“Better Man, Better Off” (Tracy Lawrence)

As I mentioned in my previous post about my decision to freely post links to songs and music videos, my intention is not to elaborate or to provide commentary for most of these songs and music videos. Clearly, if I post a link to a song or music video, it can reasonably be assumed that I like the song and/or the music video in question. It might mean that the song means a great deal to me, holds some particular significance to me, or it could mean that I simply enjoy the song and/or the associated music video. It probably isn’t worth your time trying to figure out what exactly led me to posting the link. Click the link and check it out. I hope that you enjoy what you hear and watch, but I am not so foolish as to believe that anyone will like everything to which I provide a link. This song and music video are no different.

With that being said, this particular song by Tracy Lawrence means a great deal to me. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should like it.

In the summer of 1997, I was dealing with a heartbreak. A young woman that I had been dating for months had ended our romantic relationship just prior to me returning home from East Carolina University for the summer. Shortly thereafter, I learned that she had fallen for another guy.

Before we started dating “officially“, we had been friends or more than just friends. To say that I adored this woman would be perhaps the best, most accurate way to describe my feelings for her. Her father once took the two of us out to dinner at the Oceanic in Wrightsville Beach before we were “officially“ a couple. I later heard from this young woman that her father was surprised by how affectionate and loving I was towards her, how I was not the least bit self-conscious in showing affection towards her, and how unconcerned I was by his presence. To be clear, I was a gentleman. I was not engaged in anything remotely resembling an inappropriate public display of affection. But I guess that my behavior towards her wasn’t changed by meeting her dad.

Evidently, at least a few people took note of how smitten I was. Just last year a friend and former baseball teammate of mine from the 1996 and 1997 seasons mentioned her and, when I told him how I felt after having briefly reconnected years ago, he reassured me that I had just been in love and that it had been pretty obvious to him.

Anyway, that summer of 1997 was a particularly brutal time in my life. My family, friends, and teammates and my time spent on the diamond were really what helped me to keep it together as well as I did. Admittedly, I feel like I didn’t do a particularly good job of keeping it together. The song “Better Man, Better Off” helped. I didn’t necessarily agree that I would be better off, but the idea was at least reassuring. I got through the dark and painful time, just as I did during previous and subsequent dark, painful times.

I was fortunate enough to watch Tracy Lawrence perform at the California Mid-Winter Fair in 2000. It was a great show. I wish that I could have told Mr. Lawrence how much I appreciated him and that song. Perhaps someday.

If you choose to give this a listen/view, I hope that you enjoy it. 🙂