Party Party Party

In a song called 'Paso (The Nini Anthem)', produced by Sak Noel, the singer croons:

Monday – Party!Tuesday – Party!
Wednesday – Party!
Ok!
Thursday – Party!
Friday – Party!
Weekend, weekend, weekend – Party! Wow!

I’m telling you mama, there's no need for drama. I don’t wanna study. I just wanna party.

I’m a nini, mom;
You know what a nini is?
Don’t wait for me awake.
I’m coming home late –
Maybe at 5 ... maybe at 6.
Look at me, mom,
I’m dressing like a ...
I just wanna party, party ... Mama, yo paso de todo. Wow!

The lyrics are a little sparse, but the music moves!

If your Spanish is a little rusty, 'nini' is a word that is used to describe a young, rebellious, global generation person who is only interested in having a party – no job, no study, only party. This kind of person is a 'nini' because the word 'nini' comes from ni estudia ni trabaja, which means 'neither work nor study.' I'm not really sure about yo paso de todo, unless it means 'I'm giving the party all I got.'
If you've ever read the Apocrypha you may remember something that's stated in Ecclesiasticus 31:31. It goes this way: "Don’t correct your neighbors at a wine banquet, and don’t show them contempt when they are partying; don’t say any reproachful word to them, and don’t trouble them with any demands." I think the point there is that correcting your neighbors while they're partying is probably not the best time to do it.

I would never correct the singer while she parties, but I will say there comes a time when partying wears you thin. The drinks, the laughs, the monotonous small-talk – all of it can leave you feeling hollow after awhile. Like you realize the parties add very little meaning to your life. Sure, it's fun to celebrate when it's called for, but celebrating just because it's something to do gets old quickly. Find a little time to be by yourself, to be quiet, to be open to something unexpected that might happen. Too much partying will leave you numb.

A Little Party

Fergie's 'A Little Party Never Killed Nobody' makes me want to test that theory to see if it is true. I think Fergie knows what she's talking about though, because it looks like she was born to fly the Let's Party! flag. "A little party never killed nobody, so we are going to dance until we drop – drop. A little party never killed nobody, right here, right now is all we got."  Now let me say before I go any farther: Count me in. I'd love to dance with Fergie until I drop, or until I am dropped by the unlucky soul who catches me doing it. I'm not a good dancer.

 

I love this song, but I just can't get my mind around that last line, "Right here, right now is all we got," because I believe we've always got some more. Some call it a second-chance; some label it reincarnation. I like to think of it as heaven. Another singer-songwriter who lived over 260 years ago named, Isaac Watts, put it this way: 

 

Oh! could we make our doubts remove,

These gloomy thoughts that rise,

And see that Canaan that we love

With unbeclouded eyes –

 

Could we but climb where Moses stood,

And view the landscape o'er,

Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood,

Could fright us from the shore.

 

Now, I'll admit: Watts' song doesn't have the dance umph that Fergie's has, but he makes a good point. There's more to life than meets the eye, just waiting for anyone who hopes to see it. Go ahead – a little party never killed nobody. But just remember, there's more of life to come on the flip side.