Sylvanaire, I don't think using "with" changes the meaning at all. To me, anyway, "only if you care with these words unspoken" means,"Only if you care enough for me even without these words needing to be spoken."

I believe we have heard only 3 other versions so far of TMAIA: Concert for Hope, WMSoundcheck and This Quiet Night acoustic. I had remembered specifically that David had sung "about" at the Concert for Hope after I first heard the TLM "with" lyric (I had already memorized the lyrics. lol). "About" is consistent in all 3 other versions - he has sung "about these words unspoken". Only two explanations I can think of: 1) No one caught that he sang "with" on the track for TMAIA. (There are so many layers and details on this album, perhaps it could simply have been overlooked? There is one known error on TLM. The first 8 seconds of We Believe intro actually was cut off and was tacked onto the end of the Right Here With You track instead.) or 2) Possibly after the studio track had already been completed, but before the Concert for Hope, before the lyrics were printed and before TQN was recorded (it was recorded quite late in the process), he decided he liked "about" better than "with" and changed it. I think the former may be more likely than the latter, that the lyric difference was somehow overlooked on the TLM track.

That's really cool that you found that, min. I hadn't done that research either. That's a great album, and that song is one of my favorites off of it.

I went back and listened to it this morning. Just for fun. And then I listened to the whole rest of the album again. Great music.

And the older I get, the better I'm understanding that what you say is very true. It is a big, very connected world out there. The joy is in the journey.

What a wonderful way to start a Sunday. Thanks!

CYE - thanks so much.

got it, thanks CYE

i dunno if there is in fact a master link but i'm sure someone will correct me if there is. i think most if not all of the songs can now also be found on various lyrics sites just by doing a general title search along with 'cook' -- but you'd definitely want to compare with the CD booklet since I don't know if they are completely accurate.

Check with norm over in the music thread, also, JLG, before doing a lot of work? Because I have a feeling norm has already figured out chords for at least some of these songs....

alina1212 on Jul 2, 2011 - 12:29 AM
this is one reason i'm sad we didn't get to hear "sunlight" cuz it makes me wonder if it's about coming back to the harsh light of reality, or if it's more about the reawakening of hope that helps you move on to tomorrow.

Interesting that you bring this up. I'm still intrigued with the way that David chose to portray light throughout the album. The fact that he actually wrote a song titled "Sunlight" makes me feel like he was very aware of the way he was using that imagery. I too wonder what angle he took with this song. Was he viewing the sunlight as a saving grace, or as a facilitator of pain? Don't get me wrong, I am head over heels for LMFFY and I'm so glad that we have it, but my curiosity about Sunlight is killing me!

Also, thanks CYE for the compliment and the additions. Both are much appreciated!

good job, qtt. it would definitely work.

but maybe too much hope for TLM, ha. Because I think the confusion and the not-so-happy ending to the 'dream' arc has to be deliberate. He obviously had more ''positive' tracks to insert if he wished. (Not that service to the arc is the only consideration; commercial appeal has to be a consideration, even if he is not a 'singles' guy.)

To me it's all the story of ... sleeping badly due to disturbances in your IRL life influencing the dreams. So even if the dream starts happy, as a romantic escape, it ends in tragedy. And then there is a confused awakening and real life looks even worse, so ... descend into the dream state again.

The bonus tracks will be the last thing most people who buy the deluxe actually hear, because most of them are not going to rearrange anything, to get Circadian/REM paired. They'll just play it straight through. I'd love to have heard 'sunlight' and seen if the light in that song was something kinder than the harsh kind that seems prevalent in the nonbonus songs. (And yeah, qtt, good comments on the relationship to U and I and the burning sun in that song; I had thought of that also.)

There could of course be other reasons the bonus tracks didn't make it onto the main disc. The musical vibe of 'not the last time' is really different than everything else on the record; I like it, but (as I think might've said earlier) to me it could almost be a country crossover track. The vibe of 'let me fall' would've fit better but you are right that it is a much sparer production style than the rest of TLM and stands out because of it. (And i really like it, in fact; it's a refreshment after the complexity of the TLM arrangements.)

