The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot

I stumbled upon something online which really stunned me the other day. I found something describing "the smell of rain", which instantly made me think of this song, with the "you are the smell before rain" line. The piece I was reading used the word 'Petrichor' - the actual scientific name that describes the smell that we associate with rain. I looked up this word 'Petrichor' and found: "Petrichor (from Greek 'petra' meaning stone, + 'ichor' the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology) is the name of the scent of rain on dry earth." This astounded me, surely the "blood in my veins" line must be referring to this? It's far too much of a coincidence. This has just made me appreciate Jesse's lyrical genius to a whole new level... Such an obscure phrase, but ties two beautiful yet seemingly unconnected lines so perfectly together.

Lyrically just an incredible piece. Did I say incredible?!! It's a sad one, though. It's about somoene (male or female) who doens't like himself and feels that although his love(r) can forgive him for his wrongs, every time she looks at him she will be reminded of them and she will thus never forget them (perhaps causing a grudge that will tarnish the relationship). He has little faith in himself (ie. "Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not"); he believes his presence in her life will cause her problems that she doesn't deserve. He appears to be telling her to move on without him, yet it's not what he really wants. She seems unsure if she wants the relationship to continue (ie "So call it quits or get a grip. You say you wanted a solution, you just wanted to be missed), although that may just be his fear speaking. The title speaks to him sabotaging the relationship with his self-doubt and self-hatred. Terribly sad (but wicked good) tune. Powerful.

If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand. (If it makes you hurt any less, you can kill me. [Metaphorically, I'd hope.])

I hope you find out what you want. I already know what I am. And if it makes you less sad, we'll start talking again. And you can tell me how vile I already know that I am. (If it makes you feel any better, we can start talking again like we used to. You can tell me how much of a jerk I am even though I already know.)

I'll grow old and start acting my age. I'll be a brand new day, in a life that you hate. (I'll start acting like I know I should, and although things will be different, you'll never be able to look past what I keep doing.)

A crown of gold, a heart that's harder than stone. And it hurts a whole lot, but it's missed when it's gone. (Although I'll miss our relationship once it's finally gone, I know if I stay I'll keep hurting you.)

Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not. Glad that you can forgive, only hoping as time goes... you can forget. (It seems like you can trust me, but I'm not good for you. Although I'm glad you can forgive me for hurting you so much, I just hope you'll stop looking to the past.)

If it makes you less sad, I'll move out of this state. You can keep you yourself. I'll keep out of your way. (If it will make you hurt less, I'll move away so you won't have to see me ever again and be reminded of what I did to you.)

If it makes you less sad, I'll take your pictures all down. Every picture you paint, I will paint myself out. (I'll get rid of all of the evidence we were ever together so you don't have to be reminded of the pain everyday. I'll remove myself from your memories altogether.)

It's cold as a tomb and it's dark in your room when I sneak to your bed to pour salt on your wounds. (Every time I come to see you, I feel like I'm just hurting you more.)

"So call it quits or get a grip. You say you wanted a solution, you just wanted to be missed." (Stop playing games with me and figure out where you want to go from here. You say you want to fix things, when you really just want me to fight to keep us together.)

You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold. Pale white like the skin stretched over your bones. (You're holding yourself together.)

Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke. You are so fragile and thin, standing trial for your sins. Holding on to yourself the best you can. You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins. (My self-destructive behavior is hurting you in the process. You're so fragile and have to pay for your mistakes. I compare you to the anticipation when it seems like it's going to rain even though it might not, meaning you're expecting me to do things but I keep letting you down over and over again. But I love you and you're keeping me alive?)

You are calm and reposed Let your bueaty unfold Pale white, like the skin stretched over your bones Spring keeps you ever close You are second hand smoke You are so fragile and thin Standing trial for your sins Holding on to yourself the best you can You are the smell before rain You are the blood in my veins

^ amazing.

this song like many others on Deja Entendu is so much more mature (in terms of lyrics) than on Your Favorite Weapon. i think this song is arguably the best on the new CD...the buildup to the end and the finish is awesome.

Personally, I think this song is to do with a relationship... well, this is how I interpret it anyway. I can relate to it very well. Basically, I think they went out, and had an amazing time together, and something went wrong, and they split up. It ended really badly, and he made mistakes and did a lot of bad things in the time they split up, because he didn't want to accept that the relationship was over. He tried to make her life Hell because he wanted her back so much, and wanted her to know how much it hurt him, them breaking up. He was still completely in love with her but he'd messed things up such a lot that he can no longer go back. The song is an apology, he is admitting that in the end, it was his fault, he is sorry for all the hurt he caused, sorry for how badly he acted, and sorry he couldn't move on. The song highlights how his actions make her miserable, and that he's sorry about that, and he'll do anything for her to get some happiness back; 'If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand'. He admits he is wrong and feels awful because of how he's acted 'You can tell me how vile I already know that I am'. The 'When I sneak to your bed to pour salt in your wounds' part is just another way of explaining how he tried to make life Hell for her. I could actually talk about this song forever, as it is completely what happened in my last relationship. The final line; 'I'm glad that you can forgive Only hoping as time goes that you can forget' just explains that she has forgiven what as happened, and he just hopes she can forget it all, as he still feels terrible about it, and still a part of him wants to believe she could have him back, if she only could forget what went wrong.

