Hurt Me

Well, I'd say it's been an eventful time since I posted anything. Had a kid, changed jobs, and now I'm trying to finish up the last of my scientific work so that I can make a clean break. Busy as a bee. Although bees are busy dying from CCD (that's colony collapse disorder for those that don't keep up with apiarists), so maybe I would rather be busy like a woodchuck or a squirrel or a nymphomaniac.

The selection today comes from something I wrote over the course of several years. A lot of songs take only days, at least to get lyrics and a musical backbone. Others you start and then get distracted. I find that these are the hardest to finish because after so much time has passed you find yourself in a different place with a different mind set and a different take on things. Of course, some themes are so universal (or people do shit to you for so long) that you don't really forget them. In these cases, coming back can lend new insight or just let you get those few lines that were missing.

Neil Young, during an interview, said that he only wrote one song at a time because "songs are jealous." I don't think it's jealousy so much as selfishness. I tend to work on several at once, often with them feeding back and improving each other. But there are those occasional things that demand full attention or they refuse to come at all. This was one of the latter.

This is a song about letting people hurt you because you'd rather hurt than see them hurt (how many times can you use hurt in a sentence?). It's a sacrifice we all make at some point, but a lot of people (read: me) let it go too far and end up suffering for things that are completely out of their control. We also let it go on far too long, even when it's obvious that the sacrifice isn't enough to make someone else happy and never will be. So for all you people out there that ever let yourself hurt for someone else, this is for you.

Hurt Me
(Key of Gm)

Verse:
Fm Gm Fm Bb Gm
Fm Gm Fm Bb Gm
Bb C(III) Dm(V) C(III) Dm(I)
A5 Gm

Chorus:
C Dm(I) (x4)

Breakdown:
Bb C(III) Dm(V) C(III)/Dm(V)/C(III)/Dm(V) (stacatto) (x2)
Bb C(III)
Dm(V) C(III) Dm(I)
A5 Gm

I don't understand how you grew to be so mean
So unsympathetic and stepping on my dreams
When it's silence I need most that's when you want to scream
I'd do anything to ease your suffering

I know you're angry that life turned out this way
The suicide line's busy. You've been on hold for days.
And you won't walk away because you're so afraid to change
I'll be there when your smile turns to rage

So hurt me
Hurt me
Hurt me
If it makes you feel better

I don't understand how you grew to be so cold
So unlike the girl I knew when she was young
My tongue licking your wounds didn't help to ease the pain
I'll still be here when your sunshine turns to rain

I know that you know that it's wrong
I know that you can't put it down
The power fuels your hunger
And the hunger feeds your pain
I'm still here if you need someone to blame

So hurt me
Hurt me
Hurt me
if it makes you feel better

Coalesce

I've always been a fan of the concept album. I appreciate the thought, talent, and work that goes into creating a musical ensemble that creates a larger picture or message with its individual pieces. I also like that each part must be understood on its own terms before being pieced into the larger story.

Concept albums are like ogres. They have layers.

Many moons ago, I tried my hand at a concept album. It was an abject failure in the sense that I only wrote four things and then lost focus. There was one thing that came out of it that I really liked. It's a song about loneliness and the things people do when they feel lonely. It's pretty old. I started it in high school and finished it a few years later. For some reason I thought of it today while I was driving home, so I had to find it and post it.


Coalesce

She leaves the tv on
just to feel like somebody cares.
Even the empty words
are better than the empty air.

"My patience may be wearing thin"
she says to her reflection.
"I just need a break from this
monotonous seduction.
In between the spaces where
we used to talk and keep our thoughts
There only lives the aftermath
of angry words we can’t take back."

As this feeling coalesces
she slips on unconsciousness
just to make a thicker skin.
Her own is wearing pretty thin.
She twists the strings of levity into
something only she can see.
A sacrificial offering
to the gods of Mirth and Mockery.

"It’s the crumbling façade"
she says.
"I’m the last horse on the carousel
and the circus wasn’t popular,
once they released the animals."

As this feeling coalesces into something
just a little bit untamed,
she slams on the brakes and says
"I never meant to feel this way."

In Your Arms

It's been crazy the last few weeks. Baby related things, work travel, mountains of data, deciphering programs written in Russian...you know, the usual. On top of that my research position is ending in December so I'm preparing to switch to full time teaching, which involves wrapping up all my current projects and getting new ones started (it's an amazing amount of work to build a class from scratch).

