Sooty's 2011 Year In Review Countdownmania

[Soot and Stars]

"You Waited Too Long' is a very manic piece. Not surprising as Justin shows every angle of what can feel during a situation like this even the non-flattering one's when it comes to his own character. In the first track it's a moment of sadness, in the title track it's pride and in "The Flight" it's obviously anger. Other songs show conceit and others empathy for the whole. In the beginning of this track the sound is one of creepy removed anger in which he is pitying himself but theirs something strangely poppy and airy about the chorus that fools you. The songs speeds up to all out anger though and has one of the most telling lines"

"Who does this separation work for?"

This is one of the themes of the albums as Justin seems to truly believe the really victim is Blue. He has this urge to work out anything so she can have her original family. He seems to hint at the wife being selfish and the divorce all working to benefit her. The new man, the likelihood as a woman she'll have the child and whatever financial benefits she can get. The storytelling seems to tell you that so much happened while he was away and most of this was like a rug being pulled out from underneath. The fact that the song contains so much bitterness yet pulls off the sweet uplifting pop chorus shows the masterful craft of a song to manipulate the listener and feel what they want you to at will. The song is emotional insanity!



("If you think your marriage is so great, why the **** are you turning to
Other people's wives for comfort? "
"Can... can I tell you what, what was going on here? "
"Yeah, please do.")

Did he really get to take you home?
I'm surprised that you chose him.
Surprised that I'm not in a halfway home.
I'm not surprised I never saw you around.
When they brought me home.

So who does this separation work for?
So which one of us will wage war?
War.
It's not about the feelings that we shared before.
No.
Cause your words don't calm anymore.
Gah, no more.
What did you want me for?

How do you call
What we have love when you don't even notice,
The look upon my face,
Yeah I've done this before,
You'll be sorrier when I'm gone.
Yeah you waited too long.

And did you really think I'd take it,
When information fabricated.
Look I give you credit for pathetically thinking that you could make this up.
Watch this.
She turns about face, he stays in her house invading your space.
Helpless, you know that I'm away,
A mac truck sitting in a hotel crazy
Red light on the phone.
Blinking like it's telling me there's something wrong or right
You don't... I need to know

How do you call
What we have love when you don't even notice,
The look upon my face,
Yeah I've done this before,
You'll be sorrier when I'm gone.
Yeah you waited too long.

How do you call
What we have love when you don't even notice,
The look upon my face,
Yeah I've done this before,
You'll be sorrier when I'm gone.
Yeah you waited too,
Yeah you waited too long.

This is urgent,
Call 'em emergencies
I don't know how to stop 'em.
More capgun than a pistol,
You fill your clip with lies...
Then load each one and fire it right over my head.

I need a finish line, this pressure's too high.
I should have seen the end was coming sooner than I ever did.
Reached down to the pit of my soul,
I found things that I didn't wanna know were there
I guess the wait is over.

Oh, how do you call
What we have love when you don't even notice,
The look upon my face,
Yeah I've done this before,
You'll be sorrier when I'm gone.
Yeah you waited too long.

Oh, how do you call
What we have love when you don't even notice,
The look upon my face,
Yeah I've done this before,
You'll be sorrier when I'm gone.
Yeah you waited too long.

 

[Soot and Stars]

The last ditch efforts of "The Honesty" is the chipping away at denial but the beginning of the bridge to acceptance that will close out the last third of the album. Justin stills sees some magical breakdown of truth as the way his marriage could've been saved. The truth is every fight ends up the same and regressing further back to try to figure out why his ex is the way she was will never help. Honesty won't work because the truth is too much and the listener is more privy to this than the character. We've gone through these experience "with" the character and heard these fights. While Justin is trying to serve his sermon here the last part of the c.d. is him catching up and coming to terms after everyone else has moved on. he's starting to become honest with himself. The line "If your heart decides to feel again just be careful of the next one" bridges that gap towards acceptance. It's his way of saying "O.K., I love you but it's over! Just be happy, figure out what you want first next time and don't do the same thing to the next person". "We just weren't meant to make it!"



