This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
alright i'm in johnson avenue
in San Luis Obispo
and i'm five years old or six maybe
and indications that there's
something wrong with our new house
trip down the wire twice daily
i'm in the living room
watching the watergate hearings
while my stepfather yells at my mother
launches a glass across the room
straight at her head
and i dash upstairs to take cover
lean in close to my little record player on the floor
so this is what the volume knob's for
i listen to dance music
dance music
okay so look, I'm seventeen years old
you're the last best thing i got going
but then the special secret sickness
starts to eat through you
what am i supposed to do?
no way of knowing
so i follow you down your twisting alleyways
find a few cul-de-sacs of my own
there's only one place this road ever ends up
and i don't wanna die alone
let me down, let me down, let me down gently
when the police come to get me
i'm listenin' to dance music
dance music
in San Luis Obispo
and i'm five years old or six maybe
and indications that there's
something wrong with our new house
trip down the wire twice daily
i'm in the living room
watching the watergate hearings
while my stepfather yells at my mother
launches a glass across the room
straight at her head
and i dash upstairs to take cover
lean in close to my little record player on the floor
so this is what the volume knob's for
i listen to dance music
dance music
okay so look, I'm seventeen years old
you're the last best thing i got going
but then the special secret sickness
starts to eat through you
what am i supposed to do?
no way of knowing
so i follow you down your twisting alleyways
find a few cul-de-sacs of my own
there's only one place this road ever ends up
and i don't wanna die alone
let me down, let me down, let me down gently
when the police come to get me
i'm listenin' to dance music
dance music
Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget, edited by zebrakindom
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I think the interpretations coming with this are a bit more complicated than they need to be. But maybe since I am from an abusive home, that might make the song a lot simpler for myself.
The last bit of the song was, to me, about a girl he found that he really connected with. I always assumed this was Cathy, since he references her in the same album during This Year. I took the "special secret sickness" as her knowing about his fathers abusive behavior due to alcoholism, mainly because I told a boyfriend of mine about my own step-dads abuse when I was younger, and the urge to act and tell someone can be strong for those who have not been raised that way vs. us, who don't quite grasp that it is wrong/ that it can be different.
It could mirror maybe her own hankering for alcohol, I hadn't thought of that until reading these comments. But I thought that he regretted letting his secret out, she might tell, but since he had already told her why reverse himself and miss out on something that could be good? He finds comfort in her, whether they were hard to find or were naturally there because she is a strong person.
I always interpreted the "when the police come to get me", to her having informed the police of the abuse, and them coming to take him to a safer place, seeing as that is how my abuse ended.
The peppy beat creates a release for me. There is the inability to NOT dance to this song, despite all the sadness and memories it brings for me, and dancing it out with such straight-forward lyrics is a way of expressing, "you couldn't destroy me, I am loud". This song means a lot to me.
But it's all about personal experience when it comes to art, I guess.