I don's post this kind of thing very often but this is just the story of my life right now and I'm pretty sure I understand what this song is all about.

Put simply, it's telling the tale of a guy who's involved with a girl that he feels attraction to but isn't in love with. He doesn't feel as strongly for her as she feels for him - or at least as she used to. He starts by making promises and being the better person; he says if she needs him to move away in order to forget him then he'll do it, he says he'll cut himself off from her entirely if that helps. The chorus is fairly self-evident in its meaning. But then, in the stanza that begins, "It's cold as a tomb..." it's them spending another night together, probably drunk or lonely, and it's him pleading beneath the surface to himself to 'call it quits or get a grip.' He knows he's hurting her, and knows he needs to sort his head out and stop being so careless with her emotions, but he's incapable. In the long bridge section it's him falling back into a long list of platitudes about how much she matters to him, but the point is that she doesn't; she's just a painkiller, if you like, and he's using her for that.

That's what I read into it, anyway, because it's pretty much spot on as far as my life is concerned. My ex and I broke up a year ago and we've kissed often on nights out; at first, she would shout at me after it had happened and tell me I needed to think more carefully about what I was doing and fucking with her emotions. And she was right. But it didn't fix anything; when we're drunk and around each other we still end up kissing and/or sleeping together and it's nothing I'm proud of but I'm almost powerless to stop it. Almost. And the part of me that does have that capability is muted by my insecurities. I know she'll forgive me eventually for being so messed up and in turn messing her up, but I'd much rather she was just able to walk away from me, because even though that would hurt me for a while, it's almost certainly the best thing for her own head.

the title suggests a the guy-girl thing. a guy going for a girl but lacking confidence he "blocks his own shot" as we often do when we don't really believe in ourselves or just plain ole screwed it up. now he wants this person who he screwed the relationship up with, whatever the grounds for this union were, to forget about him. this won't be the case for jesse tho cause this person is "the blood in his veins". he'll never forget this person.

wow. i got a completely different idea from the song as the rest of you. lol. i was in a situation that i felt the song related to.

the impression i get is about a failed relationship, where he knows he was wrong, and although he still loves her, he knows there's no way it can work out, so he'll do anything to make her happy.

"If it makes you less sad I will die by your hand. I hope you find out what you are, I already know what I am. And if it makes you less sad we'll start talking again. You can tell me how vile I already know that I am." she's upset that they broke up, and he admits he was wrong... he's basically saying "i'll give you the closure of telling me i'm a jerk."

"I'll grow old and start acting my age. I'll be a brand new day in a life that you hate. A crown of gold, a heart thats harder than stone but it hurts a whole lot and its missed when its gone." he knows he was young and immature about the whole situation, and this is him affirming it. when they broke up, she held everything in, "a heart that's harder than stone", and he's acknowledging her feelings.

"Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not." i get the impression that their relationship was based on immaturity, and they clung to each other because it was "safe"... now he's saying "well, obviously not..."

"I'm glad that you can forgive, I'm only hoping as time goes on you can forget." i think she "said" she forgave him, but he knows she won't be able to. the first part i think is sarcasm "well, i'm GLAD you can forgive..." you know?

"If it makes you less sad, I'll move out of this state. You can keep you yourself. I'll keep out of your way. And if it makes you less sad I'll take your pictures all down. Every picture you paint I will paint myself out." again, he knows he was a jerk for how he treated her, and he's letting her know that if it will make her happy, she can erase him from her life. he'll even help... "every picture you paint, i will paint myself out".

"It's cold as a tomb and its dark in your room when I sneak to your bed to pour salt on your wounds. so call it quits or get a grip." she's trapped in the wound of the breakup, and he's telling her she needs to do SOMETHING to get over it... she needs to quit bashing him and move on.

"You say you wanted a solution, you just wanted to be missed." pretty self-explanatory... she didn't actually want him to break up with her. she just wanted him to affirm his love for her constantly, and he's apparently tired of her games.

"You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold. Pale white like the skin stretched over your bones." he's admiring her beauty... lol.

"Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke." he thinks she's just a little dangerous though, like second-hand smoke.