In my spare time I've also been working on three new songs. Some people like to work on one thing at a time, but I find that jumping back and forth between a few different things helps when you get stuck. The song below is pretty self explanatory so I'm just going to let it ride. This is my third favorite thing I've written. Maybe not third best but definitely third favorite. Now that we have a piano in the house the music to this one may actually get finished since it's meant for piano. Enjoy.

Minor correction: This is an old song. It's my third favorite thing in my entire collection, not third favorite amongst the current crop. Just to clear up any confusion. By the time I get around to posting "new" stuff it's liable to be as old as this stuff is already.

In Your Arms

You are empty
I am full of pride
We can't back down
even though we’re so torn up inside
You're still hungry
and you just can't leave now
The show must go on
even if there is no crowd

I am the firefly in your jar
the one you shake when you want to smile
All I want to do is shine for you
or never shine again

You are glass
I'm leaving fingerprints on your surface
You are sharp
You've etched your name into my heart
I’m content
to stay by your side
or just be in the same room
It makes me feel like I'm alive

I am the caterpillar in your jar
just give me some time and I could be beautiful
I love you out from behind these walls
but it's never the same

as being in your arms
as being in your arms
as being in your arms
I just want to be in your arms tonight

Pictures of you
rolling through my head
stealing my breath
until there’s nothing left inside
but these regrets
of all the things we’ve done to ourselves

Everything inside of me
has been corrupted by the girl I need
and all the gold in the world won’t bring her back

I miss you
The beating of your heart comforts me
Favor me
Favor me with one more sterling smile
before I leave
and all of this becomes a memory

I am the caterpillar in your jar
just give me some time and I could be beautiful
I love you out from behind these walls
but it's never the same

as being in your arms
as being in your arms
as being in your arms
I just want to be in your arms tonight

Debbie

If you write about things you don't know anything about, it comes across as fake. It's painfully obvious when a 12 year old sings about love and relationships that someone else wrote the song and the kid has no idea what they're singing about. It takes away from some of the emotion because it's disingenuous. I always thought you should write or paint or sing about what you know. After all, how can you make people think, feel, or understand something that you have never experienced? There's always room for some creative liberty but the central theme, ideas, and emotions invoked have to be real or people will recognize the work as fake and will ignore it.

That being said, I knew a harridan. She was a harpy then and I doubt anything has changed in the twelve years since I last saw her or in the decade or so since I wrote this. The choruses are about Debbie (hence the title), the verses are about her daughter. The song has a very back-and-forth feel, with the regular lines being sung while the lines in parentheses are spoken. This one always makes me a little sad because it's something I watched happen. We all do things that are hurtful at some point, but it's even worse when kids get caught in the middle. They learn from watching and imitating far more than they learn from being told.


Debbie

Debbie how could you leave your daughter cold?
Never taught her to love, only taught her how to own.
Debbie why did you leave a broken home?
Now your daughter's in pain, but you just walk away.

Keeping the day at bay with her sleeping pills,
(the light bores into her skull through the curtains)
the headache’s fierce, but less so than the truth
(mommy's gone and the house is getting dark)

She fills the night with cheap reflections,
(she reaches out for something steady)
tries to read but her eyes are failing
(now she's got no one to turn to)

Debbie, when will you see how she cries?
Never taught her to love, only taught her to despise.
Debbie, who died and made you such a selfish bitch?
Life was rough, so you take it out on your kids.

She falls in love, but don't know what it means
(the happiness is interpreted as guilt)
She takes her pills with an alcoholic kick
(her dreams are plain, but at least they're something)

Everything good was burned by her own two hands
(baby girl got caught in a cruel world)
Tried to save her, but her heart is growing numb
(don't give in, or you'll end up like your mom)

Debbie, what did you do to keep her down?
Never taught her to laugh, only taught her how to drown.
Debbie, I'd give my last breath
to save your daughter's smile and to warm her breast.

Debbie, look at the damage that we've done.

Like I Do

I've spent a lot of my life people watching. Not creepy stalker watching. It's more of a fascination with the hilarious, cruel, illogical things we do. I can't stop. It must be some kind of sick voyeurism.