Soundwise this song plays it the straightest on the album. It's muffled sad acoustics, beats and a spoken word sermon that builds up to an energetic fusion of keyboards all made mostly to transition Justin to his saddest yet most peaceful place. This song was the last gasp of irrational anger and self pity and moving on. When Justin says "I'm gonna see it all, I can't wait, I can't wait" at the end of the song it's sung with such conviction that it obliterates the wishy washy chorus and you believe him.


Let's get it straight
Let's get it straight from the top
You're beginning with the usual main ingredient
You're good at when you're talking when you say it
Are you meaning it?
Don't wanna give you my heart if you're not completing it

I'm blown away at how your family, your friends,
Just accept it though
No one's ever told you no
Can't expect you to know how to love
When it was something
You were never taught

But honesty
is the one true way to start again
just be good to yourself
and love those unspoken
instead of always broken
but honestly
when you're heart decides to let someone in
just be cautious of the next one

you win
i never wanted to play what was meant to screw me up
but i see you're in to playing it
makes me feel sorry for the way you like displaying it
and how the truth has really told you are betraying it

i gotta say
i don't think i ever felt you hold us up
were you embarrassed by me?
its something i'm gonna have to pay for
but honesty
shoulda been the one true way to start again
just be straight with yourself
and love goes unspoken
instead of always broken
but honestly
if your heart decides to feel again
just be careful of the next one

how completely let down
how completely let down i felt
how completely in awe
now i can't see at all

now i can see it all…

but honesty
could been the one true way to love again
just be straight with yourself
and love goes unspoken
instead of always broken
but honestly
if your heart decides to love again
just be thankful for the next one

gonna see it all...gonna see it all
can't wait, can't wait
gonna keep it gonna keep it up
can't wait can't wait
gonna see it all...gonna see it all...
can't wait...can't wait...
gonna keep it up​

 

[Soot and Stars]

What better way to shed the weight, close the door and walk away from your failures than with a chorus of la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la's! I love the snottiness of this song! It says **** you without any of the seriousness of the other songs! The song has no ambiguity and no more regrets from the straight forward title and the confirmation in the chorus of it's over!



The line "I'm gonna win this conversation, Look who's got the microphone, huh" is an immature dig but has validity. The masses he'll be touring in front of do have that connection with him that he feeds off and apparently couldn't find with her. I love the drum beats with the vocals on this one. It's one of the few songs where the instrument is as aggressive as Justin's vocals and not buried as much. It's just a fun song and the juvenile attitude is part of that. The vocals are fun in the snarky way he sings/speaks them. In the course of the album you know he needed that release and that catharsis makes a perfect bridge to the reflective poignancy that closes the album on the last two tracks.



I tried and tried
I tried so many things that wouldn't take
like stop the leak prevent the flood some say
but nothing helped at all
and you're not listening

to what I say
you waste the time for memories made
communication has not made its way
to your agenda for today
or any other day
cuz this is the last time i'm gonna say it

if you come 'round here you know
we're gonna have some problems though
yeah we're over, get over it though
I've seen that look before
leave that shit at your door
yeah we're over, get over it though

now I'm shouted out
you gotta hear me
can you end this now
I'm tired of waiting
you don't get the point
and you don't get control
and we both have a chance
if you just let go

you can't have me tonight, tomorrow night
the next day, for anyone, or anything
and anyway i'm not asking you to stay
you're not my ****ing problem

one you'd just throw away
let's burn this house we built up down
and simply walk away

If you come 'round here you know
we're gonna have some problems though
yeah we're over, get over it though
I've seen that look before
leave that shit at your door
yeah we're over, get over it though

I'm gonna win this conversation
look who's got the microphone, huh?
I can't believe you're stuck on always
trying to **** me up
I think you ruined us all
I truly believe
you ****in' ruined us all...YEAH!