Thematically to me these are ... less part of a tale that is mainly concerned with loss and struggle, and more of a straightforward statement of hope. The first song, an affirmation of life and relationships that transcend all goodbyes. The second, an affirmation that complete commitment is possible and desirable and indeed the only way to learn to fly -- which is the opposite of 4 Letter Word (but an echo of what's going on in 'fade into me').

I love these bonus tracks and I think they're a great addition to the record, and I'm glad that the sales of the deluxe version seem to outstrip the basic version, at least at itunes, because... it's just better with them, IMO. (And , natch, more kaching for the D and his label...)

Something I thought of last night regarding the suicide theory in GTTG:

In several recent interviews, David has stated that the album encompasses the idea that you can live an entire lifetime in your sleep. I think that supports the idea that the "narrator" in GTTG is actually offing himself. When he says "goodbye to the world," that's when his life is ending. And now that his dream life is over, he's waking up (via REM).

One of my rare drive-bys. Someone (looking at you, cye) shamed me into posting. First, I think David, perhaps unknowingly, had some of the basic themes for this album rolling around in that head of his for quite a while. Remember these lyrics?

The day's just begun,
The ocean's all but won and pulled us under.
The way this moment glows,
Let's erase the world we know
And draw another with what we love.

CHORUS:

As the sun burns everything that's in her eye,
Take my hand, take a stand,
'Cause there's nothing left to stop our dreams again.

The stars are turning cold ...
We're running out of years...

Ocean, sun, stars, dreams, time.

In fact, one can go quite a way back in David's music and find similar imagery/themes in individual songs (not as album themes). For example, Axium's Blindsided 2003, lyrics in David's sole write "Still":

Reflections in the waves of my eyes
Like a million shining seas.

Inspiration escapes me
as I look into my dreams.

I smiled at that one very positive blog reviewer's comment that David's reference to "heart on my sleeve" was a nod to Michael Johns' album title. The writer is a fan, but apparently a rather recent one. David was using that phrase long before he ever heard of Michael Johns, in fact, as far back as 2003 in the aforementioned "Still": "And I'll keep on living with my heart on my sleeve, 'cause I know love and I still believe." I had seen a few comments from people who rued David's use of the phrase in TMO. I like to think of it as his "Alfred Hitchc***" indulgence, it always pops up somewhere as sort of his trademark (except in Analog Heart. I guess the album title itself spoke to it). But you KNOW David wrote that lyric when you hear it.
=============================

Anyway, briefly, my thoughts on the two bonus songs. (Sorry, I lied there. Reading back I see I wasn't brief at all, was I? Oops. Don't worry. I got it all out at once. I won't darken your doorstep for a long, long time.) I don't believe either bonus song was just tacked on. I think he might have wanted both TINTLT and Let Me Fall For You on the album, and maybe Sunlight, too. We don't know (yet) why LMFFY was subbed for Sunlight. We know Sunlight was produced by Serletic and LMFFY is the only track that was not. It could have been a last minute SNAFU, or a last minute "win"... or not. I do know LMFFY has resonated with a lot of people in my twitter timeline. People are hooked on it, love it. I think I know the reason I love it, why it resonates with me. For me, since it seems to have been a "polished up" demo produced by Rune Westberg, it has a different feel, less "stuff", more simplicity of sound. As gorgeous and lush as TLM is, as much as I love it, I like this sound, too. What I *hear* in my head and heart is what Analog Heart might sound like with David's current, more rich and smooth vocals and better production values. Vocal distortion is also something which he employed in a number of Analog Heart songs (The Truth, Straight Ahead, Stitches, Searchlights). (Lord how I love "let me crash, let me burn my heart out". Those 3 little words give it such a completely different meaning than just "crash and burn"). I could be totally wrong. This could be mostly Mr. Westberg's song, but it *really* hits me in the heart like a David song.

