"Permanent" as written by Michael Maida, Chantal Kreviazuk and David Cook....
Will you think that you're all alone
When no one's there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away
And everything is temporary, rest your head
I'm permanent
I'm permanent
Is this the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry
And everything, it will surely change even if I tell you I won't go away today
Will you think that you're all alone
When no one's there to hold your hand?
And all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary
Rest your head
I'm permanent
I know he's living in hell every single day
And so I ask, oh God is there some way for me to take his place
And when they say it's all touch and go
I wish I could make it go away
But still you say
Will you think that you're all alone
When no one's there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away
And everything is temporary,
Rest your head
I'm permanent
I'm permanent
Is the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry.
When no one's there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away
And everything is temporary, rest your head
I'm permanent
I'm permanent
Is this the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry
And everything, it will surely change even if I tell you I won't go away today
Will you think that you're all alone
When no one's there to hold your hand?
And all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary
Rest your head
I'm permanent
I know he's living in hell every single day
And so I ask, oh God is there some way for me to take his place
And when they say it's all touch and go
I wish I could make it go away
But still you say
Will you think that you're all alone
When no one's there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away
And everything is temporary,
Rest your head
I'm permanent
I'm permanent
Is the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry.
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Is this the moment where I look you in the eye? - Adam facing the possibility of his own death
Forgive my broken promise that you�ll never see me cry
And everything, it will surely change even if I tell you I won�t go away today
Will you think that you�re all alone
When no one�s there to hold your hand?
And all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary rest your head
I�m permanent ---- Adam is the oldest brother (David's the middle one & Andrew is younger) so he's trying to be strong for his younger brothers
I know he's living in hell every single day
And so I ask oh God is there some way for me to take his place
And when they say it�s all touch and go I wish I could make it go away ----Now David's talking, pretty self-explainitory...
But still you say----The key phrase in the whole song IMHO because it proves that Adam was the one talking in the first verse/chorus
Will you think that you�re all alone when no one�s there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary, rest your head
I�m permanent
I�m permanent
Is this the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my promise that you�ll never see me cry
& I am POSITIVE it's I'm -all- the way through the song.
Is this the moment where I look you in the eye? - Could possibly be a reference to the thoug that it may be his brother's (Adam I think is his name) final moments
Forgive my broken promise that you’ll never see me cry - Even though he promised he'd never cry, he'd always be strong, he can't help but cry now
And everything, it will surely change even if I tell you I won’t go away today - No matter what he does, he can't stop his brother's cancer from progressing, even if he stays by his side
Will you think that you’re all alone
When no one’s there to hold your hand? - Self-explanatory, he fears his brother thinks he's all alone in his battle with cancer
And all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary rest your head
I’m permanent - His life before cancer may seem so far away because he's been battling for so long, but he should just rest because no matter what, David is permanent, he will always be there for him
I know he’s living in hell every single day - He knows his brother has to deal with a living hell of pain every day
And so I ask oh god is there some way for me to take his place - As most loved ones do when someone they love is dealing with a lot of pain, he pleads with God to let him take Adam's place
And when they say it’s all touch and go I wish I could make it go away - When the doctors say it's all "touch and go" and they don't know what his condition will be like day to day, David wishes he could do something, anything, to just make it go away
But still you say
Will you think that you’re all alone when no one’s there to hold your hand?
When all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary, rest your head
I’m permanent
I’m permanent - repeat of everything said earlier
Is this the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my promise that you’ll never see me cry -repeat of everything said earlier
david is an amazing artist who has portrayed his feelings fantastically
it's probably talking about how he's afraid for adam. you can see that when he says "forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry." that also could lead people to belive its about how he's trying to stay strong in front of his brother. also he doesn't want adam to think he's going to give up hope for him or that he'll leave him- "I'm permanent", hence the song title. finally it could be about how he want's it all to be over and want's his brother to stop suffering- "i know he's living in hell every single day..."
in my opinion its probably all three of those and more. but yea, it's about his brother obviously.
this song was written for/ about his brother adam (has cancer) David sang it on American Idol, and got really emotional. I'm pretty sure his brother passed away.
My grandpa died of cancer- and I agree fully with everyone. The change from "i'm permanent," to "you're permanent" could be a reference to what happens after someone dies from cancer. For a long time the only real thing is them sick. You feel that you have to be strong for them when they can't. With the change from David singing about himself, to his brother (you're) it could be a reference to the fact that no matter what happens the influence that he has had on David's life will never be forgotten, and that Adam comforted him- not the other way around.