The Saddest Song

this song is unbeleivable, i love it so much. the way it can sound so upbeat and happy, yet it has some of the most depressing lyrics i've ever heard. it's bittersweet, it just makes me love streetlight manifesto even more.

I was never able to figure out if the speaker is killing himself or if his friend already did (or both?). The chorus really throws me off. I'm leaning towards the speaker's friend killing his or herself, because of the line: "if my life was your life, would you ever take it back?"

But on a billionth read, that line could be referring to him killing himself, and saying "if you were in my shoes, would you kill yourself?" In case you were wondering my initial interpretation of that line was "if you lived a better life, would you have still killed yourself?" Eh, who knows.

steven, thats really cool that you saw that, (2nd one) I'm still not sure if any one killed themselves but this song sure makes you wonder.

i thin the meanig of the entire cd is the value of life. in just about every song he speaks of peoples lives and how people waste their lives and have their lives destroyed. It seems to me that despite all the tragedy that's surrounded him/that he's seen he still views life as a gift. i never really thought about this songs meaning in particular but now that i look at it, it seems as if someone he knows is going to comit suicide or is thinking about it again, and he is trying to stop them from doing so but isn't sure if he can do it again.

I honestly dont know what this song means;;

HOWEVER.. i know it makes me happy and it doesnt make me think about all the bad shit.

Its so upbeat . and addicting. kinda like myspace.

dammit.

Liner notes from Kalnoky:

"Next up is the saddest song which happens to be the peppiest and fastest on the cd. Perfect sense. I know. Once again, this began as a slwoer than molasses acoustic guitar and piano song about death. That's practically viagra for EMO kids. So what can I do but ruin it for them? Make it a SKA song, that's what. A fast one. with horns. Booya! Someday we'll re-record all these songs in their original form and release them as a collection of Tori Amos covers. I like how Pete and Dan can't stop doodling in the end. The dueling saxes, those two."

"and you'll try to explain as the blood leave all your veins and you can't think of anything that you would change"

I think that means that right before you die, you'll realize how precise life really is.

im not sure if anyone else has realized this but some parts of the melody in this song match up with an instrumental song in the great dictator with charles chaplain. in the movie chaplain plays herr hinkel, who is meant to be seen as adolf hitler during WWII. the scene where the song is played is a scene in which hinkel is playing with a globe and plotting world domination. when the inflatable globe pops hinkel seems devasted. because of this i interpret this song to be about adolf hitler and his ignorance ("but you cant think of anything that you change"). ive noticed a lot of cool references in streetilight manifesto songs (bob dylan in the big sleep, a lot of influential people in heres to life etc) and they are one of my favorite bands

"it's been years since i've seen her face, 14 years were just erased if my life was your life, would you ever take it back?"

anyone else think this could be a reference to Kristina Behr of "Kristina She Dont Know I Exist"

i think that this means that Tomas (or whoever the songs about) finally did get the courage to ask her out and she said no and he blocked it out:

"but i don't know what she said i still don't know what she said"