In any case, I love both bonus songs, and I love listening to This Loud Morning as David intended, going from REM back into Circadian. What to do to enjoy the album and the bonus songs? As I said, I don't feel the bonus songs were tacked on. Listening to the lyrics, I sense they could have been part of the story arc, and placing them where I have in a playlist, I feel they flow lyrically, and also rather nicely musically. It was simply (to me) a matter that the non-deluxe tracklist had to be pared down to 12 songs.

In my playlist, the two bonus songs become "inner bookends". LMFFY comes after Circadian, and TINTLT comes before REM. In my interpretation, he drifts off to sleep at the end of Circadian, and his dreams take over. His dream begins with wanting to fall in love (as he had already), but to have the dream come to a happy ending. LMFFY is his falling in love song ("I'm going under, so tell me what to do. Let me fall for you.") RHWY is his declaration of that love. The arc proceeds, the love deteriorates, and his dream always ends in the nightmare of GTTG (goodbye to the girl, goodbye to the world), at which point he's jarred awake in the morning. He doesn't want his dream to end that way, he doesn't want his life to end that way:

"This is not the last time I will see the sunrise, 'cause I've been dreaming far too long to give up and leave this behind. Tomorrow's holding on to another day, I know that this moment's real. This is not a goodbye, this is just a lullaby, and everything will be alright."

He knows the dreams aren't real, but the reality of his loss is still very harsh, a very open wound, so he pulls those covers over his head and hits the "real life snooze button" of REM, for one more try to have that dream end in happiness. He's not a lost soul, or one who has given up, he's just trying to deal as best he can with his deep sense of loss until he heals enough to be able to accept it without it crushing him.

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it, because it works for me to hear all 14 songs on repeat without breaking the link between the ending of REM and the beginning of Circadian.

[Hope you're happy now, cye. *wink*]

I love this thread. Everyone has such thoughtful ideas and insight to what they think the lyrics of this record refer to. What my gut tells me after listening to the record (repeatedly), watching the DVD, and listening and reading many of Dave's interviews ... I sense a profound sadness, a real loss, and we all know what that loss is. On the DVD he stated that he doesn't know if you can ever get over something like this (losing Adam), the anguish in his heart becomes visible on his face and he tears up. I deeply ache for him. I think this record is all about dealing with his life as it is now, barely recognizeable from pre-idol, pre-Adam. I think GTTG is Dave's attempt of trying to release the grief, but he's so torn up inside that he just doesn't know what to do. The girl is metaphorically ... Adam. This guy is so deep ... we only see the surface. His lyrics are his depth, his soul. God, I love this guy.

Nice work, Mayawolf!

One little semi-correction though re Circadian
> Mayday originated as a call for help when you're sinking at sea
> I always felt the reference to 'It's over my head' referred to sinking below the waterline.

hnrysmm, I like your theory about "holding my breath till the lines blur." I've experienced that several times. You try SO hard to not let the tears fall, and then your vision starts getting blurry and you realize you failed. So you just "give up" and let it out.

Karen, I love the end of "Let Me Fall For You," too. The distortion effect is really cool.

Re the water imagery - the thought I had on hearing TLM (but hesitated to express) was that the metaphor of the entire album is being swept away by a tsunami, where all you know is swept away, and you're barely clinging on to bare survival in a world suddenly turned treacherous and uncontrollable.

You all came out to play! *smishes you all collectively and individually*

Unfortunately it's now my turn to plead RL exigencies, so BBL. But thanks for joining in!

cimorene Jun 28, 2011 - 3:41 PM I like that, too -- that even the bonus tracks have a reason for placement there. They weren't just tacked on -- this really is a complete album.

Actually in the case of LMFFY I do think it has just been tacked on. Well that's a little harsh but I read the credits and it was produced and recorded by Rune Westberg (the co-writer) at RW studios and not by Matt Serlectic and his Emblem team. I assume this means it was not tracked for TLM (D always said they recorded 14 songs) and the screw-up with Sunlight necessitated the use of possibly a polished up demo.

Having said that, I adore the song. Especially D's distorted voice singing this:

Let me fall like a stone in the water
Let me fall like a plane out of the sky
Let me crash, let me burn my heart out
Let me learn to fly

Also makes me want to hear Sunlight even more as this was one of the 14 songs that was chosen to be recorded to fit D's theme.

