Are you frightened by the weight you possess oh
Is this life just weightlessness
The smoggy twilight in LA
I can't think of one real thing to say
And you and me are walking in the canyons
She forgets that we were friends
I guess it all depends on your mood
Why can't these meds be any damn good

And she said
Why can't you be
Like my waterpik shower massager
A sweet reliable machine
And to tell the truth I don't feel less alone
A water massager's is the purest love I've ever known
Why can't you be
Like when I was thirteen

And I said:
Why can't you be
Like an art house foreign movie
Frank and sexy, red balloons and ennui
And allude to me
And why can't you be
A little more of a mystery

Why can't you be
The part of me that's missing
Instead of leaving me for some other
Said we're perfect for each other
And I know we wont go spend this life alone.

And she said:
Why can't you be
Like an outsourced government contract
I'm a fat cat gettin' away with anything
Kicking some secret special powers
Illumination rounds in showers
Cause your tearing your hair out
While we can have a bed of flowers

And I said
Why can't you be
Like the chicks out of the road
Some girls are happy just to see me
Because you got moxie and a broken nose
Take him away from this prose
Sometimes a blowjob's not enough
Why can't you play
A little less rough

Why can't you be
The part of me that's missing
Instead of leaving me for some other
Say we're perfect for each other
And I know we wont go spend this life alone

Can we... just leave it be
We could live... our lives... separately
Could you forget... what happens to you
To you and me

When we're dead... and we'll be dead
We'll have eternity
And I will spend it all... missing you
Seeing you with me
So while I'm alive... I will always be

Seeking you out
Digging you out
Wondering about how it goes so far down
And what's wrong with you
What's wrong with you and me.

And she said:
Why can't you be
Someone lookin' a little deeper into me
Like JD Salinger
Why do I challenge her
In all these surface ways
That you displease
Why can't you be
A little more at ease

well why can't you be
Like a hand rolled cigarette
I'm not joking
This masochistic self-pity of smoking
And this city ditty
I keep provoking you to leave me

And she said
Why can't you be
Like a candle I can snuff
You're still a diamond in the rough
And I swear to god I've had enough
How can I call your bluff?



Lyrics submitted by shinzon

Track duration: 05:27


Why Can't You Be song meanings
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27 Comments

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  • 0
    Song Meaning:This song can be applied to the cycle of uncertainty and fear in relationships. If you listen again, they want to end it but some how amongst harsh words and blame they can't call the bluff.

    "how can I call your bluff?" How can I end it.
    Flag Sunstresson November 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this is one of those songs that everyone can relate to. It's a relationship that just isn't working out. Even though you love the person, you know that they aren't what you need and that you aren't what they need. So you wonder, "Why couldn't you have been ___ for me? And why couldn't I have been ___ for you?" I love, love, love the allusions in this song and over two years after hearing it for the first time and still trying to understand the subtleties of each.
    Flag squashedbananaon December 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Why do people not check the lyrics are correct before they put them up? They really need an editor....
    Flag maladroitmortalon December 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've always thought of this song as being sarcastic about arguments. How pointless and retarded some can be. The back and forth of it, saying nonsense. Not that people say the things that are written in this song, unless you are a really random person.
    Flag mattjames2010on February 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh man, at first this song was a bit too funky or should i say it
    didn't really resemble the old third eye blind- in my opinion.
    But listening to it more, its still them. And bits a pieces of
    the lyrics are really good, reminds me some things, someone.


    [When we're dead... and we'll be dead
    We'll have eternity
    And I will spend it all... missing you
    Seeing you with me
    So while I'm alive... I will always be

    Seeking you out
    Digging you out
    Wondering about how it goes so far down
    And what's wrong with you
    What's wrong with you and me.]
    Flag alynon February 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Stephen's voice in the section that starts "Can we just leave it be" just kills me, so incredibly genuine
    Flag irthesteveon January 23, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song so much!

    My take:

    The girl didn't want to be with him any longer.

    The male thought, and still thinks, they were the perfect couple, even though he wishes she possessed qualities she doesn't have. He wants her to be someone she's not. He's missing something in his life, thought she filled that hole, and has realized over time that isn't true. However, he wishes she were different and fit the part that he's missing since she is the closest he's come to fixing himself and feeling good.

    Now, he's on medication in attempt to feel good, but it isn't working. So, he'll miss her for the rest of his life because she was the only one to ever fill the part of him that's missing, even if it was temporarily.
    Flag Redblondeon December 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:you can't understand some lyrics until something in your life triggers the same event that could possibly be interpreted by songs. me n this girl called it off, unexpectedly. it crushed me, but we went our separate ways, no feeling of resentment or hate towards each other.

    i heard this song, and it made me so much happier. it summed everything up for me. i think this song is about two people in a relationship where things weren't bad. they enjoyed each others company. but, eventually, you get to know someone a little better as time goes by, and he wasn't what she wanted. i think the female in the relationship just didn't want to be in it anymore. they could have been great, that's what signals him to say he's always going to be seeking her out, digging her out. he feels it could have been great, wondering what had ever happened. she's tearing her hair out when he knows that they could have an easy life. random girls like his company, why doesn't she?

    but, time moves on, and he realizes this. knowing he's got tons of feelings for her, he knows they're perfect for each other, but if he can't have her, he'll definitely have someone else (i know we won't spend this life alone)

    amazing song
    Flag BvM10on October 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:this song has the most meaning for me on ursa major...the meaning i got out of it is that the boy and girl are always looking for an excuse not to be together when really theyd be perfect for each other but either way theyll never end up with each other because both people are too stubborn to share their real feelings with each other
    Flag bluch18on October 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:To me this song sorta shows all the different kids of love that you can find, from the possesive type to the loner who has never found love... or thinks that what she has found is love. Then the love where humans have put love up on a pedestal and make it unrechedable... or the idea of it anyways. To me this song shows the many sides that people call love, each verse is something different. its not about a relationship.
    Flag thriceman1312on October 08, 2009   Link

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