Big & Rich -- "Slow Motion" (2005)

Oh-h-h, I'm breaking in slow motion Oh-h-h, how did it hit me so fast? It hurts so bad, it hurts so bad

I don't think National Indulge in Self-Pity Month has an official song.  So I'm nominating Big & Rich's "Slow Motion."  (Country is definitely the most self-pitying popular music genre, and "Slow Motion" is an excellent example of a self-pitying country song.)

Gotcha!  Silly rabbit, there's no such thing as National Indulge in Self-Pity Month! But there is National Indulge in Self-Pity Week, and we are right in the middle of it.

Gotcha again!  Actually, there's no such thing as National Indulge in Self-Pity Week either.  But if there were, 2 or 3 lines would be an excellent choice as its official blog.  

This post is explicitly about self-pity.  But it's certainly not the only 2 or 3 lines post to be saturated with self-pity.  Self-pity is one of the things that 2 or 3 lines does best -- don't you agree?  That's no surprise.  After all, being self-absorbed is another one of the other things 2 or 3 lines does best, and it's only one small step from self-absorption to self-pity.

This song popped up on the ol' sentient iPod this morning when I was taking a walk along San Diego Bay.  I was already in a self-pitying state of mind, and this song was like getting an injection of self-pity epinephrine after self-pity-induced cardiac arrest.

I hit the "repeat" button a half-dozen times or so before I got back to my hotel.  I don't know the exact number because I was too consumed with you-know-what to keep track.  (Self-pity demands your full attention -- you can't count and completely give yourself over to self-pity at the same time.) 

"Slow Motion" is from Big & Rich's second album, Comin' to Your City, which was released in 2005.  It wouldn't be a bad official song for National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week.  This verse in particular captures the mental paralysis that is characteristic of depression:

Feels like I'm frozen in a dream I can't run, can't even scream I'm trying to fight but I can't get my fist up How does somebody get so messed up? Edvard Munch's "The Scream" But National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week was May 6-12 this year, and I didn't want to wait almost a whole year for it to roll around again.  So I made up National Indulge in Self-Pity Week as an excuse to write about "Slow Motion."

I understand that not all of you allow yourselves to wallow in self-pity.  In fact, you may find displays of self-pity pathetic and disgusting.  If so, you will enjoy Jo Dee Messina's song, "My Give a Damn's Busted."  It's an excellent choice the next time a friend or acquaintance tries to suck you into his or her self-pity party:

You can say you've got issues

You can say you're a victim . . .

Maybe somebody else's got time to listen

My give a damn's busted

Here's "Slow Motion":

Click here to buy "Slow Motion" from Amazon: