Explain The Lyrics

I’ve been thrown the gaijin glare for so long
By now i take the scorn in stride
Got no time for pride that only serves to divide
Got no time for miscommunication
I’ve been trying to set this straight for so long
Trying to hammer out what’s bent
You trust in my intent
You must be heaven sent
And i’ve been trying to let you know that i love you so

I’ve been trying to find a girl for so long
That tears have often filled my eyes
Under azure skies as we said our last goodbyes
I was trying to let you know that i love you so

I love you so
You’ll never know
But i love you so

You suck if you love beautiful romantic tunes that will melt your heart and you have not heard this one.  They sing this in English and Japanese.  As far as the lyrics, they are rather self-explanatory, but I can help clear up some vocabulary that you might not know:

“I’ve been thrown the gaijin glare for so long” means he has stood out by being an American who lives in Japan (“gaijin” meaning alien, or foreigner).

“azure” in “azure skies” means a deep blue, which was used for royalty centuries ago.

“Utsukushii Shibuya” refers to the singer’s fond memories of the city he lived in, presumably with his girlfriend.  Utsukushii means beautiful, and Shibuya is a suburb of Tokyo.

Here are the Japanese lyrics, just in case you know them.  By the way, I sang this song in Japanese to my Chinese girlfriend and killed it (in a good way).  You should try it!

gaijin dato yubi wo sasu
tanin (hito) wo mikudasu youna me de
(mizo wo fukame rudakeno)
puranodo ya _ ha no kabe ni kakawatsu teru baai janai
sou, zutsuto, sai kiro utoshiteta
hizun da kokoro (mono) tataki naoshi
kun ha, sonna boku wowakatsutekureru megami
kun ni _ eyou
I love you so…
detsuto, kun wo sagashi _ ke nando mo naki takunatsuta
ano aozora no shita, wakare no kotoba wo majiwa shita
kun ni _ etakatsuta
I love you so…
wasure naide
temo, I love you so…

Ok, here are the Japanese characters, the best I could work out… They are probably not very accurate.  PLEASE comment or email me the right lyrics if you know Japanese.  Thanks!

私は長い間、外国人のまぶしさを投げてきた
今では私はストライドで軽蔑してください
のみ分割する役割を誇りには時間を持っていない
誤解のための時間を持っていない
私はあまりにも長い間、この直線を設定しようとしてきた
曲がっているかを打ち出すこととして
あなたが私の意図で信頼
あなたは天国に送信する必要があります。
と私はそう私はあなたを愛しているあなたが知っているようにしようとしてきた

私はそう長くのための女の子を見つけるためにしようとしてきた
その涙は、しばしば私の目を埋めている
紺碧の空の下で我々は最後の別れは言ったとして
私は、そう私はあなたを愛しているかを知らせることを試みていた

私はあなたを愛して
あなたが知っていることは決してないだろう
しかし、私はとてもあなたを愛して

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p20buwlisAY#!

If you had not have fallen
Then I would not have found you
Angel flying too close to the ground
And I patched up your broken wing
And hung around a while
Tried to keep your spirits up
And your fever down
I knew someday that you would fly away
For love’s the greatest healer to be found
So leave me if you need to
I will still remember
Angel flying too close to the ground
Fly on, fly on past the speed of sound
I’d rather see you up
Than see you down
Leave me if you need to
I will still remember
Angel flying too close to the ground

This song is commonly believed to have been written about a friend of Nelsons who was a Hells Angel, who died in a motorcycle crash. This has never been confirmed or denied by Nelson who usually says he’s not going to argue with a load of bikers. He did once claim the song was about his wife Connie.

I’m wishing the bath water clean
She hides in the back and is unseen
I take off the mask that surrounds me
Look me in the face, what do you see?
I feel like a boy the age of 13
My body grows up,
But my mind stays the same
Look me in the face
What do, you, see?

How do you tell an angel
That you don’t believe in God?
Why do I feel,
Like such a stranger?
I look around,
I look around,
And all my friends are gone

But oh would you be me?
‘Cause I would be you
Oh you’d be happy
Only if you wanted to
And oh would you trade, me?
‘Cause I would trade you
Oh you’d be happy
Only if you wanted to

How do you tell, your Father
That you want him to notice you?
Why does this seem, like such a bother?
When mom says, you’d be better off dead
But I want to see you
I still want to see you
But oh would you call me?
Oh it’s not hard to
I’m the first one
Oh you gave birth to
And oh would you write me
Oh, on my Birthday?
Graduation, oh, oh, was yesterday
Yesterday-
Oh..