I can't hear the ocean symbolism without thinking of a clinical case study I read in college in a book called Existence, a compendium of articles on Existential Psychology edited by Rollo May. The patient was a young woman who had been deeply depressed who was starting to recover. She reported a dream, an affirming dream. IIRC the details correctly, in the dream she was adrift on the ocean in a rowboat. The sea was rough, but she was in control of the oars. She knew that at any time, if it got too rough, she could use the oars to row herself back to shore. That boat and those oars represented a first taste of a secure sense of self, something internal and strong she could trust, something that would allow her to venture out (onto the ocean) but would always be there when she needed to retreat. That dream and the patient's interpretation struck me hard when I read it. I still get a bit verklempt when I think of it.

I've always heard existential themes in David's lyrics. I attribute them to his age at the time of writing. The search for an authentic self seemed to dominate many songs. ( Four ultimate existential concerns are: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Time and our relation to time is another big concern. )I have always admired him for how his songs illuminate those themes.

That's just how I see it. Not psychoanalyzing here. Just observing. Cause that's how I roll. Cause I'm a David Cook fan and that's what I do here

"Endless sea," " ocean blue," then the ocean came and took it all away..."

I was also struck with the imagery of the ocean or water in TLM and visions of falling, sinking, descending, crashing (on the metaphorical waves), floating and seeking air or oxygen so that one can breathe. In my experience, I think grasping for breath is consistent for the sensation of drowning and dreaming.

Together with his preoccupation with the sunlight as both the paradoxical harbinger of hope and at the same time the cause of his despair created images of a character that is seeing the world with eyes half-closed, in between sleeping and waking, you squint at the world and hang on to the darkness inside your head.

"I'm holding my breath til the lines blur" in GTTG is giving us a character closing his eyes to world but in my opinion, has a deliberate wish to not breathe anymore.
The lyrics (together with the music) really created the cinematic feel. There is a feeling of the settings and colors combined with nature's elements - water, wind and earth.

This reminded me that David originally wanted the album cover to be on the beach with the sunrise as backdrop, but this was nixed due to difficulties. He is really consistent in his use of imagery whether it is in his lyrics, music or visual. The choice of the beach in TLG video is probably deliberate.

You're absolutely right, Tiger-eyed. Is he into Astrology by any chance?

I'm with y'all regarding the "glimmer of hope" in GTTG. It's....not there. I mean, I suppose one could argue that there's hope because, instead of offing himself, he's going to sleep. So he's trying to sleep it off rather than end it all. But that only works if you interpret the last line as him going to sleep, and some people don't.

You could also argue that since he's only "leaning on the edge" of jumping off the ledge, there's *something* keeping him from actually jumping. And that something is the glimmer of hope.

Yeah. Musically, I see the bonus tracks as a postscript, a coda of sorts. They make sense thematically, but they only work as an "oh, by the way.."

And barbwyre -- firstly, no offence taken, of course. Without face-to-face conversations it's always possible to misread someone's intent. As for your comment about water themes, I was actually thinking about this with respect to, specifically, ocean imagery -- because of all things, THAT is a serious, overarching theme in this record. To the point that, if you all may recall, his original vision for the album cover was to have the speakers (and himself) standing in the ocean. Concept album, folks -- it's a complete vision, from the album jacket to the word choices. The only interpretation that I can come up with that makes any sense to me is that the ocean is symbolic of the inevitability of change, and time. And isn't that what Cantiello concluded that this album was about, in his interview? He's perceptive, that guy. What are your thoughts, though? Or do I take this to the PB thread with regards to how the symbology plays out throughout the whole album?

I transcribed the video of the Billboard interview, because it's full of fascinating stuff - http://www.scribd.com/doc/58974936

Samples which relate to things we've discussed before:
> Hard to Believe"
It was actually a late player into the game. We weren't exactly sure how it [the song] was going to pan out, but it became a really important piece to the puzzle really quick.

