully, your host for MATT, and we are pursuing a theme that was given to us by this season of Thanksgiving and the number 8 song on our countdown from Shaed—a theme that we are calling “Some Positive Things for Which We Should Be Thankful.”
            And a great song of thanksgiving here.  An incredible song for rock music.  Basically, it says, God is watching from a distance, therefore change some behaviors.  “From a distance”, she sings, there is harmony”—like we are “instruments playing in a common band,” playing “songs of peace, songs of hope, the song for everyone.”  God is watching from that distance and from that point of view, there is “no war, there are no guns, there is no disease, everyone looks as if they could be friends even though they are at war.”  But up close it is a different story.  From a distance, it is what should be; up close, it is the reality you and I experience—often far from what should be.  So the conclusion of the song: we had better want to do something about what’s happening.  You had better watch because if you do, you will change.  In terms of our theme today, one of the things you and I should be thankful for is the chance to listen to songs like this one.  The number one song according to MATT of the year 1990, the Grammy song of the year in 1991, 73 year old Bette Midler, soon to be 74 next Sunday, “From A Distance” on MATT. 
(triple)       FROM A DISTANCE / Bette Midler
                   NOT OVER YOU / Gavin Degraw
                               IN LOVE WITH A GIRL / Gavin Degraw
 
Part 8 
            A double play, this time from Gavin DeGraw’s album named after him, “In Love With A Girl” a past top 10, former number 1 on MATT.  It is a song about understanding.  “So many people gonna say that they want you to try to get you thinking they really care;” he sings, “I’m in love with a girl, who knows me better.  Someone [who] understands, and she knows how to treat a fella right, give me that feeling every night, wants to make love when I wanna fight.  Now, someone understands me: I’m in love with a girl.  The heart can’t erase once it finds a place to be warm and welcome, to be held in shelter."  The lady in the relationship, the one he is in love with, understands him, and it is the secret to their relationship.  And it is something positive for which the man in the relationship should be thankful, our theme today.
            Before him, him again and this time from his album called “Sweeter”, and Gavin Degraw’s song “Not Over You” from 2011.  It is a love song about what happens when there is a breakup in a romantic love situation.  The man in the relationship is remembering when the lady was with him, and it is a good memory, but she is no longer there.  The man begins the song, “Dreams—that’s where I have to go to see your beautiful face anymore.  If you ask me how I’m doing, I would say I’m doing just fine.  I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind, but I go out and I sit down at a table set for two, and finally I’m forced to face the truth—no matter what I say, I’m not over you."  It is a very painful time in the person in the song’s love life.  I phrase the theme of the meditation on the song on my website, “In every instance of our lives, we must face the truth of what is happening.”  And the truth of what is happening in that song is that there will be no relationship, and if he is striving to be positive, our theme today, he has to move on, and be thankful that he had the experience even though she is gone.
            Yet another triple play right now and let’s begin it with the number 5 song in our top 10 right now, once again from the Jonas Brothers.  It is a story of the good feelings we have in love.  “You got all my love to spend,” the man in the relationship sings, “We gonna dance in my living room, slave to the way you move, hurts when I’m leaving you.  Love with an attitude, drunk to an 80’s groove.  It’s only human, you know that it’s real, so why would you fight or try to deny the way you feel?  You can’t fool me, stop pretending you’re shy, just come on and dance, dance, dance, dance.”  The song extols the feelings of love as expressed especially by dancing.  And feelings, as we have said many times, are just fine, and can be very hopeful of a good relationship, but because feelings are fickle, one of things we must consider is that feelings may cease, but again, something positive for which to be thankful is the fact that we have had those good feelings in the first place.  At number 5, from their album “Happiness Begins,” again this is the Jonas Brothers, this time with their song “Only Human” on MATT.
(triple)     5 ONLY HUMAN / Jonas Brothers
                   DANI CALIFORNIA / Red Hot Chili Peppers
                   4 I DON’T CARE / Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
 
Part 9           
            MATT presenting Ed Sheeran singing with Justin Bieber here, number 1 for a long time from Ed Sheeran’s album “No. 6 Collaborations Project”, and they are at number 4 with that song “I Don’t Care”.  It is a story that speaks of the man in the relationship not being real happy with the situation he is in except for the fact that his significant other is there.  “I’m at a party I don’t wanna be at.  Don’t think I want to be at this party, I always feel like I’m nobody; who wants to fit in anyway ‘cause I don’t care when I’m with my baby, all the bad things disappear.  And you’re making me feel like maybe I am somebody.  I can deal with the bad nights when I’m with my baby.”  Thinking of something positive for which to be thankful, our theme today, the man can feel pretty good about being with the other in the relationship, and therefore something to be thankful for.  But sooner or later, he will have to make the decision to think on his own.
