I just can't seem to get it right today
I just can't seem to get it right today
I just can't seem to get it right today
I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh, I guess I'm gonna give up
It's nearly been a year since he's been gone
And we still sing his goodbye songs
Goodness knows she should move on
But she just can't let him go
No, she just can't let him go
I'm sorry if I made you want to cry
I'm sorry if I made you want to cry
You should know, I never meant to hide
I just hate bringing you down
Oh, I just hate bringing you down
I just can't seem to get it right today
I just can't seem to get it right today
I just can't seem to get it right today
I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh, I guess I'm gonna give up
And I dropped my paintbrush in the dirt
Still remember just how much that hurt
I cut my hand and wait for it to work
But I just couldn't bring him back
No, I just couldn't bring him back
I just can't seem to get it right today
Oh, I just can't seem to get it right today
I just can't seem to get it right today
I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh, I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh Lord I said I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh Lord I said I guess I'm gonna give up
This song is one that I love. It seems to be one that you can relate to whether it's a bad hair day or there is just something that doesn't feel right.
You wake up in the morning, roll out of bed and the floor hits your feet with a ferocity that takes you by surprise. You groan, stretch, and sloppily step to the bathroom and take a look in the mirror only to turn away and reluctantly get ready to shower, because after taking that look in the mirror, you need some work. ...and this is just the first five minutes.
It's a day where when you're walking, the toe of your sandal gets caught on the edge of the next concrete slab in the sidewalk and you trip and stumble, not only embarrassing yourself, but scuffing your cute sandals from ROSS.
Joe Purdy, the lyricist of the above song, expressed some similar emotions about a day that just wasn't right.
It's nearly been a year since he's been gone
And we still sing his goodbye songs
Goodness knows she should move on
But she just can't let him go
No, she just can't let him go
This verse suggests a woman that is having a hard time getting over an ex-boyfriend, ex-husband, ex-person-she-had-a-relationship-with, etc. However, the line "And we still sing his goodbye songs" caught my attention. Primarily, the word "we" made me think about this verse a little more. It's odd that the man singing this song would be singing the goodbye songs of this woman's lost love. But let me suggest a different meaning.
And I dropped my paintbrush in the dirt
Still remember just how much that hurt
I cut my hand and wait for it to work
But I just couldn't bring him back
No, I just couldn't bring him back
The feeling I get after listening/reading this verse is that it was not an ex-person-she-had-a-relationship-with, but a son... "But I just couldn't bring him back, no, I just couldn't bring him back." It would make sense why the two would be singing the goodbye songs together, and why it hurt so much for this artist to drop his paintbrush in the dirt. That line has a lot of symbolism in it through the idea that this man, the artist, was taking the things that are so vital to his work (paintbrush and his hand) and destroying them, in a sense. I think he does this to try and find reality. He is in denial that his son is gone and he is trying to break the reality that was around him to try and find one where his son existed, but it didn't work.
To some this song may be depressing. But to me, I look at it as a turning point in their coping. It has an upbeat feeling, the melody has a glint of hope in it, and he's admitting that while he's trying to do everything he can, today just isn't right. It is an acknowledgement that a year has passed and he realizes now that it doesn't have to be miserable for forever, because it is just today that he just can't get right, so he's going to stop trying and let things flow naturally.
I just can't seem to get it right today
I guess I'm gonna give up
Oh, I guess I'm gonna give up
Things will be better tomorrow.
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