Telemarket Mishap

I've liesoned to this song for years, and every time i hear it i still think it's about a relationship with someone you never thought would leave your life comes to an end. It starts out with the guy realising maybe things arn't so great and then maybe she can't make everything better (maybe I’ve got needs that you can’t cure) and then at the end of the song she ends up leaving him, and he's left wondering "we are you coming home?"

waiting for someone that you know isn't coming back.

I think it's about a broken family - one parent leaving and not being the parent they are to their children/not living up to their word. They sort of disappear from their life, but the child won't let go. Perhaps they're too young to understand or what, but they don't see that one parent won't be coming back. He feels like he can't provide happiness/isn't good enough for that parent which caused them to leave. Over time, he grew bitter about it.

I agree with the first two posts. This song is wonderful.

Wow.

It didn't hit me until just now, but I've got an aching feeling that this song is probably about his father. I think the 9-12-2007 post is spot on.

I always thought this was a relationship song, but the last verse pretty much disproves that theory.

some verses could definitely be interpreted to be more along the lines of a relationship, but i think it's more obviously about a family. take it how you will, it's still very beautiful. i like how cutiemuffin just simply stated it :)

well... this song is about a broken family to me

is john his father or step father? a man named john is mentioned in many of their songs, it's trivial but i just wanted to know

i come from a broken family, but i never really noticed because i was so young

and looking at from the parent's perspective... it's gotta be hard...

anyway

John is Ian Metzger's (the lead singer) brother AFAIK.

i agree with the 'broken family' theory

You have your own life I know, but show up you should I�m disappointed, my vision blurs alone on the curb

• talking to his father, saying he knows he has his own life, but he's still disappointed that he doesn't make an effort to see him more often

Eight weeks since and it�s still the same �Something just came up, I�m so sorry� -hasn't seen his father in eight weeks, because he keeps making excuses about things 'coming up', his apologies mean nothing.

And maybe I�ve got needs that you can�t cure But I�m waiting by the phone until I�m sure -the mother talking to the ex, saying maybe its her fault because she wasn't enough for him, but shae still waits for him to call and ask if he can come home.

Love like statistics, I�ve got a head full of hell alone in my thoughts Kill the subject; refine the joke, which ever prompts response In the moments you laugh it�s still not enough You miss me, you can�t mean that -the mother or son speaking, saying they try o explain it simply when people ask why the parents aren't together

And maybe you�ve got needs that I can�t cure We sleep in separate houses -the mother again

A Guarded head shapes the face and heart So loss ain�t bad I�m trading processing for sleep So it don�t seem sad that I�m losing you -again, the son or mother, saying that they've built up an immunity to feeling hurt when they lose someone, all because of the father.

Blotch the face, blood vessels Broken heart and canvas skin Write it all out you won�t ever quite describe it -he tries to write it in a song, but he can't ever 'quite describe' the feeling of unimportance. breaks his heart that his father gave up his family, possibly for another woman.

Loaned to father for weekends and given back without the interest -his father has weekend visits, but brings him back to his mum, with no problem.

Trivialize memories, dumb it down to make it fit Syllables, grammatical, read and rewrite for the reader -again, trying to describe what its like to explain the divorce to others

All the bitter nights in my room alone They won�t know all my secret problems -the mother is bitter, but tries to hide her problems so people don't see she's falling apart?

Or the love that overcame us both -either the love between the mother and father, or the father and another woman, that drove them to divorce?

An untold twenty-two year story -they've been having marriage problems for the length of their son's life, maybe they tried to keep it together for him?

So it�s one tale and then another, I was saying earlier -keep making excuses and stories, trying to justify the divorce without making it seem as bad as it is.

A Guarded head shapes the face and heart So loss ain�t bad I�m trading processing for sleep So it don�t seem sad that I�m losing you

When are you coming home -i picture the son saying this to his father, he just wants things to be okay again.

thats what i get from it anyway. this song is absolutely beautiful.