I sat around for hours on end
For an end so clearly predetermined
I shall no longer play a part of your equation
I missed your boat a thousand times, I swear
You must have stayed off shore to avoid such relations
Avoidance has been your trump
But still I wait for you
This is the best I can do
To throw my energy into your apathy
It's the best I can do

I once had pride, I once had guts
But I gave up all that shit for the big easy
So now I rely on you to get me through this
I once believe I had a name
But my name was changed to the numbers on my resume
So I hope that you're impressed
I did it all for you
It's the best that I could do
A little song and dance
Can have its consequences
It's the best that I can do
To sit around the phone
The patience waits for you
This is the best that I can do
This is the best that I can do

I sweat it out for hours on end
For an end so obviously predetermined


Lyrics submitted by jephque

A Little Song and Dance Lyrics as written by Matthew Ryan Maginn Clint Frederick Schnase

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

A Little Song and Dance song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    What a great song...... great lyrics....as expected....

    Wezzulon June 03, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    awesome lyrics. but it seems like he goes from one subject to another towards the end of the song.. i dunno.

    dontcryemoboyon June 16, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    im so happy this site is up and runnign again. =) =) this is an awesome song. <3 lyrics flow well

    BreFaceon March 17, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    they are avoiding the problems happening in their relationship. i like the ending the best, where tim gets all hardcore.

    soundgoroundon June 11, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    oh my god this is so easy to relate too it scares me. what an amazing song, sends shivers up and down my neck where the hairs are already standing on end

    Carlos21on June 15, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it sounds like he's talking about his career more here especially due to the references he makes towards the music. if you apply the idea that he's kind of feeling apathetic, and how all the hard work hasn't really amounted to anything more than he's expected, the song makes more sense. it also seems like he is waiting around for fame and whatnot. a lot of people always assume he's whining about girls again, but who knows, this song may be a double entendre.

    klsotson November 19, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i agree, this song has to do with his feelings and how he pours them out into his music, he shares his feelings with us for us, and he could do no better because they happened to him and it's the truth

    bwizzle10on January 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I sweat it out for hours on end For an end so obviously predetermined

    we worry so much, but in the end it always seems to follow the same patterns. Patterns set forth by someone else, always seem to carry us along to and end. Though we do not determine the end, we rely on whoever brings it. I would like to think it is about a higher power, a divine force, but i'm probably making it more than it is as usual.

    AmberBon June 30, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "But my name was changed to the numbers on my resume" do we think that's in refrence to only being known as 'that guy from cursive' ? maybe

    rockstrNdisguiseon July 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "But my name was changed to the numbers on my resume" do we think that's in refrence to only being known as 'that guy from cursive' ? maybe

    rockstrNdisguiseon July 05, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.