Take a moment right now and think about your biggest, wildest dream. Maybe you want to be an astronaut. Perhaps you’ve always dreamed about being on the cover of a magazine that could sit on your parents’ coffee table so they could brag to all their friends about how their child made something of themself. Whatever you choose, I’m willing to bet that it does not reflect what you’re doing right now. You may be chasing your dreams, but you haven’t entirely caught up to them, and if that’s true, then the new song from America Jayne is for you.
“Don’t Worry About Selling Out” finds America Jayne delivering an unabashed portrait of an artist caught in the struggle of life. America is that that place where so many begin to lose hope in themselves. She’s stuck somewhere between being an absolute nobody and becoming someone that everyone wants to know. It’s that gray area that fills your soul with doubt and tells you that this is all you will ever be able to accomplish. Many people give in to these doubts, but hopefully, America will not be one of them.
And I’m willing to bet that she wants the same for you. “Don’t Worry About Selling Out” may be a confessional of sorts, but it’s also meant to make us feel less alone. Anyone over the age of 18 has watched as their big ambitions and those of the people they love slowly fade. Call it growing up or settling down; many people are simply too afraid to risk failure to try anything at all. We allow ourselves to believe that we are not worthy of the things that our hearts desire the most, but America is arguing that we are, and I sincerely hope that people listen.
Speaking on “Don’t Worry About Selling Out,” America had this to say:
‘I bartend to make ends meet, and while I love the job, I often find myself envying musicians who only need to make music to get by. This song unapologetically chronicles feelings of insecurity, self-doubt, and jealousy. The song explores my role as a bartender at a music venue, being a bystander to another’s success, as well as my experience on the other side of the bar, performing at dingy dives and struggling to stay true to myself for fear of “selling out.”
The idea of people in a bar is a fitting metaphor to describe what happens when we give in to our fears. Some of us drink to celebrate or unwind, but others do so to drown out the nagging feeling that they will never live their best lives. They believe the fleeting joy of an alcoholic buzz is the closest they may ever come to experiencing happiness. It’s a sad state of affairs, but it doesn’t have to be your reality. You can choose to do something with your life. You can risk everything to pursue the things that mean the most to you with every ounce of energy that you possess—doing something with this very brief amount of time that we have to walk this planet is entirely your responsibility. Follow America’s lead and take your life by the rains. It’s not too late.
