1970s songs, depression

Rainy Days & Mondays-The Carpenters

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Nothin’ to do but frown/
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

Mental health is no joke. Watch this performance of The Carpenters playing Rainy Days and Mondays and see what a beautiful, strong, fun, talented woman Karen Carpenter is. In less than ten years she would be dead. She didn’t see herself the way others did. We see her as the beautiful singer and talented drummer with the beautiful voice. And she didn’t see that beauty in herself. She died at 32 of Anorexia.

This song is an introduction to depression or “the blues”. You know how Mondays always make you feel down even when technically you could be having a really good day? Depression is like that too. Only worse. For someone with depression, most days are rainy and Mondays. Speaking openly about depression wasn’t really done back then.

Rainy Days and Mondays Meaning
Richard & Karen Carpenter

Karen’s voice is at times deep and her vibrato is elongated and slow and used minimally. Every note she chooses is perfect. And she does it while drumming! She is simply a stud. This is a live performance! She has great range and control.

Richard and the band really show their chops in this song. The introduction of a background harmonica to simulate a lazy, rainy Monday is a brilliant choice. The other thing to notice is how amazing and layered their harmonies are. The Carpenter’s harmonies are A-level, but they use them judiciously-as they have the best lead singer in the world.

Karen has the most beautiful voice- male or female- that I have ever heard. The Carpenters are continually under-supported by the critical music press for reasons that are suspicious at best. They belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Keeping them out is just ignorant.

The Rock Hall has a lot of things it needs to fix before it is taken seriously but The Carpenters are the most egregious omission. If there is room in the Hall for Nina Simone and Joan Baez, (both deserving) and all the hip hop artists, there is a place for The Carpenters. Rainy Days and Mondays demonstrates this.

More by The Carpenters. And Here. Watch the live performance above if you have not seen it.

Rainy Days & Mondays Lyrics

Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old
Sometimes I’d like to quit
Nothin’ ever seems to fit
Hangin’ around
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

What I’ve got they used to call the blues
Nothin’ is really wrong
Feelin’ like I don’t belong
Walkin’ around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

Funny, but it seems I always wind up here with you
Nice to know somebody loves me
Funny, but it seems that it’s the only thing to do
Run and find the one who loves me (the one who loves me)

What I feel has come and gone before
No need to talk it out (talk it out)
We know what it’s all about
Hangin’ around (hangin’ around)
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

Funny, but it seems that it’s the only thing to do (only thing to do)
Run and find the one who loves me (ooh)

What I feel has come and gone before
No need to talk it out (to talk it out)
We know what it’s all about
Hangin’ around (hangin’ around)
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down
Hangin’ around (hangin’ around)
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get
Me down

Written by Paul Williams & Roger Nichols

1990s songs, infatuation

Unintended- Muse

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I’ll be there as soon as I can;
But I’m busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before.

The narrator of “Unintended” by Muse is not in the best headspace. He tells us he is “busy mending a broken heart” and has identified a new candidate to be something more than a rebound. This surprises him. How should one handle a situation when you are clearly in love with your ex, but you meet someone you are really into? The narrator chooses to spell out everything he is feeling and thinking. He tells the new woman what he has to offer. At least he is honest.

He doesn’t promise her summers in the Hamptons, or 2.2 kids and marriage—he “offers” her his “deepest inquisitions.”  In other words, after he is done obsessing about his ex, he will turn his attention to her.  He probably thinks this is a good offer and something synonymous with love.

Muse Unintended
Muse

He “knows” this woman will be better than his ex. He just feels it. I am certain we all expect our next relationship to be better than our last, but there is something about the way he expresses it that makes it all about him. And in a way it is. This is not a real person he has a relationship with. It is an ideal woman or an attractive woman he saw on the street. The feelings and desires are unintended.

The song is an amazing example of how we can sometimes lose ourselves during a breakup. The narrator does not seem to be his best self or ready to date. He is infatuated with a woman he saw and is projecting characteristics onto her that she may not have. The narrator at least has the self-awareness to realize that he might not be ready for this new woman yet, since he is still picking up the pieces of his last relationship. He probably thinks he is closer to moving on than he really is.

Is his offer to her that great? He is basically saying, “If you stick around until I get my shit together, I might then turn my attention to you. Her timeline, wants and desires are irrelevant. Hopefully he has a lot of redeeming qualities that makes him worth the trouble. It is not clear that he sees how big of an ask this truly is.