            Before them, a song about Dani California, the name of their song, but it is really a person who had an interesting life. The refrain is “California rest in peace, simultaneous release, California show your teeth.  She’s my priestess, I’m your priest.”  They began the song with the beginning of her life: “Getting’ born in the state of Mississippi, poppa was a copper and momma was a hippy,” and by the end of the song, she has led a rough life, and finally died at the hands of a North Dakota man.  It is a statement about the life of someone who didn’t live as she should have.  We need to consider carefully what we are doing with our lives so that our ending will be one that we want, and if we are spending our time in a relationship, both the person who spends the time and the other party must have a pretty good idea of their lives in order to stay together.  In terms of our theme, they can be thankful for the positive things that have happened in their complicated lives so far.  The song was from Red Hot Chili Peppers from the songs of meaning of 2006 and their album “Stadium Arcadian”,  and “Dani California”. 
            Which takes us to a break before our final segment today, that segment including numbers 6, 3, 9 and 1 and extra songs from people like birthday person Billy Idol.  Let me take you to that break with a speech—well, not the whole speech, but Winston Churchill who would have been 145 years old this Saturday, gave a famous speech on November 23, 1944 about us.  This is part of it: “It is your Day of Thanksgiving, and when we feel the truth of the facts which are before us, that in three or four years the peaceful, peace-loving people of the United States, with all the variety and freedom of their life in such contrast to the iron discipline which has governed many other communities—when we see that in three or four years the United States has in sober fact become the greatest military, naval, and air power in the world—that, I say to you in this time of war, is itself a subject for profound thanksgiving.”  This is MATT on this pre-Thanksgiving Sunday.  I hope you stay right where you are.  Don’t even think about touching that dial.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
Part 10
            Good day to all of you.  We are back for our Thanksgiving show on MATT, this Sunday before the Thanksgiving break.  I hope that your Thanksgiving break will be a good one for you.  I am Fr. Mike Scully, your host, welcoming you to this our final segment of our show which encourages you to enjoy the music, and listen to the message so that the message can help our lives.  During this segment we will explore the messages of the remaining top 10 including number 1 along with Billy Idol and the group Theory of a Deadman.
            What is at number 6 this Sunday?  Well, here it is—a story about a man and a woman who refuse to be taken in by the glamorous life and therefore are quite happy with their self-esteem and they do not have to be fake.  “Everybody’s looking for a come-up,” they sing, “and they wanna know what you’re about, me in the middle with the one I love and we’re just try’n to figure everything out.  We don’t fit in well ‘cause we are just ourselves.  This is my only fear that we become beautiful people.  Drop-top, designer clothes, front row at fashion shows, ‘What d’you do?’ And ‘Who d’you know?’  Let’s leave the party.  That’s not who we are.”  In terms of our theme today, the couple can be quite thankful that they have discovered the positive side of staying away from the fake glamorous life.  Singing with Khalid this time, number 6 in the top 10, Ed Sheeran again from his album “No. 6 Collaboration Project” and their song “Beautiful People” on MATT.
(triple)     6 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE / Ed Sheeran & Khalid
                   WHITE WEDDING / Billy Idol
                   3 MEMORIES / Maroon 5
 
Part 11 
            That was from Maroon 5 and their song “Memories” from a future album to be released, moving up to number 3 right now on MATT.  “Here’s to the ones that we got,” they sing, “Cheers to the wish you were here but you’re not.  ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories of everything we’ve been through. Toast to the ones here today, toast to the ones we lost on the way ‘cause the drinks bring back all the memories and the memories bring back you.  There’s a time that I remember when I did not know pain, when I believed in forever and everything would stay the same.  Now my heart feels like December when somebody says your name ‘cause I can’t reach out to call you.  But I know I will one day.  Everybody hurts sometimes, everything will be alright.”  So some pain, but there seems to be hope either with the present relationship or perhaps another relationship.  Something positive for which to be thankful, our theme today, is the hope that is their between them.
