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If Work Permits Lyrics
so the wind that blows across your room
carried cheap perfume onto your dresser
it rained for jewelry and for credit cards
two tickets to a film I don't remember
oh, one day you'll kiss your rabbits nose, pick up the phone
to find I've been turned over
and you'll grab that piece of gold
only to find that the smell has taken over
now all the things you had, they aren't the same...
as what you hold
Now standing in a room,
its filled with all the folks and they're pleading "baby listen"
and I scream as loud as anyone,
but when asked to make a point I tend to whisper
now highways turn to tidal waves
they're asking me to ex (short for "explain") for all of your insecurities
but that wind that blows across your room
its gonna set the sails, and send me back to you
sometimes, when sailors are sailing
they think twice, about where they're anchoring
and I think, I could make better use of my time on land
I'll drink less, cause lord knows I could use a warm kiss
instead of a cold goodbye
I'm writing the folks back home to tell them
"hey I'm doing alright"
its a shame what your father did to your brothers head
when he smashed it with a telephone
and your mother got scared and locked the door
you were only four, but lord you remember it
so now you're scared of love
and you'll take love the same as the blood on the receiver
love is stinkin' cold
its an inside joke
love is coming home
sometimes, when sailors are sailing
they think twice, about where they're anchoring
and i think, i could make better time of my time on land
I'll drink less
cause lord knows i could use a warm kiss
instead of a cold goodbye
I'm writing the folks back home to tell them
"hey I'm doing alright"
yeah I'm doing just fine
and if she seems as lonely as me.....
let her sink.
let her sink.
let her
carried cheap perfume onto your dresser
it rained for jewelry and for credit cards
two tickets to a film I don't remember
oh, one day you'll kiss your rabbits nose, pick up the phone
to find I've been turned over
and you'll grab that piece of gold
only to find that the smell has taken over
now all the things you had, they aren't the same...
as what you hold
its filled with all the folks and they're pleading "baby listen"
and I scream as loud as anyone,
but when asked to make a point I tend to whisper
now highways turn to tidal waves
they're asking me to ex (short for "explain") for all of your insecurities
but that wind that blows across your room
its gonna set the sails, and send me back to you
they think twice, about where they're anchoring
and I think, I could make better use of my time on land
I'll drink less, cause lord knows I could use a warm kiss
instead of a cold goodbye
I'm writing the folks back home to tell them
"hey I'm doing alright"
when he smashed it with a telephone
and your mother got scared and locked the door
you were only four, but lord you remember it
so now you're scared of love
and you'll take love the same as the blood on the receiver
love is stinkin' cold
its an inside joke
love is coming home
they think twice, about where they're anchoring
and i think, i could make better time of my time on land
I'll drink less
cause lord knows i could use a warm kiss
instead of a cold goodbye
I'm writing the folks back home to tell them
"hey I'm doing alright"
and if she seems as lonely as me.....
let her sink.
let her sink.
let her
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"my phone was off...i woke up in silverlake one morning and started wondering why for the last month i had a smile on my face...sure i was down at times...but the thing that had been brining me down for 3 years was now the last thing on my mind...apparently it had been that way for awhile...something that took 3 years to get over...i was finally just ok with it...no big realization...just the fact that things happen...people make mistakes...and i came out of it alright...i was good...not great...i was good...and that felt good...i wasnt looking for great anymore...i was ok...the last song on dog problems is all about that...here this record was supposed to be the downs...and the ups...and it ended with the middle...the realization that i dont need to be talking...i dont need to be locked in my room...i need to enjoy whats going on around me...and if things go wrong...they go wrong...theres always tomorrow..."
http://theformat.livejournal.com/48224.html
okay the more i listen to this song, i think its supposed to be very sarcastic. so she cheated on him and now she's giving him excuses why love fails for her.. and thats the whole brother and dad and phone thing.. and he's like "you were only 4, but lord you remember it." i guess 4 is pretty young to remember. i dont remember anything when i was 4. i think he's very pissed and sarcastic.
The upbeat attitude towards the end makes this song a perfect finish to this record. Good shit.