How do you hold, the special victim?
When they push you away
When they’ve been
Raped on the inside
Torn on the outside
The dirt and ugly from the stain that they try to hide
Touched in private places
Embarrassed faces
Too scared to ask for help
Why-

But oh would you be me?
‘Cause I would be you
Oh you’d be happy
Only if you wanted to
And how would you treat, me?
‘Cause I would treat you
Oh you’d be happy
Only if you wanted to
You wanted to

I’m wishing the bath water clean
She hides in the back and is unseen
I take off the mask that surrounds me
Look me in the face, and what do you see?

He is torn between a rock and a hard place.   He has the “special victim” who needs his advice/treatment, but he also needs an outlet.  He obviously suffers from parental neglect issues, as is relevant in most other Blue October songs, as well.  ”How do you tell an angel (the special victim) that you don’t believe in God” probably means that he is giving this victim advice that he himself does not even believe, but he knows that it will make him or her better.

I’m just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.
Up and at ‘em bright and early,
I’m all business in my suit,
Yeah, I’m dressed up for success from my head down to my boots,
I don’t do it for the money, there’s bills that I can’t pay,
I don’t do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,
Providing for our futures, my responsibility,
Yeah I’m real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can’t call in sick on Mondays when the weekend’s been too strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I’m solid, hey I’m steady, hey I’m true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,
Oh, and I don’t want to die for you,
But if dying’s asked of me,
I’ll bear that cross with an honor,
‘Cause freedom don’t come free.
I’m an American Soldier, an American,
Beside my Brothers and my Sisters I will proudly take a stand.
When liberty’s in jeopardy I’ll always do what’s right.
I’m out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight.
American Soldier,
I’m an American Soldier.

Yeah, an American Soldier,
An American.
Beside my Brothers and my Sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty’s in jeopardy I’ll always do what’s right,
I’m out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight.

American Soldier,
I’m an American,
American,
American Soldier.

“American Soldier” is about a soldier who is headed off to war, willing to take a stand and do what’s right. He is prepared to die “because freedom don’t come free.”  Michael Salomon directed the video, filmed in part at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Toby says that the song was written “for all the times that I get to meet the troops on these USO tours, and since “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” (Angry American song) P.O.W. and the families that have come and brought me back my old CD covers and stuff that they had and shown how much support they had (for me), this is my support for the American fighting men and women.”

How am I supposed to breathe?
I try to relax, I touch your still frame
So I can watch you closer
And study the ways I believe I belong to you
To you
so I, I scratch at your waist line, your doll hair
I dig up the thought of how your eyes glow
So I make you my religion, my collision, my escape goat
So have I found your secret weak spot, baby?

(Chorus)
Can you pretend I’m amazing?
I can pretend I’m amazing
Instead of what we both know
Instead of what we both know
I cut to the punch line baby
Can we pretend I’m amazing
Instead of what we both know

Now our history is for sale
And for that, I apologize
You see, you’re my only know how
The study of when I believed I belonged to you
To you
You see I’ve made you into something more delicious,
My sweet ghost
So have I found your secret weak spot, baby?

Can you pretend I’m amazing?
I can pretend I’m amazing
Instead of what we both know
Instead of what we both know
I cut to the punch line baby
Can we pretend I’m amazing
Instead of what we both know

Sounds like a real life experience Justin is writing about here.  The lyrics in “Amazing” conclude a list of songs on the album “History for Sale” that seem to all reflect on Justin’s relationship with one ex-girlfriend.  In the first song, “Ugly Side,” he introduces his first meetings with the girl.  Conclusively, “Amazing,” the last track on the album, deals with Justin and his girl breaking up and taking a different direction.  He does not explain why she leaves, but the lyrics definitely tell us that he was deeply in love with her.  I wish that everybody knew how great the writing is in Blue October’s music.  Perhaps if they were a bit more positive?

Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone.
Everything that I’ve got is just what I’ve got on.
When that sun is high in that Texas sky
I’ll be bucking at the county fair.
Amarillo by morning, Amarillo I’ll be there.

They took my saddle in Houston, broke my leg in Santa Fe.
Lost my wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way.
Well I’ll be looking for eight when they pull that gate,
And I hope that judge ain’t blind.
Amarillo by morning, Amarillo’s on my mind.

Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone.
Everything that I’ve got is just what I’ve got on.
I ain’t got a dime, but what I got is mine.
I ain’t rich, but Lord I’m free.
Amarillo by morning, Amarillo’s where I’ll be.
Amarillo by morning, Amarillo’s where I’ll be.

This was written by Terry Stafford, who thought up the lyrics after attending a rodeo in San Antonio.