One common thread is that people in relationships do things that are absolutely, positively, unabashedly ridiculous. My favorite thing in this category is this: people that choose to end a relationship with someone that they know will always be there only to turn around and start a relationship (or a string of relationships) with a bunch of people that won't be there. I still don't understand and I don't think I ever will.

I know there are difficulties in any relationship, but finding someone that does, in fact, care for you unconditionally is such a rare thing. Why would you throw that away, only to turn around and give yourself to someone that doesn't care about you with any depth? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but people do it every day. I don't know...is it the greener grass syndrome, the fact that we're biologically predicated toward change, or some other factor that causes us to throw away people that are willing to take the time to know us and care about us for people that only appear to care? Whatever it is, we've all been there. That's the idea behind this song.

Musically, this is a little different. I don't typically compose riffs but this song is built around 3 little guitar riffs. Two of the riffs are played over the short choruses. The third is played over the final line of each verse. The first three lines of each verse are a simple D5/C5/A5 progression.


Like I Do

Nobody knows you
Nobody cares
Nobody sees you
Like I do

In the pale glass dawn
When you wake up all alone
Do you think of me?
Or do you just shrug off the cold?

I know it's been a few years
since the last time I heard your voice
but somebody mentioned your name
and it brought up all of the pain

The memory of your touch
still ripples across my skin
The heat of your eyes struck me numb
and your smile would still my tongue

Nobody feels you
Nobody cares
Nobody hurts you
Like I do

[Instrumental]

Nobody holds you
Nobody cares
Nobody trusts you
Like I do

On the long ride home,
the last time that we ever spoke
I swore you would fade with time
like a ghost into the fog

Truth is I couldn't forget you
so instead I swallowed the shame
And just kept on pretending
That everything was ok

I knew you were searching
for something that you didn't see
I would be there to catch you
When you finally found it was me

But you reached a different conclusion
and wound up being alone
Now do you see me as you turn out the lights
and the nights get longer and cold?

Nobody knows you
Nobody cares
Nobody loves you
Like I do

D Pedal

This is my latest creation and I wanted to talk about the composition and process for a bit since they were both complex. I've been writing lyrics since I was in high school and (somewhat) writing music since college. While the lyrics range from the very simple to the very complex, the music tends to be extraordinarily simple. I don't compose melodies. The lyrics are the melody. That's where I always put the focus because I'm a lyrically driven song writer and listener. If I don't like the lyrics it makes it much harder for me to like the song. And good lyrics will often overcome bad music for me. My chords are there to set the mood, keep the rhythm, and make things more interesting. That's why almost everything I put chords to contains only simple rhythm chords. If I'm not feeling lyrically inclined, I will just fiddle with chords for hours until I hit on a chord or combination that evokes a few lines. Once those lines are in place, the rest tends to follow (eventually).

That's how this song evolved- I had the first four chords and, after playing them for awhile, I got the first two lines. It then sat dormant for several years. About a month ago I was fiddling around with it again, just playing it over and over and then the next two lines came. After that, it went pretty fast, writing itself in less than a week. One of those fortuitous happenstances I guess, where the chords and the first few lines reminded me of something current that I could use to keep going. I find that happens a lot- something I started years ago but never finished becomes the basis for something today or music I've had laying around for a decade finally gets lyrics worth keeping. Just goes to show- never throw out your creative work.

It's often very difficult to move from verse to chorus to verse. You want to maintain the idea but change up the rhythm, sound, or style. You also want to find a set of chords that play nicely but differently and, eventually, loop back to where you started with a natural sound. This is possibly the most musically complex song I've done, so I thought I'd post a bit about it as well.

The song uses a neat musical trick called a pedal (hence the post title). The trick involves using different chords but all of those chords share a note. In this case, you'll notice most of the chords have a D title. The key of D contains a single sharp (F#) and every chord in the progression I've used is rooted on the D an octave above middle C (for those of you that know your music notation). When you play it on guitar, your ring finger never leaves D on the 2nd string. The pedal helps tie the song together, giving you a constant reference point and a musical focus.

As for the lyrics- the song is quite simply about people that build their own walls and then refuse to ask for help to tear them down. The first part is about wanting something so bad you hold on for dear life, the second part is about not being willing to compromise even to get what you want, and the last part is a split- it's part realizing what you are doing and part having someone else realize you are still locking them out even when they're willing to help.

