#80 – Figuring Out the Lyrics To A Song

We all have that song (or, in my case, songs plural) that have lyrics that… for your life, you can’t quite decipher. One example that comes to mind is from the 3:18 mark in Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby”. I couldn’t figure out what the fuck she was saying after “And we will longer on…” One day, after years of confused listening/ignorant singing-along, I finally paid close attention and figured out she was saying “Time can’t erase a feeling this strong” and the song has never sounded better.

The bigger example for the purpose of this post is the following song:

Once again, I had been generally stumped on a majority of this song. I knew the chorus, most of the lyrics, but there were bits that I just couldn’t understand, specifically the second verse. Then, I heard this version and for whatever reason it came in much clearer.

Now, of course, I know the lyrics I was missing were (I’ve bolded the parts I was particularly clueless about):

Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night
Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right
Every street you walk on, I leave tear stains on the ground
Following the girl I didn’t even want around

The funny thing about this feeling is that while you now can enjoy the song on a totally different level, it’s almost incomprehensible to you how you ever confused the lyrics in the first place. I listen to this song (and others of similar confusion) and have a hard time remembering even which parts confused me.

Either way, what’s so nice is that it’s like getting lost and then suddenly finding your way—everything with the song suddenly clicks into place. If you don’t know what I’m talking about here you’re either lying to yourself or have supersonic hearing.

Polar Opposite of this Feeling?:  Thinking you do know the lyrics to a song and belting them out as loud as you can in various places an venues, only to be embarrassingly called out about it in front of everyone.