I’ve always loved Jim Croce’s music, and I’ve been thinking of this one a lot. It’s a poignant father/son song, and though Jim didn’t write the words, you can feel the emotion. His father had a dream of being a singer, one that Jim lived out. To me this is a proud declaration of a guy who is doing his best, working hard, keeping his head down.

At one point he sings, as smooth as honey:

“I’ve got a song/And I carry it with me, and I sing it loud/If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud.”

Now that’s some mantra to live by.

“Like the fool I am and I’ll always be, I’ve got a dream.”

Yes, don’t we all. The message comes down to us, clear through the decades. Croce had so much well deserved success, in a life tragically cut short. In a sad twist of fate, this song was released just after he died. I feel like this one is a hymn for all the dreamers out there, doing things because you have stories to tell and songs to sing and things to create, whether they are met with great accolades or total indifference. God bless all of you. Keep on working: you got a name.