"Let it Rain" and Just Deserts (which is ironic because it's very dry in the desert)

And a nice picture so my face doesn't show up on the G+ post

David Nail's song, "Let it Rain," has received many criticisms since it came out in 2011.  Most of them I don't disagree with, especially the point that the hook is pretty weak and misplaced.  I do, however, have something to add to them.

Examine:

So let it rain, let it pour, if she don’t love me anymore,
Just let it come down on me, let it come down on me,
Every word, let it hurt, even more than I deserve,
Let it come down on me, let it come down on me, let it rain

This is the chorus.  Ignore the bad grammar and focus on the third line.  Then focus even more on the second half of the third line.  ...even more than I deserve...

If you ask me, that sounds pretty arrogant.  Now, let's examine this closely.  To start, I'll tell you what the song is about.  It's pretty much about this guy who cheats on his wife this one night and then he (rightly) feels awful and ashamed about it, but his wife is of course pretty angry and throws all his stuff out the window.  Part of me wonders how much in the house is his and how long it took for her to throw it out, and did she just keep the stuff they owned equally?  But the other part of me likes to stay on-track, so that's what I'll do.  The parts of the song that don't explain that story are him talking about how bad he feels and how he is so ashamed.

Now, before you get to that third line, you're thinking, "Okay, this guy's really sorry and thinks he can't ever do enough to atone for his mistake."  And then you hit those five words.  ...even more than I deserve...

Now, why would anyone ever want to be hurt more than he deserves?  The concept of deserving something means that those things are equal.  You get the feel from most of "Let it Rain" that he thinks that compensation could never be equal to the sin he's committed.  But the third line makes it clear that he wants words that hurt more than what he did.  This essentially means that he's weighed the sin and found that it can be justified.  To carry it even further, he wants the sin to be more than justified.  He wants to be the victim.

Martyr complex, anyone?

You might think I'm looking too deep into this, especially since it's just a fictional situation and it can be hard to find the right words in songwriting, but I disagree.  That line ruins the whole song for me.  It, in my opinion, makes it much more self-centered and really trashes the whole shame theme.

Have a good day!

Anna's Archives: The Pokeberry Episode

If you don't know what pokeberries are, these are pokeberries:

Don't they look delicious?  Don't you just want to pick off berry after delicious berry and pop it into you mouth?

Well, don't.  Settle down with a cup of hot tea and your favorite rock in your hand, listen to the imaginary fireplace roar, and hear my cautioning tale to the world's youth.

Once upon a time, I was four.  Or younger.  For the sake of argument, though, we're just going to call it four.  At my tender age, I was yet unused to the ways of poisonous berries masquerading as tempting little bite-size meals, and thus, as I wandered in the fresh air, treading my favorite paths with the sun and trees as my only witness, I happened upon a pokeberry bush and did not know of its deadly nature.  Hardly thinking--such was the foolishness of my youth!--I reached one plump, soft hand out to grasp that which was my downfall.

As I feasted upon those tender morsels, the eldest offspring of my parents caught a fear-filled glance of my gluttony and reported it to the aforementioned parents, whose loving and tender hearts were brimmed with terror at the fate which might befall their fifth female offspring.  For, being wise and full of years, they knew of the danger those harmless-appearing purple berries presented.

Gathering me up in their caring arms, they straightaway removed my from my deadly meal and returned me to our humble dwelling, where syrup of ipecac was administered to me by the steady hands of my maternal parent, her and my father's hope being that I would expel the poisonous berries from my young body in an upward lurch through my innards.

Their hope was not answered until two long, dreadful hours were passed, and as I sat in the tub commonly used for bathing, now used for waiting and toying with playthings, I felt the tug in my stomach, a fateful sign of what was to come.  That is, what was to come up.

Moral:  Don't eat pokeberries unless you have ipecac syrup on hand.  As you can see, I turned out fine, so no harm done.

New Series: Anna's Archives!

Today I am launching a new series called Anna's Archives, which is essentially just me telling stories about myself and things related to myself.  I'm actually looking to start a few series, which I'll post for off and on, in no particular order, but this is the first.

So, how this works is, whenever I tell a true story about myself, Anna's Archives will go in the title with it.  I don't know how often I'll post, but I hope more.  I should have one coming out today, if I'm not too lazy, so look forward to that.

I really want to continue What Really Happened, and I will eventually, but my ideas are being stoppered up by the Wonders of Distraction.  I'll get to it.

So, about the series--the reason I'm starting so many is essentially so every post of mine is labeled, and when you see the title, you know the genre.  It may seem a little boxed to you (don't ask me what I mean by that, 'cause I'll have nothing to say), but it will make my life seem more fun to me.  And every once in a while I will post delightfully spontaneous little gems with no warning, posts that are not in any series except the series of my beautiful mind (came out weird, but whatever).

So there you have it, and I'm out of here (for now, that is; like I said, there's another post coming).