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The Puzzle Lyrics

It's been a typical fall in Portland,
But I don't think it rained at all today.
Still, it feels like I've been
Wearing a wet pair of jeans;
Something is rubbing me
The wrong way.

I still can't believe all that I've seen.

Lately I've been anything but direct,
So can I just spell this out,
Or will I lose some respect?
I've been having doubts
About the last few years.
In case you don't like blunt,
Let me make this less clear.

I've been picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on,
And from what I see from here,
There is no point in carrying on.
I've been picking apart,
Picking apart all night long,
And suddenly, my biggest fear:
I'll never stop picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on.

I've got a job to do,
But my well's run dry.
My mind is wandering now,
Like a lazy eye.
I'm kicking water uphill,
My gains are so small.
Elevated by a stage,
I still feel two feet tall...

But I suppose that's the point of it all;
So we can get back up
When we lose footing and fall.
I'm a little embarrassed,
My cheeks kinda burn.
It seems the lesson I wrote
Is one I've still yet to learn.

I still can't believe all that I've seen.
I can't believe who I used to be.

I've been picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on,
And from what I see from here,
There is no point in carrying on.
I've been picking apart,
Been picked apart all night long,
And suddenly, my biggest fear:
I'll never stop picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on.

I've been picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on,
And from what I see from here,
There is no point in carrying on.
I've been picking apart,
Picking apart all night long,
And suddenly, my biggest fear:
I'll never stop picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on.

...been picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on.
Only one thing's become quite clear:
I see no point in carrying on.
I've been picking apart,
Been picked apart all night long.
Suddenly, my biggest fear:
I'll never stop picking apart
The puzzle I've been working on.
2 Meanings

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Cover art for The Puzzle lyrics by You, Me, and Everyone We Know

This song is really catchy but the lyrics are so depressing and unlike YMAEWK. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

I do love the "I Can Get Back Up Now" reference though.

I enjoy picking out Ben's references to other songs almost as much as I like noticing themes of his: fear of commitment/finality described with references to pencils and ink ("she's taking all her notes in pencil 'cause they tend to contradict themselves with half of what they say" in Happy Birthday; "number 2 would be the pencil I'd have to find: Ticonderoga, 10 feet long" & "but sadly, most of all, at the top of my list would be the fear of commitment in my penman's fist" in A Little Bit More; What Ink Can Really Do, etc.), his struggle...

at first this was one of my least favorite off the new album... musically, it still is. but now that I've taken a closer listen to the lyrics (and read these as assurance I was hearing him right) I think I love it.

from what I'm getting out of the song, it sounds like Ben was feeling as though everything he's put into the band was seeming pointless and that he's been wasting his time chasing his dream... and it seems like he's felt this way for awhile now ("So can I just spell this out, or will I lose...

Cover art for The Puzzle lyrics by You, Me, and Everyone We Know

Is that Augie who sings at the end? I can't figure out if it is or not

It's Ben.

 
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