Nickel Creek’s title track from its second album may have the most generic title, but the song is anything but. An understated song about the journey to break out of the mold, the story is told with inventive metaphors and fresh imageries that achieve a good balance between clarity and poetic-ness.
That said, my personal experience is that not being scared on the other side is somewhat a wishful thinking — maybe that’s why they say “I don’t think I’m scared” — perhaps the character’s trying to psych himself up by repeating that. Because the scariness doesn’t seem to go away. Especially if you keep pushing the envelope.
But the thing is, either way the journey contains potential for loneliness and scariness. Being stuck in the status quo, doing what’s expected — that’s lonely and disheartening. Branching out on your own, on the other hand, is also lonely and scary. Either way, there is a price to pay.
But only one of the two paths has the potential, a chance at having a good ending. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which one that is.