#66: Whole Lot of Leavin’ Going On: Bon Jovi: 2007-2008.
Whole lot of Leavin‘ is the 4th track on the Lost Highway Album released by Bon Jovi in June 2007. The single was released in May 2008.
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. is Jon Bon Jovi and the lead singer of the band Bon Jovi. It is a really good name and conjures a positive image. Bon meaning good and Jovi, sort of connected to jovial, impresses in my mind at least, a happy upbeat kind of guy. The band, Bon Jovi has been around since the early 80s and their most popular song is Livin’ on a Prayer: 1986, which was #14 in this collection of songs we will sing.
But today my song is Whole Lot of Leavin’ the inspiration for which came from Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist Richie Sambora. Sambora had recently suffered the loss of his father and the leaving of his wife which obviously left him and those who cared about him with some heavy hearts.
In life there is always a whole lot of leavin’ goin on; we leave all sorts of places and circumstances and for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes leaving is chosen, sometimes it is forced upon us, sometimes it is other people who leave, sometimes leaving is an act of self presevation, sometimes leaving is just an act of growing; we have grown up or grown out of a situation, sometimes a chapter has just come to an end and we leave to go forward into the next chapter, sometimes it is we who leave, sometimes we even leave our old selves and like the butterfly grow new and bright wings and sometimes this leaving business is entirely out of the control of anyone.
Bon Jovi has a really upbeat way of presenting this idea of leaving and the big message here is that change is a constant, we cannot take life, tie it up in a box and control it, or people. It takes courage to live, courage to rise above our hurts, loss and heartaches, courage to be strong and courage to face an uncertain future, especially when we face it alone. The other message of the song is the beauty of the memories of the good and happy times and the comfort which can be drawn from these memories. It is a reminder to live life in a way that makes good memories for ourselves and for others; sometimes it is all we have left.
Way leads onto Way 