> Time Marches On
To me, 'Time Marches On' is the tipping point of the album. Up until that point, I think every song had been about the hopeful side of love and life and all that, and 'Time Marches On' is that tipping point where … I guess maybe you move to the next stage of grief – if that makes any sense - where all of a sudden it's like, 'OK, no matter what happens, the clock's gonna keep moving and we all have a finite amount of time.

> Goodbye To The Girl
I think on surface value, when I was writing it, I wanted to write about that moment when mentally, you’ve hit bottom. But of course, I don’t necessarily just want to write, like, you know, about suicide. And so I just wrote about those down moments, when you feel like you’ve hit bottom. But there’s still that glimmer of hope … And I tried to personify it as a woman. And that’s kind of where Goodbye To The Girl came from.

Someone mentioned the frequent references to water in this album and I started thinking about the frequent mentions of water in mwk songs. (And I know David and Neal and Andy are not connected at the hip, and they do lead their own lives and have their own thoughts, but they are good friends who have to be influenced by each other in some way.)

Just off the top of my head without research - Lemmings (who dive off the cliff into an ocean,) Undertow, Waterside, Stuck Under Wheels (mention of a lake), Vera (great white ships are sailing), The Beggar (okay - technically not mwk). Interesting since Neal claims to have a fear of the water.

I haven't read all posts made since "Circadian" went public, but I haven't seen any mention of "Wer'e Only Honest When We're Sleeping." So apparently this whole sleep and dream fixation is not new. Could WOHWWS have fit on this album? Talk amongst yourselves.

My initial reaction of the TLG video was that it was a media commentary - take a couple of small items and immediately (especially in this day and age) blow it up into a massive, untrue story.

And just some more dream-and-death commentary - a Bruce Springsteen song called "Valentine's Day" which David probably hasn't heard, but who knows:

"They say if you die in your dreams you really die in your bed
But honey last night I dreamed my eyes rolled straight back in my head
And God's light came shinin' on through
I woke up in the darkness scared and breathin' and born anew"

BTW - sorry if I offended anyone with my previous post. I also think I was misunderstood by some people. Ironic since I wanted to be a writer when I was very young. Fortunately I went into government work instead. (Yes - add some irony there.)

Thanks, Incipit, Minstrel. I think I went on a Cook media binge the other day and all the interviews began running together. That's the one I meant.

I had another moment to process the songs last night, finally getting a chance to process This Is Not the Last Time, and I can't help thinking it is the direct counterpart to GTTG. Similar ocean/picture/painting imagery, on top of lines like "This is not the last time I will see the sunrise" and "This is not a goodbye. This is just a lullaby, and everything will be all right." In the Billboard Track by Track interview about GTTG, he was more forthcoming about it -- this is the song that he must have been referring to in particular in the other interview I referenced, about personifying an issue as a woman -- and he describes it as a song about hitting rock bottom, and there being a glimmer of hope. TINTLT is that glimmer of hope, I think, and it's comforting, to have that track there, even as a bonus.

I like that, too -- that even the bonus tracks have a reason for placement there. They weren't just tacked on -- this really is a complete album.

well, cimmy, to my mind there is a lotta existential figuring out, going on in this material. (i think the extrapolation to romance quote is from that broken records mag interview, which i actually have not yet seen?)

I think there is a lot of figuring out who he is in the world, post-idol, what relationships mean, what connectedness means in a world where he is not quite a regular guy any more (but sometimes apparently wishes he was). what relationships are enduring, what aloneness and connnection are about, and not just in a romantic context.

it's deep stuff, it's definitely progression from prior stuff -- but some of the themes were also in prior stuff, as you noted.

it's lovely to have been around long enough and paid attention seriously enough to see things unfolding this way. have not done it before with another artist and it's ... cool.

i hope he feels us closer than we are, and I hope he realizes that every time a few hundred or thousands sing his words back to him, in a show, there are many thousands more out here in his community,echoing those voices. because his light is lovely but his darkness, yeah, it's there, in him -- in all of us -- and it'd be good for him to know that no matter where he's going, it's not going to be too much for us to handle.