            Before them, we heard from Billy Idol’s Greatest Hits album released a couple of years ago, perhaps his most popular song “White Wedding”.  Billy Idol is William Albert Michael Broad—his real name, and will be 64 years old on Saturday.  The song was difficult to understand when it was released, and it still is just a little bit of a challenge, not to mention some controversy around it.  “Hey, little sister, what have you done,” he begins, “hey, little sister who’s the only one, hey, little sister who’s your superman, hey, little sister who’s the one you want.  It’s a nice day to start again, it’s a nice day for a white wedding, it’s a nice day to start again.”  The person in the song has apparently been away for a while, and now wants to start again.  Starting it with a wedding is a little much, and many look at it as going back to drugs again which is an unfortunate meaning if that’s it.  Let me use the idea of starting again, and tying that into our theme of “Some Positive Things for Which We Should be Thankful” one of the things is that we can start over in our lives, but a wedding is not a good time to do it because it should have begun long before the wedding, to be sure.
            A final double play for us right now and let’s begin it wth a song about the possibility of the man in the relationship choosing the wrong person.  “It’s never enough to say ’I’m sorry,’” they sing, “it’s never enough to say I care, but I’m caught between what you wanted from me and knowing that if I give that to you, I might just disappear.  I know it’s like trying to turn around on a one way street.  I can’t give you what you want, and it’s killing me.  And I’m starting to see: maybe we’re not meant to be.”  They sing that there’s still time to turn the relationship around, but it doesn’t look like it will.  The man in the relationship is thinking exactly like he should in my opinion, and therefore a positive thought for which he can be thankful, our theme today.  This is “Not Meant To Be” from the Canadian group Theory of a Deadman from their album “Scars and Souvenirs” from 2008 on MATT. 
(double)    NOT MEANT TO BE / Theory of a Deadman
                               9 THE BONES / Maren Morris
 
Part 12
            From her album simply named “Girl”, Maren Larae Morris from Arlington, Texas and her song “The Bones” at number 9 on MATT.  It is a song about making a true commitment and a great song of a husband and a wife in her specific case with her husband, or between lovers if you think beyond her relationship.  “We’re in the homestretch of the hard times,” she begins her song, “We took a hard left, but we’re alright.  Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it, but we built this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move it.  When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter.  Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter.  Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same.  When there ain’t a crack in the foundation, I know any storm we’re facing will blow right over while we stay put.  The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”  Speaking with our theme, the positive thing for which to be thankful is the great commitment that is between them.
            And moving back into the number 1 position, and therefore he has had it for a total of 5 weeks, Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi from his album “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent,” the song “Someone You Loved”.  It is the story of pain because it is about the close of a romantic relationship.  “I'm going under,” the man in the relationship sings, “and this time I fear there's no one to save me.  This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy. I need somebody to heal, somebody to know, somebody to have, somebody to hold. I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.  Now the day bleeds into nightfall.  And you're not here to get me through it all.  I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug.  I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”  The relationship is over, it seems, and as we have said a couple of times during the show, even though there is a negative, that is pain, he can be thankful, I believe, for the time when he felt the positive feelings of a great relationship.  How about that reasoning!
            Our theme this pre-Thanksgiving weekend has been that idea of thanksgiving and combined with Shaed’s number 8 song “Trampoline”.  We have called it “Some Positive Things for Which We Should be Thankful”.  There are many positive things that happen in our lives, and it is good to take time out to be thankful for them.  My prayer for you and me is that we will learn from every positive thing so that in the end we can be thankful for what we have. / My thanks to our producers and our sponsors at Hays Car and Truck Alignment, Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays, and Holy Family Elementary School in Hays.  My e-mail address if you want to contact me is frmikescully@yahoo.com and my website is www.frmikescully.com where you can find a transcript of the show and meditations on the songs and some great movies.  If you want to contact me by mail, I hope you do so at KJLS radio, Hays, KS, 67601.  You can join us on the web also as Mix 103 live streams their station and therefore me on Sunday mornings at 10am.  Let me close with a great thought about Thanksgiving spoken by Mark Twain, that is Samuel Langhome Clemens who would have been 184 this Saturday.  It’s a little long but well worth a laugh: “Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for -- annually, not oftener -- if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man's side, consequently on the Lord's side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments.”  Wow.  He was truly an incredible writer and satirist.  As we close with the number 1 song of our land right now from Lewis Capaldi and his song “Someone You Loved”, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music, Mix 103, and our advice to you, among the positive things that we have said to you during the show is to hold a good thought.  Happy Thanksgiving coming up for all of us.  My name is Fr. Mike Scully.  Peace to you, and be good.
1 SOMEONE YOU LOVED / Lewis Capaldi