Born and Raised Lyrics
This song is about getting older and realizing that our formative years have passed. It's about the hopeless feeling you get that all the important decisions in your life have been made and there isn't much you can do about it.
"I cheat and lie to check my face" Great line. We all do this, especially as we get older. We would rather look at ourselves in dim lighting that hides the the blemishes.
"And all at once it gets hard to take" The realization that we've grown up hits us by surprise.
"I still have dreams, they're not the same" Our dreams become less and less ambitious.
"I still got time, I still got faith" Kinda the turning point of the song. We all sometimes get the feeling that we're old and we've missed out. But at some point we can accept the past and the decisions we've made that make us who we are. We start looking at the future again and how we will use the rest of our lives. How we will fulfill our dreams.
I hear this song, and it makes me think of my parents' divorce, which sort of feels full circle because during the whole proceedings of their separation, all I listened to was John Mayer. I think about the girl I was just a few years ago, and all the dreams I had for myself. They have definitely down-sized because to reality setting in. I love that this song is about ones' self apart from family and friends. When you are growing up with family crap going on, it really is just you fending for yourself. I feel like I keep trying to tell myself that I haven't changed, but I have. And that's ok.
Basically, this stream of consciousness is to say that this is an incredibly relatable song for me, and I feel as if he cracked open my head and took the lyrics right out of my brain.
@ghettorigz I completely agree with you and for me the most powerful line in the whole song is "I got a mom, I got a dad But they do not have each other" This line describes the tearing apart of a family, and the feeling of almost having to choose between the two people you loved most. When I first got into John mayer I was captivated by the meanings behind his songs but the simplicity of this one brings me to tears every time.
@ghettorigz I completely agree with you and for me the most powerful line in the whole song is "I got a mom, I got a dad But they do not have each other" This line describes the tearing apart of a family, and the feeling of almost having to choose between the two people you loved most. When I first got into John mayer I was captivated by the meanings behind his songs but the simplicity of this one brings me to tears every time.
I think this has got to do with JM's parents getting a divorce, especially the lines
"I got a Mom I got a Dad but they do not have each other"
The song is hinting at a depression... a mourning for the loss of his childhood. It's the point in life when you realize that you aren't a child anymore, you're really born and raised... that your parents have finished taking care of you and now you get to live on your own or it's now your time to take care of them.
I'm in line with ra1234. The song is about coming to terms with growing up, and the consequences of all that.
Specifically to John, but more generally to all the rest of us, it means that no matter who you are, there comes a point where you have to realize that you are an adult, and as scary as it is, or as much as you feel like you aren't ready for it, it's time to start acting like one and making decisions like one.
This means accepting yourself, flaws and all, jadedness in all its glory, ("I cheat the light to check my face. It's slightly harder than last year.") realizing that you've adjusted your goals and dreams as life has taken over ("I still go dreams, they're not the same. They don't fly as high as the used to.") and lost the person that you swore you would be or used to be, ("I saw my friend, he's in my head, and he said, "You don't remember me do you?").
All this can get overwhelming and seem to pile on if you let it. ("All at once it gets hard to take").
But as John usually does, he leaves on an upbeat tone... Sure, things aren't the way you planned. But nobody else's are, really. We can lean on our support systems, ("I call on both of my brothers") family and friends, and no matter what you think has gone wrong or right, you are where you are, and you "still got time" to make peace with how things are, to step up to the plate and be who you were always meant to be ("Show your face to the morning"), not who you THOUGHT you were meant to be.
I really like this song because to me, John talks about his minor insecurity about maturing and growing up.
"it's slightly harder than last year"
This is like, no matter when, yeah last year WAS easier.
"and all at once it gets hard to take it gets hard to fake what I wont be"
He talks about, one day, being Born and Raised. This may be like one day you're going to wake up and realized that you've GROWN up. Personally I am afraid of growing up, and that's why I love his music, because I mold it to mean the same thing for him, too. I guess it helps me deal :)
Either way, I love John and am VERY excited for his new album, when ever he's ready of course!
I think maybe it is
"I cheat the light To check my face It's slightly harder than last year"
Yeah, it seems he's coming to reconcile that he is who he is, becoming a mature adult, probably reconciling all the crap that came out a couple of years ago. I remember reading that Rolling Stone article and as a long time fan, being quite sickened by some of the stuff he said. At the same time, I saw him as a very broken person, and the kindredness and connection I've felt to his music, and the things he has expressed within it over the years, made me feel a compassion for him. It is nice to hear that he seems to have found a bit more solid ground in the years since.
Yeah, I think that that interpretation and those lyrics are correct. It's definitely 'the' rather than 'and', and with that in mind 'light' and 'face' make more sense than 'lie' and 'fates', though it's quite hard to actually hear the difference in those spots.
Yeah, I think that that interpretation and those lyrics are correct. It's definitely 'the' rather than 'and', and with that in mind 'light' and 'face' make more sense than 'lie' and 'fates', though it's quite hard to actually hear the difference in those spots.
I think maybe it is
"I cheat the light To check my face It's slightly harder than last year"
Yeah, it seems he's coming to reconcile that he is who he is, becoming a mature adult, probably reconciling all the crap that came out a couple of years ago. I remember reading that Rolling Stone article and as a long time fan, being quite sickened by some of the stuff he said. At the same time, I saw him as a very broken person, and the kindredness and connection I've felt to his music, and the things he has expressed within it over the years, made me feel a compassion for him. It is nice to hear that he seems to have found a bit more solid ground in the years since.
This song makes me want to cry, John puts the emotion into all the words he sings in this song. I believe it is about growing up before you should have to. I think it also about going through a change and not knowing what the outcome will be and who you will be at the end. Geez, it is such a good song.
Easily relatable song for me. Amazing and full of emotion.
Anyone note the longing for old music which runs through the album and comes to its zenith on this track, where Crosby and Nash sing harmonies with John, making it sound like 1971 and CSNY - especially with the "Neil Young" harmonica.
All I'm saying is - the lyrics aren't the only messages going on here!
This song, and the others on the album, are all about feeling like an adult but not being happy with the world as it is now.