Tied down against the tracks
Screamin' in silent black and white
You trust us
We are such villains
We will tell ourselves anything we want to hear
If we are willin'
To listen is to learn
And too much is what we deserve
And how come when we say that we do, we don't
Can pray to anybody you want, we won't

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

But if were the ones to blame then the fruit
It shouldn't taste so good
We were used
To think we got nothing to lose
We're losin' everything but the truth
'Cause walkin' straight into a road block, bendin'
Left, it ended
Your point of view is chosen by the serpent's rules

With all its do's and don'ts
The future's an empty promise
I'm concerned and so tired of waitin'
But we could sell it wooden horses full of nightmares
And when they open
This all might be composed
There's no goin' back to the good old days
It's just a favoring and some new light
Archaism is a dusty road leadin' us back to nowhere

If we're the ones to blame then the fruit
It shouldn't taste so good
We were used
To think we got nothing to lose
We're losin' everything but the truth
'Cause walkin' straight into a road block, endin'
Left, it bended
Your point of view is chosen by the serpent's rules

Oh oh oh oh

How come when we say we do, we don't
How come when we say we will, we won't
How come when we say we do, we don't
How come when we say we will, we won't


Lyrics submitted by acidmaniac

They Do, They Don't Lyrics as written by Jack Hody Johnson

Lyrics © Bubble Toes Publishing, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

They Do They Don't song meanings
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14 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    wow.....this was a tough one! I think what Jack is trying to say is that our world is "tied down" by evil. He is saying that we have lost all sense of truth since the day eve ate the apple. He's not necessarily blamming us......"But if were the ones to blame than the fruit shouldn't taste so good"......meaning that we were guided into the evil that we have become. All in all i think he is saying that nobody really knows what the future holds and, until then, we will never again know REAL truth.

    z115491on February 07, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The sound of the beginning is what initially turned me on to this song, but then I listened to the lyrics.

    The first paragraph says "Why'd you trust us?" -talking to God about the original sin. In a way, he is defending humans saying that we shouldn't be blamed for sinning because God was the one who made the forbidden fruit "taste so good".

    The chorus gets me though, I'll admit. Perhaps he is reversing his argument and saying that despite our good intentions, we are selfish and sinful...and that it's not God's fault.

    In the end, the future has no hope to being like it was in the very beginning of time, so we should stop trying to be something we're not...because in the end we say we will...and we won't.

    Phew. Tell me what you think.

    anniekaitlynon February 22, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "It's just a phase, bring in some new life" maybe here he is saying that he welcomes progressive Christianity or he demands new ideas of religion.

    I take back the fruits. It's clear now he was referring to the apple or fruit of (knowledge/wisdom of good and evil).

    jadeinon March 10, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    He starts off stating that we are human and have sin, never had a chance nor wanted to be good (screaming in silent, etc.) We tell ourselves bad things are o.k. and believe that we will be fine if we do them for the purpose of our own gain. To listen is to learn, then too much is what we deserve = the rules of life are in the Bible (God told us) and it's our fault that we are disobeying it (not listening) and so we deserve this corrupt society/broken world we are living in. We are not trustful and do not do as we say. The devil tricked us into eating the fruit by lying and offering superficial rewards. In doing so, we no longer can distinguish what is good and what is evil, what is real and what is superficial. (truth - helping others, making the world a better place,loving, doing good things) People who rely on superficial things (greed, money, appearances, power) and do not see the big picture (God, what is really important) are being tricked by the devil (serpent's ruse). With all of God's rules and disobedient us, our future may never get better. Our future may be doomed. Our world may get put back together, but it will not be the same as it was. Our current way of living is not meant to be forever, a new way of living needs to come about. Our old traditions and the way we are/were will not get us anywhere.

    AliciaJon September 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    wow.....this was a tough one! I think what Jack is trying to say is that our world is "tied down" by evil. He is saying that we have lost all sense of truth since the day eve ate the apple. He's not necessarily blamming us......"But if were the ones to blame than the fruit shouldn't taste so good"......meaning that we were guided into the evil that we have become. All in all i think he is saying that nobody really knows what the future holds and, until then, we will never again know REAL truth.

    z115491on February 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song questions all the ones who question the present government and the cynics who have to disagree with every little thing that goes on in the world. Their point of view is from the "serpent's ruse."

    kratos1987on February 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Annie Kaitlyn... i believe you're right. I have an interpretation for the end:

    "With all its do's and don'ts The future is an empty promise Unconcerned and so tired of waiting We could sell it wooden horses full of nightmares and when they open This all might recompose"

    You can follow all these do's and don't's but eternity is any empty promise that we can not be ensured of. People can talk all they want about heaven and hell, but when the time comes it may n ot be what it seems..... idk... this one's tough.

    CadillacKincaidon March 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about religion. It's a continued thought from his other song, It's All Understood, which was about relative truths and religion... about believing and/or following the group mentality/ group think of religion.

    Here, he's less optimistic and is actually critical (in contrast to the aforementioned song). The "tracks" are the roads which are very limited (like rail road tracks). black and white is the assumption there is no gray in morality according to religion. We are such villains are the religious leaders. He continues to hint at religion with use of words like "pray." He's talking about how what religious ppl say and do aren't always the same. He strongly criticizes relgion saying the current state of it is a "point of view" that "was chosen by the serpent's ruse."

    Do's and don'ts are the rules of religion. The future of a life of religion becomes an empty promise. (ie. no afterlife, etc). Archaism refers to the nature of religion to assume the ideas established long ago are absolute still today. But he disagrees with Archaic principles saying its a road that leads nowhere (significant).

    "the fruit" refers to the "fruits" as described in the bible (i.e. the fruits of God's spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, long-suffering, faithfulness, kindness, and self control.)

    Generally speaking, he's criticizing the old ways of Western religious thought. He offers no solution and made no comment on progressive Christianity.

    jadeinon March 10, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with a lot of what Jadein had to say about this song. With all of the references to religion in previous songs and also his "Imagine" cover- I think it is safe to say he is critical of popular religion.

    islandgirlon March 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love that this songs makes a references to adam and eve and also the trojan horse thing. it's pretty damn creative

    TimCincon April 15, 2008   Link

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