McLaughlin was born on September 27, 1982 in Anderson, Indiana. Playing piano since early childhood, he was always finding ways to get out of piano lessons. While attending Highland High School, he shattered both wrists in an accident that interrupted his musical education. Nevertheless, McLaughlin attended Anderson University to study music. He released an independent album entitled Up until Now in 2003. This quickly led to McLaughlin becoming the first artist to sign on with the school's record label, Orangehaus Records. His self-titled album was released in 2004 to local and regional praise. He began touring, travelling throughout the U.S. Midwest, and working up a grassroots following.
He released Indiana in 2007, preceded earlier in the same year by the EP Industry, also known as Jon McL. In 2008, McLaughlin returned with lead single "Beating My Heart" from his album OK Now released in the same year. He gained fame with his cameo appearance in Disney's Enchanted. Released in early September 2011 in the U.S. Forever If Ever was McLaughlin's third major-label release. 2012's lead single "Summer Is Over" featured fellow singer-songwriter-pianist Sara Bareilles from Promising Promises which was a slightly reworked version of his 2011 album. There were no other singles released from the album. Jon released Holding My Breath on his website and iTunes on September 24, 2013. The mp3 version of the album is also available at Amazon.
The Middle
Jon McLaughlin Lyrics
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And to anyone who needs advice on getting here.
Don't ask me, the path I took was not exactly by the book, by the book.
I was too young to know and to dumb to figure out.
That you can lose yourself in all this traveling around.
When you reach a point of no return losing touch with lesson learned, lessons learned.
Let me tell you now where I went wrong.
Hollywood is just another place I don't belong.
[Chorus]
Let's go to the middle where time stands still.
Let's get lost in those hills.
Live a little closer to what is true.
I'll be me and you be you.
I'm finding out the ways of this world can we overcome with one boy's love for just one girl.
And the only way to love yourself.
Is to give your love to someone else, someone else.
Don't believe in everything you hear.
Growing up is more than just living through the years.
[Chorus]
I'm disappointed in myself.
I left you on a shelf that I could never reach.
I practiced what you'd always preached against.
But now I'm back in my defense.
That black and white world we tried to paint is really gray.
So it took a little while to get this right.
The guilty and the innocent are always side by side.
[Chorus]
In Jon McLaughlin's song The Middle, the artist reflects on his own experiences of growing up and finding his place in the world. He admits that he did not have all the answers when he started out on his journey and made mistakes along the way. He warns others that they should not ask him for advice on how to get where he is, because the path he took was not exactly by the book. As a young person, he underestimated the impact that constantly traveling and being away from home would have on him. He came to a point where he felt he had lost touch with important lessons he had learned along the way. Looking back on it all, he realizes that Hollywood, where he had been chasing his dreams, was just another place where he didn't belong.
Despite his mistakes, the artist remains hopeful and encourages others to find their own place in the world. He urges them to go to the middle, where time stands still, and get lost in those hills. To live a little closer to what is true, they should be themselves and let others be themselves. He believes that the ways of the world can be difficult to navigate, but that love can conquer many obstacles. The only way to truly love oneself is to give love to someone else. Growing up is more than just living through the years, it's about learning how to make sense of the world and finding one's place within it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been around for a little over 20 years.
I have been alive for just over two decades.
And to anyone who needs advice on getting here.
If anyone needs guidance on reaching this point in life,
Don't ask me, the path I took was not exactly by the book, by the book.
I cannot offer advice because the path I followed was not conventional.
I was too young to know and to dumb to figure out.
I was ignorant and naïve, so I didn't fully comprehend the situation.
That you can lose yourself in all this traveling around.
It is easy to lose your sense of self when traveling extensively.
When you reach a point of no return losing touch with lesson learned, lessons learned.
If you reach a certain point, it's easy to forget the lessons you've learned.
Let me tell you now where I went wrong.
I'll tell you where I made a mistake.
Hollywood is just another place I don't belong.
I don't feel at home in Hollywood.
Let's go to the middle where time stands still.
Let's visit a place where time feels frozen.
Let's get lost in those hills.
Let's explore the hills and get lost in them.
Live a little closer to what is true.
Let's live closer to what we believe to be true.
I'll be me and you be you.
We can both be ourselves.
I'm finding out the ways of this world can we overcome with one boy's love for just one girl.
I'm discovering that one person's love can overcome the challenges of the world.
And the only way to love yourself.
To love oneself, there is only one way.
Is to give your love to someone else, someone else.
That way is to give your love to someone else.
Don't believe in everything you hear.
You shouldn't believe everything you hear.
Growing up is more than just living through the years.
Growing up is about more than simply getting older.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I left you on a shelf that I could never reach.
I left you out of reach on a shelf.
I practiced what you'd always preached against.
I did the opposite of what you taught me.
But now I'm back in my defense.
But now I'm defending myself.
That black and white world we tried to paint is really gray.
The world isn't so straightforward as we thought it was.
So it took a little while to get this right.
It took some time to figure things out.
The guilty and the innocent are always side by side.
There is a close proximity between the guilty and the innocent.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JONATHAN MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind