Harry Kappen’s “Be Brave If You Can” isn’t a protest anthem, but it might be something rarer these days: an honest look in the mirror. This latest single from the Dutch artist—who moonlights as a music therapist and lectures on emotional healing—comes not with the fire and brimstone of youthful defiance, but with the slow-burning embers of adult reckoning. And in a world teetering on exhaustion, Kappen’s quiet resolve lands with the gravity of truth.
The song opens with a line that could double as a thesis for our collective psyche: “And now I hear silence / No urge for gaining more.” It’s a declaration of detachment, not from the world, but from the futile noise that so often consumes it. Kappen isn’t escaping—he’s reflecting. He’s not calling us to arms; he’s asking if we can live with what we already know. That sometimes, life is just what it is. You won’t always be the hero. Sometimes it’s enough just to show up.
That’s a radical proposition in an era of constant demands for change and transformation. But Kappen doesn’t peddle nihilism. “Be Brave If You Can” is full of subtle affirmations—the kind that acknowledge how damn hard it is to keep going without pretending it’s easy. The recurring refrain, “Is this the meaning of life? Send out the man, be brave if you can,” feels less like a challenge and more like a weary acknowledgment of the cost of simply enduring.
Musically, the track is restrained but luminous. It floats on layered guitar textures and ambient washes that never clamor for attention, allowing Kappen’s voice—soft, almost meditative—to guide the listener inward. There’s no percussion bombast, no chorus that hits you over the head. This is the kind of track that unfolds like a letter you found in a drawer—intimate, contemplative, and a little haunted by time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knvksaSGYis
The accompanying lyric video doesn’t distract with flashy visuals. It matches the song’s tone: minimal, vulnerable, and deeply personal. Kappen appears not as a performer, but as a person—an artist who understands that sometimes music isn’t about showing off, but about showing up.
And that’s where this song hits hardest. “Be Brave If You Can” isn’t interested in conquest or confession—it’s a song about coping. About the people who’ve been beaten down by history and headlines and still find a way to keep going, even if they don’t post about it. Kappen’s background as a music therapist who works with adolescents and families gives the song an added layer of credibility. He’s not theorizing from a mountaintop. He’s been in the trenches of human emotion.
In a just world, this song’s UK iTunes Top 20 chart position wouldn’t be a surprise—it’d be expected. Because this is what grown-up rock music sounds like: not desperate to be cool, just determined to be true.
Verdict:
“Be Brave If You Can” isn’t trying to save the world. It’s trying to save you. And that might just be the bravest thing of all.
–David Marshall