its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
What's up with what's going down
In every city, in every town
Cramping styles is the plan
They've got us in the palm of every hand
When we pretend that we're dead
When we pretend that we're dead
They can't hear a word we've said
When we pretend that we're dead
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on come on
Turn the tables with our unity
They neither moral nor majority
Wake up and smell the coffee
Or just say no to individuality
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
They can't hear a word we've said (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on come on
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
They can't hear a word we've said (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
In every city, in every town
Cramping styles is the plan
They've got us in the palm of every hand
When we pretend that we're dead
When we pretend that we're dead
They can't hear a word we've said
When we pretend that we're dead
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on come on
Turn the tables with our unity
They neither moral nor majority
Wake up and smell the coffee
Or just say no to individuality
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
They can't hear a word we've said (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on come on
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
They can't hear a word we've said (pretend that we're dead)
When we pretend that we're dead (pretend that we're dead)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Dead (come on, come on, come on, come on)
Dead (pretend that we're dead)
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Pretend We're Dead Lyrics as written by Donita Sparks
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I seem to be the only one who thinks this song is political. Think about when they recorded this. Liberals had been hogging the mic for a long time and around then was when the tide was turning against them. Well, L7 was as hard to the left as they come, so I think in their frustration, they rationalized the phenomenon as their fellow liberals pretending they were dead rather than standing up and being counted.