lyrics: 'Those Things You Said'

I recently turned this in for a project in my songwriting class, in which I was supposed to write an pop tune in AABA form.  I ended up getting marked down because since my "bridge" was in the same key as the rest of the piece, ended on the tonic and ended with the title, it was really a "chorus." I didn't feel like refuting my teacher, so I just looked him in the eye and said, "Ok."  I've labeled it "properly" below.  Enjoy.

Those Things You Said

By Jake Hawken

Verse One:

Call me a charlatan,

a player, or a libertine,

or call me a boring prude,

or any slander in-between,

Your epithets so stive

to validate your disposition

though I'm your voodoo doll du jour

it won't change your condition.

Verse Two:

I've become your whipping boy,

the scapegoat for your attitudes

for me to say you brought them on yourself

would be a platitude.

To justify your words

you seek to vilify my name,

it must be so much easier

to always shift the blame.

Chorus:

But those things that you said,

keep ringing in my ears,

and I can't shake the feeling

that it's because they're what I needed to hear

...those things you said....

Verse Three:

I really hope that you

get therapeutic benefit

from your antipathy

but can this please be the end of it?

Discouraged by your lack

of what I happen to possess,

well, if it helps you sleep at night

then blame me for your stress.

[CHORUS]

Bridge:

Those things you said to me,

I'm sure were said in enmity

and nothing else that I can see,

but I can't seem to let it be.

Forces tend toward entropy,

but this is an eternity,

Won't someone come and set me free

from all these things you said to me.

lyrics: 'Does It Matter?'

Back during my firts year at BYU, when I wasn't even a music major yet, and hadn't yet realized that I wanted to minor in philosophy, I took Philosophy215. It was "Introduction to Philosophy of Religion." I had studied Descartes when I took Phil101 in community college, and had found his ideas captivating, though disappointingly inconclusive. Descartes' Evil Genius concept, basically stated that for all we know, we could be decieved about all of our external perceptions, so how do we know that some evil genius isn't deceiving us about everythign we experience? How do we know anyting about anything? His answer to this is discouragingly circular, and the question stuck with me. (As a side note, this also made me think of the "Real President of the Galaxy" in the Hitchhiker's Guide series of books, if you've ever read them.)

I studied a little David Hume as well. Hume stated that there is no truly objective way to prove causation. That is to say, that there's nothing except the raw experience of things seeming to happen consistently, upon which to base any belief in things being "caused." This was also a concept that stuck with me.

When I took Phil215, I was exposed to my now favorite philosopher, William James. James was the father of the Pragmatism movement, which states that practical consequences or real effects are vital components of both meaning and truth. In simpler terms, James basically says that a belief or idea has its "cash-value" measured by it's relevance to your actual, practical life. This brought me back to the Evil Genius... and enabled me to never worry about the evil genius again, because, even if there was one, does it really matter? If he never shows himself in his work, does it matter? That was the idea that spawned this song.

I thought the idea of a philosophical love song was kind of fun, so instead of the evil genius, I had the song postulate about the existence of a lover, and the ramifications of trusting not just your perceptions, but also your heart. I recently took the idea, cleaned it up and presented it in my songwriting class. Also, if you pay attention to the rhythm of the lyrics (and the music, once I get that posted up on here), you can probably tell that I was listening to "I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You" by John Mayer... a lot.

Now, hopefully it wil be fun to see if you can point out how all of that ties into these lyrics:

Does It Matter?

by Jake Hawken

VERSE ONE:

How do I know what the truth is?

How can I find out what’s real?

Is it the things I can reason,

or is it the things I can feel?

Should I believe my perceptions?

How do I know love exists?

This all could be a deception,

Yet still this feeling persists.

CHORUS:

But does it matter if this is an illusion,

As long as you’re part of my confusion?

It don’t matter a bit if this is true,

If I can go on believing in you.

VERSE TWO:

You could be just an enigma,

And I could just be deceived,

Am I a creature of habit,

caught in this web that’s been weaved?

Let’s just assume for a minute,

that this has all been a dream,

I wouldn’t take back a moment

Even if this wasn’t quite what it seems.

[CHORUS]

BRIDGE:

In the end, I have nothing but faith

to inform me and to warn me,

Even if you don’t exist

You have transformed me,

So I have to ask…

[CHORUS]