Stop and Stare

"And you'd give anything to get what's fair But fair ain't what you really need"

There might be a play on words happening here too. Which would mirror how things happen in real life i.e. neither black or white and sometimes both at once.

When someone is held back by their past, perhaps a traumatic event or sustained abuse or similar, and they're rolling through the stages of "breaking free" there is a point where they have to give up caring about that event of abuse happening again, to either themselves or another person. And it's hard to let go of something that is so obviously morally correct and emotionally healthy - to care about other people, to have empathy.

But it is empathy out of place, emotionally speaking; it's empathy without courage, and holds the wounded person's mindset back from healing. There is a serious tension for quite a while and nothing seems to solve the heartache faster. A person has to wait for time and "do nothing".

So the above lyrics describe how you'd do anything to "get what's fair", i.e. to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again to anyone, inadventently holding onto your mindset that has made you a "protector" of people. But fair aint what you need to move on personally, to regain the courage to face your own life, to face the uncertainty of life again.

But the way a certain mind works is that on another level, a person can't move on without the fear. Fear is actually attempting to push the person forward. Without fear, fear of pain, there would be no tension and no way to know how to move forward. In the final stages, a person both embraces and releases their fear.

They realise that fear is a terrible thing, not to be sought after or simulated for effect - that won't work because it is out of context - or be enforced on another person for cathathis - because that would be immoral. Fear is a natural and unavoidable state in the human condition that holds us back and contains the element needed to push us forward.

So the possible word play (the sound of the word, not the spelling, since lyrics are heard not read) is both:

And you'd give anything to get what's fair But fair ain't what you really need

and

And you'd give anything to get what's fear But FEAR ain't what you really need

With time, the person has their last piece of fear, or close enough to all of their fear and anger, taken from them by time and natural process and they can face whatever comes in life, free to act as they choose under influence of their new personal insight as they understand it, rather than always under the influence of past trauma.