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Wish you gave me your number
Wish I could call you today, just to hear a voice
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
If I didn't know the difference living alone'd probably be ok
It wouldn't be lonely
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
A lot of hours to occupy, it was easy when I didn't know you yet
Things I have to forget
But I better be quiet now
I'm tired of wasting my breath
Carrying on and getting upset
Maybe IÂ got a problem, but that's not what I wanted to say
I'd prefer to say nothing.
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away.
Had a dream as an army man with an order just to march in my place
While a dead enemy screams in my face
But I better be quiet now
I'm tired of wasting my breath
Carrying on, not over it yet
Wish I knew what you're doing
And why you want to do it this way, so I can't go the distance
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
Wish I could call you today, just to hear a voice
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
If I didn't know the difference living alone'd probably be ok
It wouldn't be lonely
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
A lot of hours to occupy, it was easy when I didn't know you yet
Things I have to forget
But I better be quiet now
I'm tired of wasting my breath
Carrying on and getting upset
Maybe IÂ got a problem, but that's not what I wanted to say
I'd prefer to say nothing.
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away.
Had a dream as an army man with an order just to march in my place
While a dead enemy screams in my face
But I better be quiet now
I'm tired of wasting my breath
Carrying on, not over it yet
Wish I knew what you're doing
And why you want to do it this way, so I can't go the distance
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
I got a long way to go
I'm getting further away
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus, edited by deadevil13
Track duration: 03:45
"I Better Be Quiet Now" as written by Steven P. Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The part "Maybe I have a problem But that's not what I wanted to say, I prefer to say nothing, I got a long way to go Getting further away"
When you are heavily addicted, you can realize that you have a problem, but both Elliott and I alike, it's not what you want to share with others, especially loved ones. (it also reminds me of the lyrics "keep your things in a place mention to hide" in the song the white lady loves you more where when you do have a drug problem (speaking from self experience) it becomes secretive and you keep it away from everyone as much as possible. Then he further elaborates on how he will refrain from admitting, instead saying nothing. "the long way to go" trying to better yourself from drugs, "getting further away" with the addiction only getting worse over time. RIP Mr. Smith
Does anyone agree the song structure feels different? As if each verse has its own miniature chorus ("Got a long way to go..."), while the role more-typically played by a chorus is instead fulfilled by two "bridges," the parts in which he sings the title.
So sad; so careful to avoid anyone seeing he's hurting. The second verse would sound dismissive, if the meaning of all these apparently-reassuring words weren't dramatically altered: by leading with, "If I didn't know the difference..."
Elliott sounds as if he truly wants to believe he'd rather not "waste his breath" asking this now-absent person, don't I remember each of us saying "I love you"? For years we lived together, and now you expect me to pretend we're strangers?
He knows he's expected to leave the past behind & act as if it didn't matter. Because he tries, don't assume he's OK with it. I'd been nonplussed by the image of a nameless "dead enemy" not allowing him any peace. Then I understood. His earlier self--with this love still alive in his heart--is screaming, but he's been ordered to ignore it.
As our earliest respondent Starry already noted, these lines are devastating:
Wish I knew what you're doing
Or why you want to do it this way
Not sure whether my analysis added anything new, but it's a great song; I enjoyed doing it.
Elliott had such a wonderful way of encapsulating complex emotional situations into simple lyric, and this is one of his best moments. This song about the quiet moments after the relationship has died: wondering what your ex is up to, wanting to hear his or her voice, trying to fill time and wondering when it will stop hurting. I think the title reflects how emotionally drained the narrator is. It reminds me of the "I'm tired" refrain in XO, when the narrator's weariness reaches into retreat.
The line "If I didn't now the difference/ Living alone would probably be okay" reflects the cataclysm in his life. He's been with this person so long that he doesn't know how to live alone, doesn't remember how to fill the time.
Like "Somebody that I Used to Know," this song gives the impression that the narrator is not over the loss. He feels like he's stagnating, held back by enmity and regret, and that he's too emotionally exhausted to make any progress.
When I didn't know you yet
Things I'd have to forget"
when you leave someone its so hard to move on with your day. One way to get your mind off of things and forget things is to occupy yourself with work, creativity, good times etc. But sometimes each hour becomes a struggle to get your mind of the loved one you miss. And he can't carry on with his day. But the earlier verses makes me think that it isn't someone he loves but just someone he met and he is so lonely that he has this longing for that person. He's also saying that like before he met this person he had easier things to forget.Which could be caused by longing for someone so hard because he is soo lonely and its hard to forget about someone you long for. Its just a reallly really lonely song. :) its beautiful. Its like the lonely Smiths songs by being honest and desperate. soooooo gooooood!!!
"But I better be quiet now
I'm tired of wasting my breath
Carrying on, getting upset"
I remember Ben Folds saying one time he asked Elliott why he never yelled in his songs. Elliott said something about how when you grow up in a house full to screaming, you learn to love silence.
I love how he can express so much anger and sing basically at a whisper. So missed.
He want's to connect and talk to somebody because he knows that's the thing you should do when you're feeling down. That would be a sensible thing to do and it could make him feel better. But he doesn't want to "bother" anyone with his problems cause his life seems to be one big problem and it feels easier to just be quiet and not worry your friends. Eventually it would be really better to walk away rather than mess everybody else's life too. He's having an argument if the lonely life would really be that bad but at the same time just a thought about leaving all his loved ones is really upsetting.
I agree the whole relationship thing makes really more sense with the lyrics but just wanted to share this point of view too...
Anyway, I'd better be quiet now.
'i prefer to say nothing'
passivity