Everyone has their own way of coping when life isn’t going the way they’d like. Some people pray, some people play golf, some people beat their kids. Rocks Off generally tends to turn up a Rolling Stones album real loud or seek comfort in the cozy confines of a bottle (or both).
Some people write, while others write songs. Such is the case with Blue October, the platinum angst-rockers who return to their former hometown this evening for a sold-out show at Verizon Wireless Theater with Switchfoot and Ours, as well as Dallas civil engineer and poet Jeff Bresee. Bresee’s new book, The Hidden Story, took shape as the author struggled to overcome depression and addiction – which also happen to be common themes in Blue October’s songs.
In fact, Bresee cites the band’s music as one of his primary inspirations, and The Hidden Story contains the libretto for Bresee’s rock opera The Miror’s Glass, set to music by Blue October, Pink Floyd, Queensryche and others. Overall, it’s pretty convincing – Rocks Off isn’t sure we’d want to switch places with either Bresee or Blue October lyricist Justin Furstenfeld, but you have to admire the effort.
All this heavy emotional stuff got us in the mood to play a game. We took excerpts from a few of Bresee’s Hidden Story poems and some lyrics from Blue October’s new album, Approaching Normal. Can you tell which is which? (If not, scroll down a ways after the last one for the answers.)
“Weight of the World”
A blackout in the room again
A busted lip and broken skin
I wake up in the bathroom
And dare not bother asking
Why the mirror’s cracked and all I see
Are shards of glass inside of me
There’s voices there to dare me
My father’s here to scare me
My mother sits beyond the door she’s
Curled up crying on the floor
Look at what her son’s done
“The Worst”
There’s something worse than heartache
Something worse than feeling used
There’s something worse than longing
For the time before you knew
About the one who has betrayed you…
And left you in despair
To sit and face the world alone
And wonder as you stare into
Your own eyes, will you fall apart
And find out what I mean
As you medicate the pain away
And give up on your dreams
“Where Do You Go”
Where do ya go
When everything’s wrong
What do ya have
When everything’s gone
Who can ya hold
Who can ya trust
Why should you try
When dreams turn to dust
How can ya see
When everything’s black
Why should you wait
When they’re not coming back
Give me a reason
To go on from here
I stand and I stare
And I scream in the air
“Should Be Loved”
Stop staring, you’re the reason I feel so unhappy all the time
I’ve given you everything I know how
Your standing on the top of my shoe
Keeping me from gaining ground
I’m sorry if you feel like I let you down
Can you tell me what have I done so wrong
To you
Tell me what am I supposed to do
“I should be loved by you
That I know is true
But I cant breathe when you’re around!”
“Unto What End”
Is there purpose left in going on
Is there something yet to find
Uncounted days of rise and fall
Have left me far behind
What is the point in trying to feel
What they tell me I should feel
So long now in the dark I’ve been
It seems that nothing’s real
I often sit and wonder
What it’s really all about
Most times it seems a pointless game
That’s ruled by fear and doubt
Yet other times the visions come
Then everything is clear
But none believe me so I’m left
Alone year after year
“Kangaroo Cry”
Losing my control
Here it is the day I have to go
Just sit beside me
I can’t let this show
How sick I feel to leave you so alone
God I’m terrified
We’ve lost respect for decency
When one can turn our world into an ant pile
We run circles, no direction do I see
The dust has blinded you, the dust has blinded me
I kissed her on the cheek
And then I waved goodbye
She had the saddest look I’ve seen in years
A kangaroo cry
A warm pathetic ocean flow we have to live by
We have to live by
Because we have to live
Answers: “Weight of the World,” Blue October; “The Worst,” Jeff Bresee; “Where Do Ya Go,” Bresee; “Should Be Loved,” Blue October; “Unto What End,” Bresee; “Kangaroo Cry,” Blue October
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
