In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Just talk yourself up
And tear yourself down
You've built your one wall
Now find your way around
What's the problem?
You've got a lot of nerve
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away
I'm not so naive
My sorry eyes can see
The way you fight shy
Of almost everything
Well, if you give up
You'll get what you deserve
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away
You were finished long before
We had even seen the start
Why don't you stand up, be a man about it?
Fight with your bare hands about it now
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay, well did you?
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
And I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
And tear yourself down
You've built your one wall
Now find your way around
What's the problem?
You've got a lot of nerve
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away
I'm not so naive
My sorry eyes can see
The way you fight shy
Of almost everything
Well, if you give up
You'll get what you deserve
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away
You were finished long before
We had even seen the start
Why don't you stand up, be a man about it?
Fight with your bare hands about it now
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay, well did you?
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
And I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic Lyrics as written by Joshua Neil Farro Hayley Nichole Williams
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It's kinda annoying that all the comments are about how excited people are about Riot! and how much they love the song- I thought this site was about SONG MEANINGS right? I don't know. It's just annoying because there're so many of them so I have to spend ages looking for a comment about the actual song MEANING.
:)
STUDIO VERSION.
youtube.com/watch
But it'll probably be deleted soon so watch it while you can...
I think it's about someone who talks a lot of shit ("talk yourself up") but when they reach an obstacle that gets in their way, they can't figure out how to get around it ("you've hit your one wall, now find a way around"). Before this occurrence, Hayley had thought the world of this person but after, she realizes that they were all talk in the first place.
By the way, speakupxdear has got to be the luckiest person alive.
they are so amazingggggggg
i was told this song is about someone whos boyfriend left them cos they were pregnant
cos in the lyrics it says
'I never wanted to say this' like she never wanted to tell him she was pregnant and 'You were finished long before We had even seen the start Why don't you stand up Be a man about it?' like he gave up before they had even tried and she tells him to be a man about it and to take his responibility
Some people were wondering about the title, so I'm going to start with that.
To me, the title means that the person always thought they were a pessimist (looked on the negative side of things) but then after this person let them down they realised how much hope and faith they'd put into that person.
As other people have said, it's basically about someone who you believed in ("I put my faith in you, so much faith") and then they let you down ("And then you just threw it away"). It could be about Jeremy or Hunter leaving, but I don't know about that.
Another way of thinking of it is that Hayley wrote it about Josh and how they broke up, although this probably isn't right because the song was written by Hayley AND Josh, and surely she would've written it with someone else if she was so angry with him?
Anyway, that's what I think it means.
Yeah i heard Paramore sing this song at their concert! the vocals and music is pretty damn HOTT!!! can't wait till RIOT!!!
RIOT! is going to be amazing!
i love this song. i was one of like three people who knew the lyrics when I saw them last week and hayley pointed and smiled at me. :)
i can't wait untill RIOT! i just got back from their concert like 30 minutes ago