sometime last year i recorded a cover of fairytales tell tales, a song by the band cursive. i don’t normally do cover songs. actually, i think it would be more accurate to say that i basically don’t do them at all. unless of course we’re talking about my painfully sad and sloppy renditions of songs from old cartoons, and even then i’ve only done a handful throughout my entire career. i guess it's because i've done so much writing and recording under my own projects over the years, all of which usually very personal. when someone else's work really means something to me, it's my instinct to leave it right where it is.
well, unfortunately for the band, i accidentally stumbled across a chord structure that felt just familiar enough in my head that i kept intuitively singing pieces of their song over the instrumental when trying to write for one of my own. so i rearranged a few things, added a few more things, and before i knew it i was several days into working on this nonstop.
i was a big fan of cursive growing up. and still today, it holds up as some of the most poetic and well written music that i listen to. being exposed to tim’s work at such a young age made me want to be a good songwriter. experiencing it all again as an adult inspires me in a similar way.
enjoy the song, take a moment to read and appreciate the lyrics, and if you want to hear how much i fucked up deviated from the original, you can hear the bands incredible recording from 2001 by clicking here.
let's pretend we’re not needy
let's pretend our hearts still beat
let's pretend we fall in love tonight
clumsy enough to fall for anything
we'll stumble on our words
we'll spill our guts on creaking bar stools
below the neon blue
low lives hiding in dives
there's no feeling in drinking
and sleeping with strangers
ghosts passing through bedrooms unaware
a faint reflection on the barback's mirror
a face i never knew whispering,
"please don’t be a stranger to me
who are you if you're alone?"
you're no good at pretending
all my plays have tragic endings
you wish i was a fairytale
this frog will never change anything
just pretend that you're in love
that scolding sun is bound to come up eventually
so who is it that whispers in your ear?
a haunting voice blows in through the window
there's no feeling floating over beds
a needy pleading apparition…
crying, "who am i if i'm alone?”
i hardly exist at all
let's pretend that we
don't need anything
anymore from anyone
i don't want to feel
anything anymore
let's just pretend
we'll live happily ever after