This is great writing. The songwriter writes in the first person and knows that he probably will not come off as a sympathetic character but takes the risk—and it pays off. Breakups can bring out the worst in us and lead us to say and do things we otherwise might not.

The combination of the weary sound that leads into a wailing falsetto creates the sound of an unstable mind perfectly. The sound is created by a verse that slowly mopes along with a sparsely added acoustic guitar and a synthesizer with slight reverb to add that haunted feeling. The sound coupled with the lyrics paints a picture of a man that is not in the best frame of mind, is not making the best decisions, and is not ready for a relationship. Hopefully the new woman will recognize this and run. Or wait.

Unintended Lyrics

You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended.
You could be the one I’ll always love.

You could be the one who listens
To my deepest inquisitions,
You could be the one I’ll always love.

I’ll be there as soon as I can;
But I’m busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before.

First there was the one who challenged
All my dreams and all my balance.
She could never be as good as you.

You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended.
You should be the one I’ll always love.

I’ll be there as soon as I can;
But I’m busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before.

I’ll be there as soon as I can;
But I’m busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before.

Before you
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh

Songwriter: Matthew James Bellamy

1980s songs, breakup songs

Most of the Time- Bob Dylan

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I can survive and I can endure,
And I don’t even think about her…

The best way to read the lyrics to this song is to imagine you are catching up with a friend. You ask, “how are you?” You expect to hear “fine”. Instead, your friend pauses and says,” Well…most of the time I’m halfway content…” I would say to them “it’s that bad?”

This song’s meaning is not about most of the time–when the narrator is doing okay. “Most of The Time” is about the other times–the times the narrator has difficulty even talking or thinking about. He can only allude to these emotions.

Is it pride that stops him? Or embarrassment? Does he not want reveal commit to words that he might later regret? Or is the pain so bad that it would hurt to talk about the specifics?  Probably all three.

“Most of the Time” is extremely vulnerable and intimate for a Dylan song. The narrator is hurting due to a breakup. But only some of the time!  He speaks as if he is trying to convince himself (and us!) that most of the time he is fine, however, we can tell he is—in fact–not in a good place mentally.

Most of the Time Meaning & Lyrics
Dylan

From the verse to the bridge, the music and tone seem to shift from somber to agitated; and he ends the bridge angry. We can tell he is still emotional. If he is not lying to himself, he is only barely fine most of the time. This song shows off one thing about Dylan’s voice that is great—his ability to vocally emote. We know what he is saying and how he feels during “Most of the Time”. His ability to craft a song also stands out–as it often does.

“Most of the Time” is slightly deeper track of Dylan’s–if there is such a thing. You don’t meet many casual Dylan fans. There are people who like Rainy Day Women, and there’s people who know every lyric to every song from every bootleg. Thus, it is hard to judge just how beloved certain Dylan songs are when Dylanites seem to love all of them.  Though, perhaps this is true of any fanbase.

Click here for another great Dylan deep track.

Most of the Time Lyrics

Most of the time
I’m clear focused all around,
Most of the time
I can keep both feet on the ground.

I can follow the path,
I can read the signs.
Stay right with it
When the road unwinds.
I can handle whatever I stumble upon.
I don’t even notice that she’s gone.
Most of the time.

Most of the time
It’s well understood,
Most of the time
I wouldn’t change it if I could.

I can’t make it all match up,
I can hold my own;
I can deal with the situation
Right down to the bone.
I can survive and I can endure,
And I don’t even think about her.
Most of the time.

Most of the time
My head is on straight.
Most of the time
I’m strong enough not to hate.

I don’t build up illusion
‘Til it makes me sick,
I ain’t afraid of confusion,
No matter how thick.
I can smile in the face of mankind.
Don’t even remember
What her lips felt like on mine.
Most of the time.

Most of the time
She ain’t even in my mind.
I wouldn’t know her if I saw her,
She’s that far behind.

Most of the time
I can’t even be sure,
If she was ever with me,
Or if I was ever with her.

Most of the time,
I’m halfway content.
Most of the time,
I know exactly where it all went.

I don’t cheat on myself,
I don’t run and hide.
Hide from the feelings
That are buried inside.

I don’t compromise,
And I don’t pretend.
I don’t even care
If I ever see her again.
Most of the time.

Songwriter: Bob Dylan