Due to a whole bunch of requests across various social networking sites, I decided to go ahead and pour out my writing experience with Epilogue. Here are the lyrics and a little description as to what the song means and what not:
we fell down so many times
i think i’m tired of thinking
everything will work out-
well it finally all worked out-
but its still not the same,
everything has changed,
although it won’t appear that way.
and the future can’t be worked out-
no it never has been worked out..
I’m sorry that I don’t have a way,
to make it easier each day.
With my name plastered on your lips
as you gaze into nothingness
how i pleaded barely audibly
oh i,
I can’t let you down,
I won’t let you down-
well we fell,
down,
so many times,
and i think i’m fine.
-This song is just what the title implies; an epilogue. It was written as the look back and review of a series of difficult events in my life that in retrospect caused me to think about how what I expected to happen was totally wrong, and what I had concluded would work out did but in completely unsuspecting ways. This only led to more problems with more difficulties, so in reality it didn’t “work out” at all, which only led me to resolve further not to let down my family and friends by giving into the difficult life and giving up the fight. You probably wouldn’t get this from the lyrics themselves, as I should point out, because this song represents a completely different approach to lyric writing for me. I was moving more and more towards finding esoteric metaphors everywhere I looked and trying to adeptly slip them into my songs, hinting at meanings and bringing up questions that can’t be answered, and while I still love this approach to literature and poetry, I realized at some point that it’s not necessary at all to express oneself- the only thing necessary to express at all are simple words. The song resulting from this realization was one of the first where I decided to rely on one powerful phrase to carry the song (aka “I won’t let you down,” or “I’ll fix this if I can”) that would become the chorus and the rest would be simple phrasing with no direct allusion to deeper metaphors or emphasis on other literary devices. This is actually why I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for the lyrics of this song from other musicians, although they were usually taken out of context intended. (That being that the the song was written to be heard with the album.) Of course they could be right, but thats the beauty of songwriting, we get to do whatever we feel is best. I should also mention that this method, while it worked well for Epilogue, really shines through as a hybrid with other styles. My Defects and I’ll Fix This If I Can are prime examples, My Defects being mostly a story but with a one phrase chorus, and I’ll Fix This If I Can being about as rich in metaphor as I can pack into one song, but still featuring just one line for the chorus. In conclusion, I couldn’t be happier with the lyrics of this song, and I am very glad that so many people have been asking for them. Happy listening!
Gavin
