fuckyeahtattoos:

I’ve sent this in before, but I felt that the quality wasn’t as good and I needed to get a touch-up, so I thought of submitting it again and giving a little more of a story behind it.

As I said before, I’m a huge Gaslight Anthem/Horrible Crowes fan, and this specific design was done by Jeffrey Everett, who does poster-work for a lot of really great bands. The moment I saw this crow, I knew I wanted it as a tattoo, and it took about six months or so to jump on my decision after seeing it.

The banner was my own idea, and it is a verse from a song called “Cherry Blossoms”, which is off of the Horrible Crowes record “Elsie.” This song is one of the saddest and most hard-hitting songs on the record, and it gives me chills every time I listen to it. When I think of the line “All Good Things Come To An End,” it’s more than just a melancholy line. To me it’s constant sobering reminder that nothing will last forever, so enjoy what you have for the time you have it. Though that’s such a simple idea, I feel like we as human beings forget it all the time because we’re so used to daily routines; but one day the things we love and see all the time will eventually disappear. It makes me really absorb my time with my family and my friends when I remind myself of this, and I feel like it’s made my time with them so much better.

Another thing that this tattoo means to me is that though so many bad things happen, and the ones we love do eventually disappear, all the pain and toil we go through make us who we are. I would much rather face the pain and realize the bad things that I have done to others, to own up to them and be responsible in order to try and become a better person, rather than to remain ignorant and oblivious to my actions. I try to live a very honest life, and I try not to hide who I am, because I’d rather be with the few who truly love me for all my mistakes and problems than some giant group wouldn’t seem to know me at all. I’ve had so many times where I’ve messed up and hurt my friends, yet after talking with them and explaining myself, they still stick with me and forgive me for those mistakes, and I feel more love from that than anywhere else.

The album “Elsie” is a record about a very hurtful, scarring relationship. It’s a journey from ripples to earthquakes with fighting and arguing, and then after the chaos comes healing and redemption. We learn more about who we are afterwards (hopefully), and from there we try once again the next time we find someone special. It’s a very beautiful, strong album, and it’s been one of my favorites for almost a year now. I never get sick of it, and you should go look it up.

This tattoo was done by the very talented and wonderfully-moustached Tim McGrath of 13 Roses Tattoo in Atlanta, GA on my birthday (Feb. 17th) of this year. That was a really great experience and I hope to get another piece by him in the future.