Foo Fighters – What If I Do?

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  General Comment:amazing just amazing ,it seems a love song better than those of Oasis!!

  Flag erjonon February 25, 2012   Link

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    Oasis is better, but F.F. is still wonderful. The song is about fear...either that OR he's afraid his royal family will disown him for marrying someone of a different religion (etc) and he'll be cut off from finances and lose the family name. (Ugh)

    Flag SweetCheeks2on February 25, 2012  
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  General Comment:Simple lyrics with the most true meaning.

  Flag Editoron July 06, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I agree with wilsim. He's choosing between a life he already has and one he thinks he wants. The life he has could be a bad marriage and a life of busy plain days or Carolia? That's what I hear. Loosing everything really means loosing EVERYTHING (house, kids, $$)
  
  Finding her would be the attempt at a relationship.

  Flag broncojohn99on October 20, 2008   Link

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    WHAT IF I DO
    Dave Grohl reminisces about home
    "It's an ode to North Carolina. I lived there from 1991- 2002, on the coast where there were these beautiful sand dunes. It's to do with finding yourself by disappearing."
    
    reference fooarchive.com/gpb/…

    Flag casper2209on June 14, 2011  
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  General Comment:It's about him being in love with a girl he's already close to. A lot of love songs are obviously about girls who don't pay attention but this is about one he's already friends with. "Help me search
  to find the words that eat you up inside" is him asking for her to give him the words that will make her fall in love with him, because he can't find them himself "And I only hide what is on my mind because I can't explain" is him telling her that the reason he acts the way he does is because he is scared to tell her how he feels in case of rejection, as if she'd asked him "Why are you acting all weird?"
  The chorus is the debate he is having with himself on what to do, he wants to be with her but "I'd have to lose everything just to find you" means he'd have to lose his friendship with her and maybe his other friends just to see if a relationship with her would work. "Trophies earned and lessons learned
  from wicked little liars" is him saying that in previous relationships he's taken the rough with the smooth and has been lied to by women (haven't we all?).
  Then "We can pave new roads with their cold gravestones, wind them through the pines" is him saying that in his mind, him and her togehter would be a better couple than he was with his previous partners, and being with her would take away his pain from past relationships. "Should I stay or should I go alone, I cannot decide" is him reiterating his confusion, whether he'll wait for the time for them to be togther, but risk heartbreak, or move on and try to forget about her, but it;s obviously not an easy decision. And then back to the chorus of "What if I do? Lord, what if I don't?" Which is, What if I do tell you how I feel? What if I don't tell you? I'd have to lose everything we've had together just to find if I was right and we where meant to be.
  Love this song to bits, written so intelligently, i think it's the closest to perfection that music can get. Really captures the helplessness of being in love with someone you're already close to. Top work, Mr. Grohl.

  Flag wilsimon August 26, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:i agree with monkeygirl.
  this song is amazing, nice to know that other people go through this too.
  
  i would just like to add that i think in the chorus he is trying to go much deeper than praying. we all want to know what the best decision would be, and he wants to know what if i do? or what if i don't? which one am i supposed to do? that's where i am right now.

  Flag everlong313on November 28, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:my mistake... "what if I do"

  Flag Paddy-Wan-Kenobion June 06, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:Monkey-girl rox and we should listen to monkey-girl!:-O Looking at it that way the chorus could mean that in the end its HIS decision what happens between them, the girl may not speak about it conclusively "what if do?" (maybe:-P)

  Flag Paddy-Wan-Kenobion June 06, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:I think this song is about a couple trying together to make the difficult decision of whether or not to stay together. The "Back and forth/that voice of yours keeps me up and night" at first may seem like a reference to tossing and turning trying to sleep, I think it refers to the back and forth nature of a discussion. In the first verse, he is listening to her talk about her feelings on the situation. As you can imagine, this would be pretty difficult for her "help me search/to find the words that eat you up inside," and for him as well. He is shifting "side to side" "I only hide/what is on my mind because I can't explain."
  
  In the second verse, it is his "turn" to spill his feelings. He realizes that honesty is necessary and pushes on. The part "trophies earned and lessons learned/from wicked little liars" refers to past relationships that they have had that have ended badly. While unfortunate, these failed relationships were learning experiences and can be used by both partners to "pave new roads" and have a successful relationship. However, the lead-in to the chorus in this verse reminds us that, while the singer knows how he feels about her, he still cannot decide what they should do.
  
  I'm still a little confused about what the chorus itself means. I think it's just contemplating whether to stay in the relationship. If he doesn't stay, he understands that he will have a much more difficult time trying to get her back later.
  
  It could be that the relationship is a little rocky, but he feels that he still wants her forever and that a break now may be necessary for the life of the relationship... but that a break could also be a death sentence for the relationship.
  
  Whew.

  Flag monkeygirl_tmon May 24, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:And, I forgot to mention, the choice of words "What if I do lord, What if I don't" could be mimicking Shakespeare's "To be or not to be" again a hint towards a life ending... ok, now Im done

  Flag Paddy-Wan-Kenobion April 02, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:I think He's either thinking of a woman he loves but can't work up the nerve or find the words to tell her how he feels "that voice of yours keeps me up at night" and mentioning a woman "Caroline". Although with the mention of the lord he could be considering suicide over a dead woman he loved in her life [Caroline] "have to lose everything just to find you" he may want to be reunited with the woman in heaven perhaps... Hes confident to commit suicide because "this soul won't burn" [ignoring the mortal sin perhaps] Also, "trophies earned and lessons learned" implies that he has lead a full life and is prepared to die [the fact that he mentions grvestones afterwards too]
  
  Thats what I think anyway... possibly my favourite song

  Flag Paddy-Wan-Kenobion April 01, 2007   Link

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