JWalk's lyrics
Note: While I think it is possible to read between the lines of JWalk's lyrics and glean some insight into TYV's implosion, I also strongly encourage y'all to take my insights with a shaker of salt, as they are all conjecture.
(I also encourage you to discuss in the comments.)
I don't think there's anything here that he hasn't said in interviews, or we couldn't have worked out from what he said in interviews, i.e. that the Panic! split "reverberated" through his (JW's) relationship with Ryan, that he and Ryan were on different pages personally and professionally, etc.
Without further preface, here are the lyrics for a selection of tunes from "New Songs" as presented on Facebook, in order of appearance on the record:
Skipping over #1 (End of the World) to song #2,
Side of Me
i’m sorry if i let you down, i’m tired of causing a commotion
this time is not only fine with me, it’s a solution to the problem
i’m sorry if I let you down, i couldn’t just tell it like i saw it
it took awhile for things to look clear to me
i’m sorry if i let you down, this was no simple resolution
i hope there comes a day you can see, this was meant to happen
i am just a human being but i am living in a dream
nothings really what it seems, this is just a side of me
i’m sorry if i let you down, i’m doing whatever makes me happy
why won't you let the past be history?
i’m sorry if i let you down, this was no simple resolution
i hope there comes a day you can see this was meant to happen
which JW has already indicated (on stage) was about the demise of one of his previous bands. At the time he mentioned it, if I remember right, it was supposed to be about the Panic! split. Though I suspect it could apply to TYV as well.
Song #3 is
Fairytale
don't believe what you know
theres always room to grow
it wouldn't hurt to listen
i want to figure it out
and try to make it clear
theres so much to live for
its everything you wished for
don't want to hear the same old song
rather hear my favorite fairytale about the ones
the ones who would do anything they could
life was always good to them
you don't want to stay
you don't want to go
you don't know what your missing
you know that you could be free
just listen and see
theres so much to live for
its everything you wished for
the sun will rise
because it always seems to know
what it was meant to do
the same should go for me and you
The bolded bits read, to me, reads like either an allusion to either the initial Panic! split, and the related internal struggles, OR to difficulties they had in deciding what to do with TYV after the initial "Fuck you!" "No, fuck YOU!" rage adrenaline from the original split wore off.
I mean, when you have, let us say, started a band to prove a point, and . . . kind of proved it, I guess, in the sense that Take a Vacation! got reasonably good reviews (I don't know how well it sold, in relation to Pretty. Odd.) and enough buzz to fuel two national tours, and then it's time for Round Two, and maybe you aren't all THAT angry any more, or whatever . . . idk, to me this just sounds deeply frustrated.
Skipping over #4 (Illusions to #5
Breathe
i can't breathe when everything is a burden
if i sink i will know it was worth it
grab the hat, put in all of your problems
just like that someone else has to solve them
if you don't know who I am
how could i explain myself?
what we say and what we do
is always in and out of tune
i cant breath when everything is a question
point of view has turned into obsession
i've got plenty of devotion
and i cant hide any more emotion
if you don't know who I am
how could i explain myself?
i can hardly sell myself
to you or anybody else
we're not who we are when we can't breathe
which could probably be summarized as RYAN ROSSY I CANNOT DEAL WITH YOU ANYMORE YOU ARE TURNING MY HEAD SIDEWAYS GOODBYE XO JW.
It's followed by #6, You'll Be Fine
when i'm not feeling good even though i know i should
its so hard to see in the dark who it is you really are
shine some light on me
forget the pain and sorrow, things will be fine tomorrow
forgive the ones who hurt you and you'll be fine
i could barely speak, the days had turned to weeks
i guess i caught the blues
hold onto the breeze, dont give up on me
please tell me the truth
we've all had a loss, its hard moving on
i'm worried about you
i fell into the ground, it didn't hurt so bad
not knowing what to do
i got up off the ground, i am moving on
i know what to do
which caused me to arch an eyebrow at my computer and wonder if Ryan was perhaps taking the (original) split harder than we thought.
#7 is Waiting for a Ghost
walked with the dog, hes the one that a follow
something tells me i'm supposed to listen
picked up a pen and it started to happen
redefined my mind or maybe someone else did
i was waiting for a ghost
maybe someone elses soul to come and take a hold of me
i am just a tambourine moving slowly to a beat
like a wave in the sea, something has a hold of me
played with the cats for a couple of hours
something tells me i'm not gonna regret it
stuck in my head is a song that i don't know
i wonder who it is
words are on the wall
i realize they've been there all along, i just wasn't looking
all these melodies have already been sung
long before i figured out that i could sing them
and it's all sort of Eeyore-y "I knew this would happen, I just didn't want to admit it"; the lines I bolded were the ones that thought were kind of sad and also completely ridiculous at the same time.
Jumping over #8 (The Truth) and #9 (Hidden Love) there is #10 Here for You
i'm all packed up, i got all my stuff
in a black suitcase that i've had for years
i have no tears cause i lost my fears
now i have the time
time to have some fun
i don't want to get a job
so i can buy things i don't need
they sold it to us as a dream
monkey see, monkey do
theres nothing left for me here
if theres nothing left for you
i cant tell you what to do
figure it out for yourself
but i will always be here for you
i will always be here for you
a better life is a simple one
with a love that flows throughout your veins
its not easy to contain
nor should it ever be
share that love with me
i don't believe in destiny
but i know the people that i meet
will always be special to me
monkey see, monkey do
; the bolded verse is the one I thought was most relevant, as a kind of final, bittersweet farewell.
