Make me lie, when I don’t want to/
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool.

“The Weakness in Me” by Joan Armatrading is a heartbreaking, personal song that you probably have not heard. Armatrading’s sound (in this song at least) is similar to Tracy Chapman, but she never got the airplay or the accolades that Chapman did. This song preceded Chapman’s and ranks higher than any of her songs, though Chapman’s catalog overall is better.

“The Weakness in Me” tells the story of a woman in a relationship who meets someone while she is currently in love. Her current lover loves her, why would she look twice at anyone else? But she begins to fall for the new lover. We hear her struggle to keep the new love at bay. It is so hard. The physical chemistry is undeniable. It begins to complicate her life. Is she weak? Does her new lover feel this way about her too?

By the end of the song we know what decision she will probably end up making, though she doesn’t outright say it. If this is at all autobiographical, I don’t think it would go well if she didn’t breakup with the old love and move to the new one. That would make for an awkward record-listening release party.

The song is kind of jazz-ish, in both her vocal, and the heavy use of bass and piano. The bass plays a big part in creating the sound of this song. Her vocal is amazing. Notice that she doesn’t belt out any notes in an attempt for emphasis. We already hear the emotion in her words right from the beginning of the song. The lyrics are great. The words she chooses can be unexpected at times and she is able to convey a lot of thoughts in a few words. (see above).

The Weakness In Me Lyrics

I’m not the sort of person who falls
In and quickly out of love.
But to you I gave my affection,
Right from the start.

I have a lover who loves me-
How could I break such a heart?
Yet still you gained my attention.

Why do you come here,
When you know I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
When you know I can’t answer the phone?

Make me lie, when I don’t want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool.
You make me stare, when I should not,
Are you so strong or is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
And pretend to be just passing by?
But I need to see you,
And I mean to hold you
Tightly.

Feeling guilty, worried,
Waking from tormented sleep.
This old love has me bound,
But this new love cuts deep.

If I choose now, I’ll lose out;
One of you has to fall.
But I need you, and you…

Why do you come here,
When you know I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
When you know I can’t answer the phone?

Make me lie, when I don’t want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool
You make me stare, when I should not,
Are you so strong or is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
And pretend to be just passing by?
But I need to see you,
And I mean to hold you
Tightly.

written by Joan Armatrading

I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song/
I’m twenty-two now but I won’t be for long.

Aging, Time and Love are themes in several of Simon’s songs and that is the theme here, in “Leaves That Are Green”. I always found the lyric above interesting. If you take it literally, it is nonsensical: you could never write this song with these lyrics when you were 21 but now be 22 and have the words be the same. But we get what he is saying. Ultimately, he ties this song back to his love a girl. Once it was green like spring, now it is dying and turning to brown. The relationship is ending. That is a powerful simile if ever there was one.

Make sure you listen to the acoustic version of “Leaves That Are Green” from the Paul Simon songbook. We can hear Simon’s expertise at finger-picking. He is a very precise guitar player. This version is just Simon singing—without Garfunkel. Just as with The Boxer, we can hear that Simon has an incredible, underrated voice that is capable of singing lead on an all-time great song. His voice was not as fantastic as Garfunkels’ but few are. Maybe it was an A compared to an A+. He conveys emotion without overindulging. He is a great example for aspiring male vocalists to emulate.

Leaves That Are Green Lyrics

I’m twenty-two now but I won’t be for long
Time hurries on
And the leaves that are green
Turn to brown
And they wither in the wind
And they crumble in your hand
Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl

I held her close but she faded in the night
Like a poem I meant to write
And the leaves that are green
Turn to brown
And they wither with the wind
And they crumble in your hand
I threw a pebble in a brook
And watched the ripples run away

And they never made a sound
And the leaves that are green
Turn to brown
And they wither iwith the wind
And they crumble in your hand
Hello, hello, hello, hello
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
That’s all there is
And the leaves that are green
Turn to brown

written by Paul Simon

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go/
So make the best of this test and don’t ask why.

Were it not for the title, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” I think I would have a completely different take on this song by Green Day. The advice the narrator gives could be to anyone. In fact, when he sings the song we almost think he is giving the advice to himself. (And he very well could be). However, the song’s title is “Good Riddance” which leads us to believe that this is a breakup song and that the ‘you’ he is talking about is an ex-lover.

The narrator repeats the refrain, “I hope you’ve had the time of your life” several times. I think this line is misunderstood. I don’t think he is being sarcastic. I believe he is genuinely sad over a breakup and is sorry (but not so sorry) for the fact that it had to end. Overall, he is wishing his ex-lover the best and wishing that she has fond memories of their time together but knows that he made the right decision in terminating the relationship.

The sound in “Good Riddance” is quite a departure from what we normally hear from Green Day. I would have loved to hear more songs in this vein, as it is clear that they can write and perform amazing ballads. Interestingly, I think their two best songs are their two songs that stray furthest from the rest of their catalog: Good Riddance and Wake Me Up When September ends.

The finger-picking on top of the string arrangement is a classic, and it sounds great over Billie Joe Armstrong’s rough-around-the-edges vocals. The string arrangement is done well and the false start in the beginning is an interesting touch that lets their more hardcore fans know that they are still the foul-mouthed band you know and love.

You may also like this older song, with a similar theme.

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Lyrics

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road,
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test and don’t ask why,
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial,
For what it’s worth it was worth all the while.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right,
I hope you had the time of your life.
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

written by Green Day (Michael Pritchard / Billie Joe Armstrong / Frank Wright)