I think most people would agree that mixing all the growing pains of youth and young adulthood with romantic relationships is a recipe for some pretty strong and emotional heartache. With that in mind, I present you with the best post-break-up-song-for-young-dudes ever. This song was a favorite of mine for years, and still strikes a chord. The .mp3 version below doesn't quite do the sublimely aggressive yet melodic guitar tone justice, but you'll get the idea.
Matchbook
by Strung Out (lyrics by Jason Cruz)
I can see it in your eyes
I can hear it in your voice
the signs are obvious
that all we had has run its course
and I don't mind giving up the upper hand
in this little charade
cause I've spent too many nights here on the floor
waiting for something inside you to change
Don't look back in anger now is all that you can see
cause angers all I got to keep me warm when you're away
and I know that this is nothing new
but tonight it's all I know
disconnect myself from your memory
and never feel anything at all
to justify with all your words
don't mean anything to me
cause I've cut you off
So here we stand and face each other
we've got nothing to say
a flashback to another time
when silence was a welcomed friend
now I'm sorry I can never really say
all the things going on inside my head
silence is a justified expression of my war
now nothings like it was before
Don't look back in anger now is all that you can see
cause angers all I got to keep me warm when you're away
and all your words and all your actions
don't mean anything to me
cause I've cut you off
Don't look back at anger
Don't look back at anger
Don't look back at anger
It's just a memory
It's easy to forget your face
and it's easy to survive in this place
without you, without you
I just comb my hair and wash my face
keep straight ahead and keep my pace
just think about nothing, I might never be alright
well I got my friends, I got my pen
got a million distractions to keep me warm
and I know that I'll be alright, that I'll be alright
Oh my. Thank you so much. This is awesome.
ReplyDeletespeaking of great post break-up songs for young dudes; I really like this one by jawbreaker "sluttering (may 4th)" especially with lyrics like "you're rubber i'm glue, i'll write a book on you, an stick it to my face." and the end refrain "this is the story you won't tell the kids we'll never have. If you hear this song a hundred times it still won't be enough..."
ReplyDeleteSo bitter! such is love for young dudes.
Love it Ryan. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeletemeant to post a link...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01DXcOiKJd8
Pretty amazing Ryan. I like it a lot. Definitely gives Matchbook a run for the money. Maybe it should be more of a list rather than a "best song ever."
ReplyDeleteI love this song. It was a staple in adolescent love. And a staple for Strung Out still in their live set. They really struck gold with it. A lot of our "old music," had such great angst-ridden love tunes! This Lagwagon tune, Whipping Boy, was always a must for me:
ReplyDeletenow it's simple to me
Sometimes you have to let go when there's
Next to nothing
You say everytime she says no
There's more pain then love
It comes o shove almost
Everytime you speak
Somehow you fight
Something's just crazy
Somehow it's taking all the life left in you
You'er losing ground
Carrying that torch
Your not asking for much
As she has...
Had time to heal
And she doesn't need you any longer an you...
Had time to drink
and you call her to tell her you've gotten much stronger
At three in the morning she says stop calling cause...
Everyone's asleep
Some of us work
You're driving me crazy
When will you get on with my life
Now every nights friday night
Picking fights with your friends
Somehow trying to make amends
So you seach for comfort in a friend
It's not the same she won't understand
You both learned to think alike
So what was so wrong
Where's she tonight
out there drinking while you're left in thinking
It's taken all the life left in...
You
You're losing ground
Carrying that torch
You're not asking for much
Still somehow
You'll wait for her
You say she'll return
But you still carry that torch
That girl
WHIPPING BOY!!!
And now-a-days, it's not like I'm breaking up, but hey, they're still good songs to reflect on those years of reckless love, right? Here is one of my new favorites from the Avett Brothers:
"Tear Down This House"
Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I’ve collected
And throw it in a pile
Bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name
Park the old car
That I love the best
(The) inspections due and it won’t pass the test
It’s funny how I have to put it to rest
And how one day…I will join it
I remember crying over you
And I don't mean like a couple of tears
And then I'm blue
I’m talkin’ about collapsing
And screaming at the moon
But I'm a better man
For having gone through it
Yes, I'm a better man
For having gone through…
Ever since I learned how to curse
I’ve been using those sorry old words
But, I’m talkin’ to these children
And I’m keeping it clean
I don’t need those words
To say what I mean
No, I don’t need those words
To say what I mean
Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I used to own
And burn it in a pile
And, bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name