"You are so fragile and thin, standing trial for your sins. Holding on to yourself the best you can." oh my god, i LOVE those lines. i want to cry every time i hear them. haha. he's saying, again, that she needs to stop playing the victim and move on.

"You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins." he's saying that despite the fact that they broke up, he still loves her and she's ingrained deep into him.

=)

i went through this with my ex-b/f. it's like, i'll admit that i treated him badly, if he'll just friggin move on, you know?

<3 linds

I think this is about a guy who dosen't return the affections of a girl who is just crazy for him. I mean he dosen't hate her, he just dosen't want to get in a relationship with her, and he almost feels bad for not returning her devotion. THey were probably best friends, which makes it worse.

If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand.

He dosen't want the girl to be sad over his desicion to not return her feelings, so in order to make up for his denial he says that she can kill him. Of course he dosen't mean it he is just trying to comfort her because he does care for her.

I hope you find out what you want. I already know what I am.

He wishes her well and wants her to discover who she is and to find her purpose in life. He states that he already knows what he is. That is probably one of the reasons that he won't date her, because she is unsure of herself. SHe has not overcome the selfish need of acceptance.

And if it makes you less sad, we'll start talking again. and you can tell me how vile I already know that I am.

They obvioulsly stopped speaking after he rejected her, probably because it was really akward. Again her tries to make her less sad by talking to her and letting her take out all the hate emotions that she feels for him on her. But he states that he already knows that he is vile which makes me suspect that she has done this before, which may be the reason they were not talking in the first place.

I'll grow old and start acting my age. I'll be a brand new day in a life that you hate.

He will live his life and mature while she will hold on to the bitterness of rejection and wind up hating life and the fact that she was rejected. It makes me believe that they see each other alot to, not on purpose though (best friends before?)

A crown of gold. A heart thats harder than stone. And it hurts a whole lot, but it's missed when it's gone.

a broken heart is not easy to mend and since she can't have what she wants her love becomes calloused and pretty soon she feels no love and she wishes she could.

Call me a safe bet. I'm beting I'm not. I'm glad that you can forgive. I'm only hoping as time goes, you can forget.

I think that this means that the girl new she could win the guy, a "safe bet." But she didn't, "I'm betting Im not" Now even thought the girl has forgiven the guy he wants her to forget to.

If it makes you less sad, I'll move out of state. YOu can keep to yourself. I'll keep out of your way.

Now in order to help the girl to forget he says that he will move out of state, so that she can be alone and overcome her selfishness. He will keep out of her way so that he won't make things worse.

And if it makes you less sad, I'll take your pictures all down. Every picture you paint, I will paint myself out.

SInce they were best friends before love came up they probably had a lot of memories and he is saying that he will take all those memories and forget them and he won't make any new memories, he is not doing this to be mean, but again he is trying to help her to get over the heart ache by erasing the "past" and destroying the "future"

It's cold as a tomb, and it's dark in your room, when I sneak to your bed to pour salt in your wounds.

I think this is talking about her personality, cold and dark. He is saying that she only sees him as being mean and "pouring salt in her wounds," when really this whole time he has been trying to help her to get over her pain.

So call it quits or get a grip. Say you wanted a solution. You just wanted to be missed.

Now he finally reveals to her that he wants her to get a grip and come back to reality. Her life is not over and the whole time she was just thinking of herself. She just wanted to be missed. TO be noticed. She just wanted him to solve all her problems.

You are calm and reposed. Let your beauty unfold. Pale white, like the skin stretched over your bones. Spring keeps you ever close.

Here he is telling her all of her beauty to help her realize that life will continue. He tells her that she should let her beauty unfold and be her true self. To not look to others for acceptance. SHe is always scared of not being accepted (pale white).

You are second hand smoke. You are so fragile and thin. Standing trial for your sins. Holding onto yourself the best you can.

Now he is telling her her weaknesses. SHe is bad fr him(second hand smoke) Fragile and thin, she dosen't know who she is and what she wants from life, her purpose could be easily broken. standing trial for your sins...she is being judged for what she has done and is holding on to who she thinks she is desperatly.

You are the smell before rain. You are the blood in my veins.

blood in my veins makes me think that they were very close friends before she told him that she loved him.

Well that is my view on the song, sorry if it is jumbled or dosen't make much sense, it is hard to put in words this kind of stuff.

I think this song is about his dad because the title is a nickname his dad had for Jesse. When he played basketball the way he shot his hand would always get in the way of the ball so his dad started calling him the boy who blocks his own shots. Makes sense about a girl though too... Jesse writes in a way that it can in anyone's mind be about that one thing they need it to be about. Which is why it's always so easy to relate to Brand New songs