Note: I've written a ton of stuff (and easily thrown out triple that while editing). This is one of my favorites- definitely top ten and possibly even top five.

Saved

Verses: D5 Dsus2
Gsus2 G/B
Csus2 Cadd9 D
Chorus: D5/F Cadd9 Dsus4/G D/F#
D5/F Dsus4/G D/F#
D5/F Cadd9
D5/F Cadd9
D5/F Dsus4/G D/F#


She’s the first to know
but the last to go
even though it’s hopeless

She’ll fight on ‘til the end
just to say she did
even when she can’t win

The boys that she finds
become the men she’ll despise
when her heart comes back to Earth

She’s just a girl in his mind
She wants to be a woman in his eyes
even with the price her self-worth

No one knows where she goes
when she wants to cry
She brings it on herself
a damsel in distress
She won’t let herself be saved

She clings to her pride
like a blushing bride
It’s a place to hide

But it doesn’t keep her warm
or protect her from the storm
that soaks her to the bone

The pieces of her life
float by in black and white
She never could see the gray

The middle ground she needs
was flooded too deep
She hates appearing weak

No one knows where she goes
when she needs to cry
She brings it on herself
this damsel in distress
who won’t let herself be saved

She holds on way too long
Long after he is gone
Long after he’s moved on

She tries so hard to fix
mistakes that were his
She can’t let done be done

It’s these faults I adore
down to her neurotic core
They keep me at her door

But she’ll never let me in
any deeper than her skin
It’s too hard to begin again

No one know where she goes
when she wants to cry
She brings it on herself
She's just a damsel in distress
Who won’t let herself be saved

No one knows where she goes
or why she hurts herself
She cannot escape
the walls that she creates
but she won’t let herself be saved
No, she won’t let herself be saved

I like mine better than Death Cab's

I wasn't expecting the onslaught of album reviews from Adam, but I suggest you read them because they are entertaining and he spends more time listening to music in one day than most people do in a week. Also, I would suggest listening to any albums he recommends because they're usually worth becoming intimate friends with. Without his recommendations I would never have found the awesomeness that is Jenny Lewis.

For myself, I'm picking a different type of song to post than my previous few. For some reason, over the course of my life, I've attracted more than my share of people that are broken. We all have moments when we need someone. But some of us are just inclined to savage bouts of emotional self-torture (myself included). I must have a "Troubled People Need Apply" sign on me that I am unaware of, because they always seem to find me. I'm the ghost whisperer of emotionally troubled people, but without the huge rack and huge paycheck.

To me these people are projects, a chance to fix in them what I can't seem to fix in myself, and for whatever reason I just can't say no. I'm not sure whether it's because I like that they depend on me or the power I have over them or the rush of knowing that someone in the depths of misery now has a chance to keep going forward. No matter the reason for me putting them back together, it's devastating to watch them slide right back into those patterns that created the problem. That happens far too often. Sometimes I think it's because people need misery but mostly I think it's because we're creatures of habit more than we are creatures of common sense. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that empathy, sympathy, and my own time, energy, and tears are no guarantee that putting someone back together emotionally and psychologically will make them any stronger than they were before they came into my life. That's really the story this song tells- watching someone self-destruct, doing all you can to be there for them, and still not having the power to stop it. It's not about futility or fatalism- it's about being utterly helpless but pushing on anyway.

Some years ago my home town had a pretty serious fire, to the point where a large portion of the town was surrounded by 15 foot walls of flame. While watching it all happen, it became more than just a fire. It became an analogy and a metaphor for those emotionally and psychologically fragile people that I couldn't help. It became a setting; an external, physical backdrop for the internal, emotional turmoil.

(Sorry Death Cab- as much as I love everything you do, I like my fire song better. It's a bit biased, but there you have it.)


