There are songs, — one song alone for which I’d pay the full price of a concert ticket, to hear performed live.  Never mind the rest of the set list, a single melody and lyric would make the ticket outlay, as well as the effort to reach the venue, the expense of time, — an agreeable exchange.  This is one of those songs, this 1985 rock ballad by Survivor.

Are we not all survivors?  What miracle of fate has brought me to this time and place in life?  You as well!  Even more so with the trial and error, the near misses of life especially now to find myself in a durable relationship with another human being!  Dare I use the word love?  “Love” is the indispensable word with so many meanings ranging from raw sensual attraction, to a idealized veneration of the Other.  I have in mind a paperback novel story about a Medieval knight contending for the favor of a lady…  “Love” is a strong inclusive descriptor that leaves nothing out, not even a possibility of dark betrayal. 

That is enough.  Listen to the song with me…

The Search Is Over

By Survivor

How can I convince you
What you see is real
Who am I to blame you
For doubting what you feel

I was always reachin’
You were just a girl I knew
I took for granted
The friend I had in you

I was living for a dream
Loving for a moment
Taking on the world
That was just my style
Now I look into your eyes
I can see forever
The search is over
You were with me all the while

Can we last forever
Will we fall apart
At times it’s so confusing
The questions of the heart

You followed me through changes
And patiently you’d wait
‘Till I came to my senses through
Some miracle of fate

I was living for a dream
Loving for a moment
Taking on the world
That was just my style
Now I look into your eyes
I can see forever
The search is over
You were with me all the while

Now the miles stretch out behind me
Loves that I have lost
Broken hearts lie, victims of the game
Then good luck, it finally struck
Like lighting from the blue
Every highway’s leading me back to you

Now at last I hold you
Now all is said and done
The search has come full circle
Our destinies are one

So if you ever loved me
Show me that you give a damn
You’ll know for certain
The man I really am

I was living for a dream
Loving for a moment
Taking on the world
That was just my style
Then I touched your hand
I could hear you whisper
The search is over
Love was right before my eyes

Written by Jim Peterik, Frank Micheal Sullivan iii