Just talk yourself up
And tear yourself down
You've hit your one wall
Now find a way around
Well, 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
No, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away
No, 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 naïve
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
No, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
No, you can't run away
No, 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
(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

Track duration: 03:48


For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic song meanings
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63 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:the tital basically states for someone who thinks negatively all the time, they think they can see good within it, like a blessing in disguise. as in I'm guessing its a relationship of hers that ended badly but when it did end she saw more good from the breakup than bad. I can relate to this song more than I ever thought, i was being used and treated like crap but i never saw it cause i loved her, until she broke up with me then i started to realise how much better i am off without her, even thou it sucks we broke up, it did me more good than harm
    Flag kensta911on March 02, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is my perception of this song, feel free to disagree. By the way this is from a male perspective.
    I'm not sure who wrote the song because it could have been one of the guys who wrote it and changed the words slightly to let it fit for Hayley.

    Whenever I think about the title, it makes me think that the person is hoping things could get better, but truth be told, they fear for the worst.

    As for the song itself, it reminds me of a girl I know. She constantly lies to try and please everyone and make herself look better but whenever I catch her out, she always shouts at me and portrays myself and everyone else to be the villain. We are very close and she tells me things she wouldn't tell others, but she can also lie to me and tell other people different things which confuses everyone. But what makes me feel really stupid and naive is the fact that at one point or another, every one of her so called friends bitches about her and I'm the only one who defends her. However, when I'm with her friends, they tell me stories about things she says behind my back. I can't believe I'm admitting this online but earlier in the year, she told me she was pregnant. I thought she was lying so the next day, I spoke alone to her face to face only for her to shout at me and she told me I'm better off dead. I suffer from atypical depression and after that, I tried to end it via od. In the end, she was lying about the pregnancy. Back to the song, whenever I think of it, I think of her and the numerous lies she tells me. I don't know if I'm still friends with her out of sympathy or if I'm convincing myself that I can help her to change but the line "I put my faith in you, so much faith and then you, just threw it away" is how I feel to sum it up.

    Sorry for being a tad depressing. But this is a great song. I also think Hayley is kinda sexy ;)

    Take care :)
    Flag tbird21on January 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:It may not be what this is exactly about, but it's what I think of when I hear it. I think it's about a pregnant teen, and the father isn't ready for parenthood. These are the lines that really speak to me in that sense, "So what did you think I would say? No, you can't run away," "I put my faith in you" and "be a man about it."
    Flag meredithjon January 24, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment: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.
    Flag ILoveParamore96on October 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:what does the actual title mean though..anyone?
    Flag gunner-chicaon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:but I don't really get the title....?
    Flag randomorangeblobon May 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i personally love this song. it touches my heart every time i hear it. it makes me think of a friend i once had that stabbed me in the back and turned away. the way haley throws all her emotion into the song is just outstanding. LOVE it!
    Flag ChelsiRaeon February 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:best line: "I'm not so naive. My sorry eyes can see." Umm i think the song is a conversation.
    Flag misstwiggsteron January 05, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment: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.

    :)
    Flag hellosophiaon December 20, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment: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
    Flag devilchildlozon October 17, 2009   Link

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