Babe, tomorrow’s so far away
There’s something I just have to say
I don’t think I can hide what I’m feelin’ inside
Another day, knowin’ I love you
And I, I’m getting too close again
I don’t want to see it end
If I tell you tonight will you turn out the light
And walk away knowin’ I love you?

I’m gonna take you by surprise
And make you realize, Amanda
I’m gonna tell you right away,
I can’t wait another day, Amanda
I’m gonna say it like a man
And make you understand, Amanda
I love you

And I feel like today’s the day
Lookin’ for the words to say
Do you wanna be free, are you ready for me
To feel this way
I don’t wanna lose you
So, it may be too soon, I know
The feeling takes so long to grow
If I tell you today will you turn me away
And let me go?
I don’t wanna lose you

I’m gonna take you by surprise
And make you realize, Amanda
I’m gonna tell you right away,
I can’t wait another day, Amanda
I’m gonna say it like a man
And make you understand, Amanda
Oh girl

You and I
I know that we can’t wait
And I swear, I swear it’s not a lie girl
Tomorrow may be too late
You, you and I girl
We can share a life together
It’s now or never
And tomorrow may be too late

And, feelin’ the way I do
I don’t wanna wait my whole life through
To say I’m in love with you

Although we don’t know how the song ends, this was written for the lead singer’s girlfriend.  Whether she told him “yes” or not, the relationship did not work out.  Brad Delp ended up divorced twice, and was about to marry a girl named Pamela when he had enough of life’s troubles.  Delp committed suicide at age 55, leaving a note that only said he had a lonely soul, in French.

[Waitress:] “Hello, you wanna cup of coffee?”
[Customers:] “Heh, Turn that fucking juke box down
You want to turn down that juke box….loud in here”
[Waitress:] “I’m sorry, would you like a cup of coffee?
Ok, you take cream and sugar? Sure.”

In truck stops and hamburger joints
In Cadillac limousines
In the company of has-beens
And bent-backs
And sleeping forms on pavement steps
In libraries and railway stations
In books and banks
In the pages of history
In suicidal cavalry attacks
I recognise…
Myself in every stranger’s eyes

And in wheelchairs by monuments
Under tube trains and commuter accidents
In council care and county courts
At Easter fairs and sea-side resorts
In drawing rooms and city morgues
In award winning photographs
Of life rafts on the China seas
In transit camps, under arc lamps
On unloading ramps
In faces blurred by rubber stamps
I recognise…
Myself in every stranger’s eyes

And now, from where I stand
Upon this hill
I plundered from the pool
I look around
I search the skies
I shade my eyes
So nearly blind
And I see signs of half remembered days
I hear bells that chime in strange familiar ways
I recognise…
The hope you kindle in your eyes

It’s oh so easy now
As we lie here in the dark
Nothing interferes, it’s obvious
How to beat the tears
That threaten to snuff out
The spark of our love

Simply put, this is the 10th of 12 songs about a man who dreams of committing adultery with with a woman while he suffers from a mid-life crisis.  Confusingly put, there are elements of existentialism and Buddhism in the song.  All the “myself in ever stranger’s eyes” references point to these two beliefs, which claim that humans all belong to one universal energy.

Maybe I didn’t love you
Quite as often as I could have
Maybe I didn’t treat you
Quite as good as I should have

If I made you feel second best
Girl I’m sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Maybe I didn’t hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I’m so happy that you’re mine

Little things I should have said and done
{ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/w/willie-nelson-lyrics/always-on-my-mind-lyrics.html }
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Tell me
Tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died
And give me
Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied
I’ll keep you satisfied

Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Girl you are to me, all that a woman should be,
And I dedicate my life to you always
The love like yours is grand,
It must have been sent from up above
And I know you’ll stay this way, for always

And we both know, that our love will grow
And forever it will be you and me
Ooh your life is sun,
Chasing all the rain away,
When you come around you bring a brighter day
You’re the perfect one
For me and you forever we’ll be
And I will love you so for always

Came with me my sweet,
Let’s go make a family,
And they will bring us joy, for always

Oh boy I love your soul,
I can’t find enough ways to let you know
But you can be sure of course, for always

And we both know, that our love will grow
And forever it will be you and me
Ooh your life is sun,
Chasing all the rain away,
When you come around you bring a brighter day
You’re the perfect one
For me and you forever we’ll be
And I will love you so for always

Ooh your life is sun,
Chasing all the rain away,
When you come around you bring a brighter day
You’re the perfect one
For me and you forever we’ll be
And I will love you so for always

I will love you so, for always