Ashes fall

Every time she walks into the room with that bottle in her hand
I know it’s going to be a long, long night
Her brain is full of whiskey and her heart is full of gin
and her body’s telling me to get the lights
She hits the bed like fire then her body turns to ice
She falls asleep in nothing but her bra
I’m standing in the doorway that leads into the room
hoping that she’ll get well soon

My town is burning down tonight
There’s nothing I can do but sit and watch
The ashes fall like rain outside my window pane
as she takes another drink like it would help put out the flames

She leaves the house in style with a slit up past her thigh
She stands out on the corner so that all the boys can see
Her tongue it burns like lightning as she screams into the sky
Calling for another round to help forget her life
She’s jaded and she’s used, she’s jagged and abused
Her skin is smooth but her soul is badly bruised
To her I’m just the place she’ll turn when anger’s run its course
I’m the one that will forgive her, even though it hurts

My town is burning down tonight
There’s nothing I can do but sit and watch
The ashes on the breeze find me on my knees
praying that she’ll find a way to conquer this disease

My town is burning down tonight
There’s nothing I can do to quench the flames
While the ashes fall like snow through the orange and hellish glow
I cradle her against the heat as she cries herself to sleep

Stories

All great songs have a story behind them. They may not specifically tell a story but they do capture a moment or an emotion and try to put the listener into it. There are songs I really never liked until I learned the story behind them (a la Rob Thomas and Her Diamonds).

This song is about relationships and the stories that we write as people- the things we say and do, whether we really mean them or not. Any relationship has lots of stories: the physical story of the course of the relationship, the emotional ride, the individual events you remember when all else is forgotten. At the heart of every relationship there is what we call the love story. It's hard to define but we all know what it is, whether from personal experience, books, or movies. I'm guessing most people have also experienced relationships where that story was never written or was written too fast and too soon to really take hold. This song is about those stories.


Love Story

Verses:
Bm F#m Em A

Chorus
D G D/F# A

Said she's gonna join the circus
Said she's gonna be a star
Said she'd walk a mile in my shoes
She didn't get very far
Said she's gonna be a hero
Said she's gonna win the war
After all of these years in the trenches
She can't remember what she's fighting for

Don't you look at me
before you take a look at yourself
If you're gonna make a change
you better make it for the best
It's a sordid state of affairs
that keeps me coming back for more
But I'm not gonna cry
when you're the one that walked out the door

So how 'bout stepping down
and giving back that crown
You never really earned it anyway
You just stole if from the last fairy princess
to walk into the room
And declare for the world to hear that
she's better than you

Now don't you look at me
before you take a look at yourself
If you're gonna make a change, girl,
you gotta make it for the best
It's a sordid state of affairs
that kept me crawling back for more
But I'm not gonna cry
when you're the one that wanted the door

She gave me her heart, she gave me her soul
then she took them both back
She said "I know it's a dirty thing my friend,
but love is like the wind"

Don't you look at me
before you take a look at yourself
If you're gonna make a change
you need to make it for the best
It's a sordid state of affairs
that kept me crawling back for more
But I'm not gonna cry
because you're the one that walked out the door

You told me you were evil
but you don't know half the truth
I guess love's the kind of word
that you threw around in your youth
But when you're old and alone, girl,
don't come bitching to me
In all the shit between us
there never was a love story

The Answer

It's funny how even when people really hurt you, there's always that part of you that wants to hold on. Whether it's fear of something new and different, fear of losing someone, wanting to hold onto a friend after a relationship falls apart...there are a thousand reasons for holding onto something painful. And there are a thousand ways to justify putting up with the pain even when everyone else says it's not worth it. This is a song about holding on. It's a song about knowing that things are bad but not being willing to let go completely. At its heart, it's really about not giving up when things are bleak, even when what you're holding onto may not be the best thing for you.

The Answer

I am not the answer to your questions or your guilt
You’re blaming me for everything and I wasn't even there
We’re walking by the ocean throwing shells and casting stones
Knowing full damn well that we’re too scared to be alone.

It’s easier to say goodbye than it is to be forgiven.
I’m holding on to apathy to keep myself from feeling.
What little fabric I left has slowly come unraveled
I can feel your nails sink in, ripping this hole wider.

These days are not worth keeping, but we still go on speaking,
Even though the words are stale

My broken heart is bleeding, but still we go on speaking
Even though the words are late

I just want to know, what is this love made of
and are we going to make it through the night?
You don't have to answer now, we've still got a couple hours
before the sunlight washes out the dark.

You’re sleeping so serenely, it really is deceiving
No one would ever know that we just fight
Your silent accusations leave me begging for your touch
Even though you’re bad for me, I never get enough

These promises are broken like the shadows on my wall
The anger in your parting words still echoes down the hall
The part of me that hates you most is pushing you away
The part of me that hurts the most is begging you to stay

These days are not worth keeping, but we still go on speaking,
though the words are just too late

I just want to know, what is this love made of
and are we going to make it through the night?
You don't have to answer now, we've still got a couple hours
before the sunlight washes out the dark.

