My Gen X Playlist: Only the Lonely – The Motels

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about her recently graduated son who was trying to figure out his next steps. It can be difficult to know what you want to do at that age. I’ve been in his shoes. After graduation, in the midst of this unknown grey, I left the country to teach English in Japan. I threw that out as a possible option for him. What a great way to see the world and get paid for it.

I did provide a balanced view of my adventure, though. There were so many gems that I collected, but it wasn’t always a bed of roses. I was there before the internet and cut off from life back home. I did experience bouts of loneliness, which was a unique experience. I’d never had problems doing things on my own, but I learned there is a huge difference between being by myself and being lonely. Living in a foreign country without friends, unable to communicate or read the signs on the walls can really get to you after a while. The darkness of loneliness ain’t no joke.

Despite these difficult experiences, I am glad I went through it. I do feel stronger for surviving it. Believe me, sometimes I had to reach down deep to make it through these moments. If I didn’t have my CD collection, I’m not sure what I would have done. Probably the best silver lining was developing a sense of empathy. Living through that wasn’t fun, but I grew from it. I hope after checking this box, I won’t have to experience it ever again.

Timing and the universe are definitely good friends. I woke up the next morning to read Song of the Day for Today’s blog post of Only the Lonely by the Motels. It didn’t trigger any of my dark days of loneliness. I was just amazed how sometimes random events overlap neatly like this. And even though this is a sad song, I still loved it and remembered singing along to it in the car. Back then I really didn’t fathom what loneliness meant. It was just a word in a lyric in a song. When I reheard it in this song, I almost smiled. Yes, it reminded me about a few tough moments in my life, but at the same time I also thought about how far I’d come from that punk kid after graduation. And even if my time abroad delayed my career growth a bit, it had the opposite effect on my life. That definitely was worth the price of admission.

Sadly, Only the lonely can truly appreciate this song to the fullest!

YouTube comment by bobbyswain1983

This is one of those songs for me that makes me feel a sense of nostalgia but also a little sadness. Yes it’s a somewhat sad song but it’s something more than that.

YouTube comment by jalsbrook4475

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

We walked the loneliest mile
We smiled without any style
We kiss altogether wrong
No intention

We lied about each other's drinks
We lived without each other thinking
What anyone would do
Without me and you

It's like I told you
Only the lonely can play

So hold on, here we go
Hold on to nothing we know
I feel so lonely
Way up here

You mention the time we were together
So long ago
Well, I don't remember
All I know is that it makes me feel good now

It's like I told you
Only the lonely can play
Only the lonely
Only the lonely can play

Only the lonely
Only the lonely can play
It's like I told you
Only the lonely can play
Only the lonely
Only the lonely can play