James Kennedy - Keeping On

'Keeping On' is a Pop Rock song & the 4th song on the 2017 James Kennedy album 'Home'. The words, music & production are by James Kennedy.

'Keeping On' is an upbeat mid-tempo Pop Rock song with a traditional song structure & an arrangement consisting of Drums, Bass, acoustic, clean & distorted Guitars, electric Piano & Vocals, all performed by Kennedy. Lyrically, the song touches on several themes, the main one being to chase your dreams regardless of whether you succeed or not. Kennedy says in the song that too much focus is given to the lucky 1% of achievers in society & not enough to the bulk of society which makes up most of the fabric of our lives. In the song Kennedy says that "Heroes walk among us & we don't know" and that the "World ain't running on cameos" implying that the temporary 'stars' that come on to our collective consciousness now & again aren't holding society together like the everyday people and that not enough focus is given to those among us who save lives, work, entertain, protect & keep society ticking over. This is further enforced in the line "We are the sky between the stars" implying that the canvas that the 'stars' shine within is actually the majority of humanity, the stars are mere specs which come & go. Kennedy encourages the listener in the song to chase their passions, interests & dreams and that just by doing they will be giving themselves a life full of more stories, variety, fun & lessons - even if they don't succeed in their goal, the goal (the 'destination') is only there to keep them 'keeping on' along the journey. In the 1st verse Kennedy implies that the opposite of this, giving in to fear & failure, leads to other kinds of negative traits and a life of regret, bitterness & unspent potential (i.e. in the line "the devil makes work for idle hands"). All in all the song is a positive, motivational song about living your best life and not comparing yourselves to the media presented version of what constitutes success. As the song says, the only "failure" is in denying yourself the "life you get from trying".

LYRICS

They say the Devil makes work for idle hands And fear scares the life out of the best laid plans

But failure ain’t failing It’s depriving yourself of the life you get from trying This is a call to distraction

Maybe one day we will get there Maybe we won’t and we won’t care Maybe the road leads to nowhere But a lifetime’s guaranteed The destination you only need To keep you keeping on

Hero’s walk among us and we don’t know everyday ‘Cos the world ain’t running on cameo’s, no way

And a game needs more than just winners You learn better lessons from good losers We are the sky between the stars

Maybe one day we will get there Maybe we won’t and we won’t care Maybe the road leads to nowhere But a lifetime’s guaranteed The destination you only need To keep you keeping on

x2