These days are not worth keeping,
but we still go on screaming,
and trying to pretend that we’re in love

Inspiration comes from strange places

I used to walk home from the bus everyday in grad school. On the way I passed a church (two if I wasn't paying attention and took the wrong stop). This church always had little sayings and such on a sign out front that they changed once or twice a month. The messages were always along the lines of how Jesus wanted you to do this or that or how God was going to be upset because of things humans were doing. Like most things these messages got me to thinking. And the one thought that was always consistent was "If Jesus came back he'd be laughed at, ridiculed, and booed off stage." Here's a man that taught compassion, love, and social revolution in the name of the poor and we've taken those messages and twisted them around so much that I doubt he'd even recognize them anymore. If Jesus came back and actually declared himself and told everyone they were wrong I don't doubt he'd be chased out of town with torches and pitchforks. I got to thinking "what if Jesus actually did come back to Earth?" So I wrote a song about it.


Jesus Came

Jesus came to Earth today
There was no one to save
So he took his sandals off
and climbed back up on his cross

The teacher said "What's done is done
You can't change the past.
If you spend your days in prayer
you'll waste the time you have left"

The preacher said "Trust me my son
and you will find peace
Just bow your head in prayer
and believe in faith"

Now Chelsea's driving with the headlights off
because she wants to know
what it's like to be a lamb of God
and kept in the dark

Sarah's staring out the window pane
at another life
She's so damn sanctified
she can't go outside

'Cause life is hard
and the world is bad
We'd rather talk
than lend a hand
Effort is hard
and we must commit
Instead it's better
to ride this fence

Jesus came to Earth today
I passed him on the street
He moved with a heavy heart
and a limp from the nails in his feet

Jesus came to Earth today
but there was no one to save
So he took his sandals off
and climbed back up on his cross

Jesus smiled as he slowly died
and with his last breath he said
"If you act like Goddamned fools
you deserve what fools get."

A slight change of pace

Mostly this place has been somewhere to rant about the inconsistencies of people and to have a good vent. But there's only so much you can do with that before it gets stale and you start seeing the same crap with a new name. So I'm making a change.

I was digging through my old files yesterday to find some lines I vaguely remember writing down that would fit a song I'm working on. After digging around I realized that I've written more songs than most bands will ever put out. Of course, that doesn't make them good. It just surprised me how many I had. I always thought my output was low at best. Most don't have full music. In fact, most just have a melody or a very basic chord structure. I got to thinking that, if I keel over tomorrow, no one would ever know these exist. So I thought I should put them out there. After all, is art really art if there isn't anyone to interpret it or take meaning from it besides the artist? I can make my own meaning and I do it solely for myself, but I think true art is about seeing things in work that even the artist doesn't see. So here is mine.

I'll probably only post lyrics since chords, timing, and other musical stuff is hard to type up. I won't post poems or stories for the simple fact that, if I ever do actually want to attempt to publish anything, I don't want issues with publishers saying "it's already been published", even if on a backwater blog that no one reads. Since no one publishes lyrics I think that's a good compromise.

A short blurb is in order at this point. My inspiration to create comes from a dark place. I write best when I'm sad or angry. So don't expect a lot of happy, dwarf whistling tunes. I'm working on a few but mostly I write sad, tragic, or angry pieces. Not "bitches, hoes, and guns" type angry. More frustration angry. I'm also partial to tragic stories. Like my brother I tend to prefer tragic songs that have a ring of hope (think "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie). Although, in my own interpretations, I often find that "sad" songs are really quite moving and hopeful and, underneath, happy, if you really delve into them, even if they don't include an explicit hook.

So enjoy. If you like them, that's great. If not...well, maybe you'll find one you do. But I also didn't write them to please anyone else. I wrote them for me and to help me deal with things. I'm happy to discuss them or tell you the story behind them if you want to know why I chose a particular theme or name. And if you have an idea for music or an addition/subtraction to the piece please chime in. Art can be a very good collaborative process. But I retain final cut of the lyrics, so please don't be offended if I think your contribution doesn't fit the mood I was going for.