if you come 'round here you know
we're gonna have some problems though
yeah we're over, get over it though
i've seen that look before
leave that shit at your door
yeah we're over, yes we're over

(i was wondering why i wasn't sad like usual)
(i'm not sad no more)
(you're just a mind****)
(but hey you got your facebook)
(so join the real world)

...just get her paid

 

[Soot and Stars]

Although this isn't the last song on the album I consider it the end of the story arc that Stay started. This song is the sad acceptance of everything that's happened. The family unit is gone and now he has to stay strong for his daughter. Stay moves me more as a song in a variety of directions because it's got a lot more going on compared to the simplicity of this song but this song is the true heartbreaker of the album. Seriously, I really recommend the live acoustic version I posted of this. If your eyes don't well up when you hear a father sing to his daughter "I might have been gone but I never walked out" I'd hate to see what could weather any heart enough to stop it from feeling. This is a man confessing his flaws and just wanting his daughter to be happy. It's not about the ex. There is no family at this point. It's just father and daughter and an unbreakable bond. If this song was an added verse in "Stay" it would read "Now it's just the two of us to think about now, in our show and I promse I will stay, stay stay".



I'm tired, twisted, barely breathing, buried in the dark
Don't be concerned, it's just the power of a breaking heart.
How good am I hiding it?
Look, I've got some bad intentions.
Guilty as ****ing charged.
Still standing stable, more than able 'cause I know who you are.
I know the birthdays, anniversaries, all the first days I missed.
I regret them all.
But now I know this:

I know that God exists.
I held her in my arms.
I never knew I was able to ever feel this strong.
Take me off your worry list.
It'll be better that way.
I'm really fine and there's nothing we haven't talked about.
So, take me off your worry list I said, "Throw it away."
This is what my life is about.
I might have been gone but I never walked out.

I've taken a thousand red eyes to change your point of view.
What kind of man would take the trust you break and still follow through?
'Cause I'm standin' right here.
And you may not show up.
This same gate 14 where, honestly, I'm just sick of calling your bluff.
And it's just embarrassing, that I nearly threw up
And I'm trying hard to change the things I always screw up.
And at the top of my list, this visitation's no relationship.
But I gotta make the best of it.
'Cause I know -
I know that God exists.
I held her in my arms.
I never knew I was able to ever feel this strong.
Take me off your worry list.
It'll be better that way.
And I'm doin' fine and I've got plenty of friends around.
Take me off your worry list.
Just throw it away.
Well, it's time to stand up on my own for her.
'Cause I'm packing it up, and I'm comin' today.

I couldn't wait to finally pick my family up.
Everything is quiet and covered in snow.
There's something wrong here...
Nobody's at home.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Now, I'm back in the driver's seat.
Heading back home.
Yeah, back to Texas on my own.

Take me off your worry list.
It'll be better that way.
And I'm doin' fine and I've got plenty of friends around.
Take me off your worry list.
Just throw it away.
Yeah, it's time to stand up on my own for her.
I'm packing it up, and I'm comin' today.
This is what my story's about.
I might have been gone but I never walked out.
I'm packin' it up, and I'm comin' today.

This is what your story's about.
My pretty little girl, can you figure it out?
If it helps to know so there is no doubt,
Just listen to the stories.
Not everything is glorious.
Some hurt, some love, some shout.
I fought the world and I lost that bout.
And you are what my album's about.
I might have been gone, but I never walked out.

Musically what can I say about the song. It's simple but so intimate, heartfelt and real. In the live version Justin has the raspiest voice that you actually hear the tears restrained. The guitar just compliments the conversation Justin is having with us. Still the melody is sweet and inviting and Justins vocals provide the depth in which the listener is entranced. It reminds me of Johnny Cash's later material in which every crack tells a story. You just hope the story here meets the promise it delivers. We've been told too much to let go of that notion. One of the purest songs in music ever IMO.