In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
Well I guess it, guess it all began when
I could understand the social life, the worries
And I heard what, what you used to say but
Now these things have changed and it seems like the only way
Trying hard to figure out myself
So I act like someone else
Wish it could be easier to see
How I'm supposed to be
Who you are is what you say, and all that you say
Is all that I believe
I try to leave all the things that get in the way
Of my identity
Who you are is where you stand, and what you stand for
Is who I'll try to be
As cliche as it is I wanna fit in with
Your identity
Well it took a while for me to
Realize that I didn't have to be
The guy I thought that they would like to see
But I decided I needed to dispose
Of this life I never chose
Will I figure out myself?
Tired of being someone else
Wish it could be easier to see
Lord, show me who I should be
I could understand the social life, the worries
And I heard what, what you used to say but
Now these things have changed and it seems like the only way
Trying hard to figure out myself
So I act like someone else
Wish it could be easier to see
How I'm supposed to be
Who you are is what you say, and all that you say
Is all that I believe
I try to leave all the things that get in the way
Of my identity
Who you are is where you stand, and what you stand for
Is who I'll try to be
As cliche as it is I wanna fit in with
Your identity
Well it took a while for me to
Realize that I didn't have to be
The guy I thought that they would like to see
But I decided I needed to dispose
Of this life I never chose
Will I figure out myself?
Tired of being someone else
Wish it could be easier to see
Lord, show me who I should be
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This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
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This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.
Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.
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This standout track comes off the artiste's latest reissue titled "Brothers Deluxe Remastered 10th Anniversary Edition". The track was produced by Mark Neill, Patrick Carney & Dan Auerbach. It was released via major streaming platforms on December 18, 2020.