Sleeping Beauty
(fast tempo, rock feel)

Devil's in the kitchen
Devil's in the kitchen
Devil's in the kitchen
And she's calling out my name

Early morning sunrise
was peeking through the curtains
when I woke up and caught you sneaking in

Then against my better sense,
I forgave you for your sins
and all you did was break my heart again

It goes against my intuition
all these things I never mention
Like how you kept me down and fed me lies

Your secrets were not misconstrued
and all that I can say for you
is you didn't hurt me bad enough to die

You can break me
but you can't change me
I am what I am and that's all that you will ever see
She's Sleeping Beauty
with no dress on
Yeah being subtle never was her thing

Trying to live down all those lies
still staring at me with those accusing eyes
like I should still owe you a happy life

Every time I tell you that
I love you more than life itself
you just smile at me and say “It’s better this way”

All your passes are rejected
desperate call are disconnected
I don't know how it ever got this bad

Just another sweaty night
in the back of a Cadillac holding tightly
to a dream that just don't seem to die

You can break me
but you can't change me
I am what I am and that's all that I will ever be
She's Sleeping Beauty
with no dress on
and being feminine never was her thing

I’m alone even when you’re here
Your body’s cold and your eyes are steel
You always wanted what you couldn’t have

I can finally recognize
that you don’t love you idolize
and all the shit you have can’t make you smile

Don’t it hurt to realize
there’s nothing there but stupid pride
and it won’t keep you warm when all this dies

You can break me
but you can't change me
I am what I am and that's all that you will ever see
Like sleeping beauty
with no dress on
Being subtle never was her thing

It's sad when people don't even know the definitions of the words they use

I often wonder who has the harder life- intelligent or stupid people. I think it has to be intelligent. Stupid people have it easier because they're just blissfully ignorant of things, they don't take the time to think about anything, and they reduce everything to the most simple form to avoid complexity. I should clarify- most of the time I don't find most people stupid. Everyone knows how to do something really well or understands something in depth that I've never learned. When I say stupid I mean people that don't bother to learn at all, people that ignore the world around them, or people that think that changing their understanding of the world makes them weak.

I was thinking this because I was informed today that "..that's supply and demand. It's what our economy used to run on." (That is a direct quote). My wheels started turning, the hamster increased its pace, and I pondered that statement. It's a statement in various forms I've heard several times lately, mostly from people or organizations that believe America is "turning Socialist" (even though they also misuse that word, but that's a different story).

Here's the problem though. Supply and demand only truly applies to marketplaces in which a very large number of sellers provide nearly identical products or services to a large number of buyers (also called a perfectly competitive market). That's the definition that's been in use practically since Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations. As far as I'm aware, America still participates in that type of economic activity for those types of products. You know- things like shampoo, potato chips, and hammers. Things that are pretty standard and have easy substitutes from other sellers.

Supply and demand, however, does not work very well or apply nearly as easily in situations where a small number of firms controls the market (e.g. cable TV, health care, insurance, phone service, etc). That is an OLIGOPOLY and oligopolies do not necessarily follow the rules of supply and demand. Why? Because oligopolies have the power to set prices above a true market rate. Why can they do this? The lack of alternative sources for the product or service means that the oligopoly holds all of the pricing power. Everyone must go to the few firms that supply the product or service, so they can charge whatever they want. I mean, when you need cable TV, how many options do you have? In my neck of the woods, there are two options. Since I'm a captive consumer to these two companies, they hold all the pricing power and I must take what is offered. This is not really supply and demand. Industries that run on supply and demand cannot set prices above the going price because there are so many alternative sources of their service or product.

Therefore, the most logical conclusion (and the one that can be directly observed- just go to the nearest grocery store or mall) is that America does, in fact, run on supply and demand but only for those products and services with large numbers of sellers and buyers in a highly competitive marketplace. Things like cell phones, credit cards, and insurance work under oligopolies and monopolies and those things do not always follow supply and demand, no matter how much you think they do or should.

Stupid people apparently have the ability make claims about things like economics but not even use the words correctly. I wish I had that ability sometimes. It frees you of responsibility for what you say and do because even when people point out you're completely wrong you can just keep on going under the premise that believing something automatically makes it true.

Anyway, if you're going to make claims about America's macroeconomic behavior, policy, or direction please make sure you understand the terminology. Otherwise, your input is less than useless and just adds to bad rhetoric instead of fixing the issue at hand.