We last featured Prem Byrne for finding hope in the cosmos with the intentional and cinematic single, Orion, so when we heard that the visionary artist was back with How Life Is, we were curious to say the least, and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
How Life Is opens with an intricate guitar soundscape and a narrative as Prem Byrne shares the lyrics, “He had his hearing aid in, when the DMV lady said, that he failed his test, on the road, she took his license, ’cause he failed three times and he can’t drive now, he’s too old…”
The song unfolds as a meditation on aging, denial and mortality. It follows the tale of an elderly man who loses his driver’s license after failing his driving test and his refusal to accept the decision. The man insists that he made no mistakes and blames everyone else.
In essence, the message highlights the difficulty many of us have in confronting the loss of independence that comes with old age. In a society obsessed with lookmaxxing and biohacking, this message feels really poignant and important. As for the songwriting, fans of Alanis Morissette‘s Ironic, and Bob Dylan‘s Hurricane would be able to connect with what Prem Byrne has created.
Again the flute sounds add to the high spiritual quotient of the narrative which suggests that whilst aging and loss can be painful and often resisted, they are universal parts of life that none of us can escape. Prem confesses, “I wrote this song after a family member lost their driver’s license, simply because they were too old to drive. It was painful to witness their process of losing the freedom and agency that so many of us who drive take for granted.”
The song would suit a sync placement in a film like The Father. Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added How Life Is to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Prem Byrne, including When The Honeymoon Is Over, Three Words, and Orion.