I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I'm just now finding out
What it was all about
We moved to the west coast
Away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still
I was still in love
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's "bye-bye. Goodbye. I tried"
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
And I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up
I've landed
The daily dramas
She made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me
And talk me back down
Til I believed I was the crazy one
And in a way I guess I was
Until I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's "bye-bye. Goodbye. I tried"
Dragging the sea of a troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried
If you wrote me off
I'd understand it
Cause I've been on
Some other planet
So come pick me up
I've landed
And you will be so
Happy to know
I've come alone
It's over
When I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It's ok to call
I will answer for myself
Come pick me up
Come pick me up
I've landed
Here's the literal interpretation of the song: "It's about a close friend of mine who's recovering from being under the influence of a crazy girlfriend," says Folds. "I had this mental image of him flying back to reality, landing at the airport and needing a ride back to the life he left behind." http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000771438
To me, this is an awesome song, and it really gives hope that even under the influence of some crazy-ass ho you still have hope for lucidity. Hope I never get myself in that situation. Can't wait for the new album myself either. :)
It's weird no one else seems to have heard it this way: The "speaker" in the song is talking to an old friend he kind of ditched for this girl. "moved to the west coast" "she never told me that you called".... Now that he see's her for the crazy bitch she is, he's leaving her and realizing what he did to his friend: "if you wrote me off, I'd understand it cause I've been on some other planet". Now he wants to be friends again and make up for everything: "come pick me up, I've landed." The crazy bitch was "the telephone czar" who never let him talk to his friend. Now her "reign" is over and the speaker will "answer" for being so shitty to his buddy. Ben folds just has this magical way of taking the simplest lyrics and making them so powerful. This one really hits home because I dearly miss someone who ran off with his own "Telephone Czar" and I'm hoping he lands soon.
This isn't a happy thought, but i think this may be the same character as the song "The Luckiest"... the line "back when I was still in love" hints at that. He used to be absolutely blinded by his love, and that was where "the luckiest" came from- now he realizes that that relationship wasn't in fact the right one.
For someone who writes such great love songs (albeit, on the good and the bad) he seems to not have a very good track record himself for staying in a relationship. :\ This makes me sad, but I guess that's where some really great music came from. I hope he finally found "the right one"!
For someone who writes such great love songs (albeit, on the good and the bad) he seems to not have a very good track record himself for staying in a relationship. :\ This makes me sad, but I guess that's where some really great music came from. I hope he finally found "the right one"!
I think the literal meaning of this is pretty clear and has already been well covered; though he could conceivably be talking to a friend, family, or ex, there's no guessing the message - I'm back, I'm sorry, and I've missed you. What gets me most about this song is that it's simultaneously sad a sorrowful and yet full of hope for the future. I've thought about it in less literal contexts - the kinds of 'bad relationship' that are less acceptable to talk about in some circles, but equally as alienating - recovery from drug use, emergence from a prolonged depressive state, and even a child turning 18 and reaching out to an alienated parent. It represents the clarity that I hope every person in these situations is able to find one day. And I hope that they are able to be greeted with open arms when it comes.
[Edit: Typos]
What an amazing song. I know how it feels, when you try and try with someone, and it doesn't work, but you just can't let them out of your life. Sucks.
I love this song. Ben Folds is amazing. Can't wait for the new album...April 26th!
Great song, listen to again and again, its about coming to terms with the end of a relationship. Love it!
"its bye-bye, goodbye i tried, come pick me up, ive landed"... Ben Folds is fkn awesome and so are his songs especially this one... hes coming to Australia and i was going to go to his concert if it was the last last thing i did... then i found out it was 18+...
This song is so good, heard it on the radio like 10 minutes ago, went to his site and watched it again (twice).
Are you serious about the Australian shows being over 18? DAMN! I would've killed to go to the show.
Oh well, this song is just further proof against my fears that when Ben Folds left his band, he'd turn into a lame over done solo artist. Thanks for proving me wrong Ben, your music is the sweetest defeat.
Peace
Nah, the Australina shows weren't over 18's at least not the Enmore one in Sydney, which was awsome. Also, I like this song, but think that there were better candidates for the single, i.e. Late, Bastard, jesusland. Also, I have the album, yay for being in Australia.