In Our Feelings: The Illusion of “No Regrets”

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Morgan Bluma

The feeling of regret is the worst. This giant pit in your stomach that won’t go away. The constant nagging of our brain over what could happen, the what ifs. It is the worst. It can haunt you for days, weeks, and, for some, years. Many songs send the message that we should live in the moment and have no regrets but, I question, is that really possible? To never experience regret? I’m skeptical. I honestly do not think someone can go their entire life with no regret. We always regret something whether small or large: maybe it’s something you never said to someone, maybe it’s when you went to a certain party, maybe it’s never going on a trip. There is always something.

Regret isn’t all bad though. For many, it can help us to learn from a painful experience. This feeling can lead us to refocus our lives and take to a new path. Regret can have informational value in trying to motivate us towards the right direction. It helps us avoid those same situations or mistakes, gives us insight, and can help us make sense of the world. Regret gives us the opportunity to pick ourselves back up in a different way from before.

Bob Moses, the Canadian electronic duo, helps to send a different message on regret. Instead of telling us to live in the moment and to just act without thinking, they tell us to pull ourselves back together after a moment of regret. The song is very straightforward. It’s the same lyrics repeated as there are only two verses. To me, it seems like this song is what happens in life with regret. We do something that may be considered wrong, we regret that decision, and then we rise up again and learn from the experience. But this is a cycle. We will make bad choices and we will continue to experience some form of regret. And we will rise up again from what we have learned. I feel that by only utilizing two verses alludes to this theme in life.

Interestingly, in an interview with Billboard Magazine, they revealed that this song had been a demo from awhile back and they rediscovered it for their album “Battle Lines.” They admitted their struggle with getting the arrangement right. I believe that the hard work they put into this song, with the help of Lars, really paid off. This tune is one you can listen to for hours. I highly recommend this entire album. You will not regret it.