Haha, no one can argue with that, lieswithinus.
I absolutely am in love with the transitions and verse after the first chorus...."I'm here to tell you" - what amazing lyrics.
i think this song is about a girl that cheated on him. and he's being kind of sarcastic. the wind blew and cheap perfume in here, yeah? and those movie tickets that i never went to? oh yeah? haha kind of funny. the rest, i';m not sure how to clue in.
So few comments for such a FANTASTIC song. Honestly, I don't know what it means, but there are some :lyrical gems: in this song. To me, the general feel is like.. slightly regretful, but looking to change, trying to move on from the past (bad relationship with someone who couldn't love because of their own past)..
Love it.
haha, but of course the BAND WRITTEN meaning surely is worth more than my cruddy guess. :P
the first time i heard this song, "and i scream as loud as anyone, but when asked to make a point i tend to whisper " stuck out to me. i think its so prfound and that so many ppl feel that but never say it.
Nate talked about the meaning of this song on the format's livejournal and in the live DVD. He said the first half of the album was supposed to be about his breakup with his girlfriend, and the second half was supposed to be optimistic songs with some grand realization that he was going to be great. But he never had that realization. Instead he realized that life would just go on even without being in a relationship because he had his family, friends, and band. Even if life is never great or terrible, it's going to be okay. That's what he said this song is about, as the last song on the album.
I don't think it's necessarily about her cheating on him. I think the girl was very withdrawn because she had a dark past watching her father be abusive and it's causing her to not believe in love. They broke up and he's trying to find any excuse to get back to her. "I'm standing in a room filled with older folks pleading baby listen" people who are older and 'wiser' than him are trying to give him advice on what to do but it isn't what he wants to hear "I scream as loud as anyone but when asked to make a point I tend to whisper" he doesn't know how to make a convincing enough point to them that he should I back to her. This is more of a representation of him not being able to convince himself. Then the song goes into the chorus about not being sure where to 'anchor' he's conflicted about this, and it also represents the girls conflict with being able to commit to love. He sarcastically recounts the girls abusive childhood memory and pleads with her to look past it and be with him. He says he's there to teach her what real love is. When she doesn't come through, the last part is about him trying to move past her. "If she seems as lonely as me let her sink" he's trying to forget about her "I'm writing the folks back home to tell them, hey I'm doing alright" this is going back to the people he asked for advice before, and he's telling them what happened and that he's finally getting over her.
Anyways, I know I'm about 7 years too late for anyone to read this, but I'm also younger than all you original The Format fans. I wish songs like this could get bigger because it's really brilliant.
Great analysis. I love If Work Permits, especially the transition from everything being depressing to the sudden "I'm doing alright" and the song gets all crazy. Nate's songwriting is beautiful and, in my opinion, was even better with The Format than it is with Fun. My favorite part of this song is "that wind that blows across your room its gonna set the sails, and send me back to you." The whole album is heartbreaking but inspiring, and this is a great way to end it (besides The Lottery Song, bonus track). I write songs myself and I have been using...
Great analysis. I love If Work Permits, especially the transition from everything being depressing to the sudden "I'm doing alright" and the song gets all crazy. Nate's songwriting is beautiful and, in my opinion, was even better with The Format than it is with Fun. My favorite part of this song is "that wind that blows across your room its gonna set the sails, and send me back to you." The whole album is heartbreaking but inspiring, and this is a great way to end it (besides The Lottery Song, bonus track). I write songs myself and I have been using Nate Ruess as inspiration...and a little bit of jealousy.
I am also getting into this band 7 years too late. I started listening to them last summer and I haven't been able to stop. It sucks because none of my friends know who they are and most of these comments are from many, many years ago so their songs are thought of as irrelevant. I'm glad to see there's another CURRENT The Format fan out there! :)
Thanks! I totally agree, The Format is better than Fun. Nate's lyrics seem more sincere and complex. I love analyzing song lyrics and his are some of my favorites.
Thanks! I totally agree, The Format is better than Fun. Nate's lyrics seem more sincere and complex. I love analyzing song lyrics and his are some of my favorites.