(I also encourage you to discuss in the comments.)
I don't think there's anything here that he hasn't said in interviews, or we couldn't have worked out from what he said in interviews, i.e. that the Panic! split "reverberated" through his (JW's) relationship with Ryan, that he and Ryan were on different pages personally and professionally, etc.
Without further preface, here are the lyrics for a selection of tunes from "New Songs" as presented on Facebook, in order of appearance on the record:
Skipping over #1 (End of the World) to song #2,
Side of Me
i’m sorry if i let you down, i’m tired of causing a commotion
this time is not only fine with me, it’s a solution to the problem
i’m sorry if I let you down, i couldn’t just tell it like i saw it
it took awhile for things to look clear to me
i’m sorry if i let you down, this was no simple resolution
i hope there comes a day you can see, this was meant to happen
i am just a human being but i am living in a dream
nothings really what it seems, this is just a side of me
i’m sorry if i let you down, i’m doing whatever makes me happy
why won't you let the past be history?
i’m sorry if i let you down, this was no simple resolution
i hope there comes a day you can see this was meant to happen
which JW has already indicated (on stage) was about the demise of one of his previous bands. At the time he mentioned it, if I remember right, it was supposed to be about the Panic! split. Though I suspect it could apply to TYV as well.
Song #3 is
Fairytale
don't believe what you know
theres always room to grow
it wouldn't hurt to listen
i want to figure it out
and try to make it clear
theres so much to live for
its everything you wished for
don't want to hear the same old song
rather hear my favorite fairytale about the ones
the ones who would do anything they could
life was always good to them
you don't want to stay
you don't want to go
you don't know what your missing
you know that you could be free
just listen and see
theres so much to live for
its everything you wished for
the sun will rise
because it always seems to know
what it was meant to do
the same should go for me and you
The bolded bits read, to me, reads like either an allusion to either the initial Panic! split, and the related internal struggles, OR to difficulties they had in deciding what to do with TYV after the initial "Fuck you!" "No, fuck YOU!" rage adrenaline from the original split wore off.
I mean, when you have, let us say, started a band to prove a point, and . . . kind of proved it, I guess, in the sense that Take a Vacation! got reasonably good reviews (I don't know how well it sold, in relation to Pretty. Odd.) and enough buzz to fuel two national tours, and then it's time for Round Two, and maybe you aren't all THAT angry any more, or whatever . . . idk, to me this just sounds deeply frustrated.
Skipping over #4 (Illusions to #5
Breathe
i can't breathe when everything is a burden
if i sink i will know it was worth it
grab the hat, put in all of your problems
just like that someone else has to solve them
if you don't know who I am
how could i explain myself?
what we say and what we do
is always in and out of tune
i cant breath when everything is a question
point of view has turned into obsession
i've got plenty of devotion
and i cant hide any more emotion
if you don't know who I am
how could i explain myself?
i can hardly sell myself
to you or anybody else
we're not who we are when we can't breathe
which could probably be summarized as RYAN ROSSY I CANNOT DEAL WITH YOU ANYMORE YOU ARE TURNING MY HEAD SIDEWAYS GOODBYE XO JW.
It's followed by #6, You'll Be Fine
when i'm not feeling good even though i know i should
its so hard to see in the dark who it is you really are
shine some light on me
forget the pain and sorrow, things will be fine tomorrow
forgive the ones who hurt you and you'll be fine
i could barely speak, the days had turned to weeks
i guess i caught the blues
hold onto the breeze, dont give up on me
please tell me the truth
we've all had a loss, its hard moving on
i'm worried about you
i fell into the ground, it didn't hurt so bad
not knowing what to do
i got up off the ground, i am moving on
i know what to do
which caused me to arch an eyebrow at my computer and wonder if Ryan was perhaps taking the (original) split harder than we thought.
#7 is Waiting for a Ghost
walked with the dog, hes the one that a follow
something tells me i'm supposed to listen
picked up a pen and it started to happen
redefined my mind or maybe someone else did
i was waiting for a ghost
maybe someone elses soul to come and take a hold of me
i am just a tambourine moving slowly to a beat
like a wave in the sea, something has a hold of me
played with the cats for a couple of hours
something tells me i'm not gonna regret it
stuck in my head is a song that i don't know
i wonder who it is
words are on the wall
i realize they've been there all along, i just wasn't looking
all these melodies have already been sung
long before i figured out that i could sing them
and it's all sort of Eeyore-y "I knew this would happen, I just didn't want to admit it"; the lines I bolded were the ones that thought were kind of sad and also completely ridiculous at the same time.
Jumping over #8 (The Truth) and #9 (Hidden Love) there is #10 Here for You
i'm all packed up, i got all my stuff
in a black suitcase that i've had for years
i have no tears cause i lost my fears
now i have the time
time to have some fun
i don't want to get a job
so i can buy things i don't need
they sold it to us as a dream
monkey see, monkey do
theres nothing left for me here
if theres nothing left for you
i cant tell you what to do
figure it out for yourself
but i will always be here for you
i will always be here for you
a better life is a simple one
with a love that flows throughout your veins
its not easy to contain
nor should it ever be
share that love with me
i don't believe in destiny
but i know the people that i meet
will always be special to me
monkey see, monkey do
; the bolded verse is the one I thought was most relevant, as a kind of final, bittersweet farewell.