I never put much thought into this song, I just liked t for what it was, a great song with a great chorus. This is true with a lot of the music we listen to, more often than not, it’s the melody, the musical arrangement that initially grabs us and is usually enough to make us fall in love with it. Then, that love for the song makes you listen more carefully to what the song says….and a whole new dimension of the song is introduced.

I remember reading somewhere some tidbits on what Adam thought of his songs before and his songs nowadays…and what he said I guess basically applies to everyone who writes songs. He said something in the line of compared to his present day stuff, his older songs weren’t as "honest", basically because as a young song writer, your still learning to express yourself and still a little hesitant to open up completely.

Well, "40 Years" is one of them "old songs" written and played live before "August and Everything After" was released and though it’s true that this song doesn’t really compare much to emotional fountains like Anna Begins or Perfect Blue Buildings (although I don’t think these songs themselves are any "newer") it still is a powerful song in itself.

After listening carefully, the central idea still remains constant and similar to most of CC’s songs, a desire, a dream…a mission in life. It’s basically a "reality bites" type of song that really gets to you if you let it. The "Character" sings of how some people (including him) aren’t so lucky in life and are placed in situations they’d rather not be in…all the same, from whatever starting point you’re put in, you’ll always have a "destination" or goal you’d want to achieve. But as the song simply puts it…nothing in life is easy, you want it? You gotta go work for it. Every action you choose to do has it’s consequences. The chorus says it all. "It takes 40 years for the gun to be paid for, to put the money away, to get the things that I need, to walk the thunder and the rain.