You’re eating my heart away/
And there’s nothing much left of me.

Cat Steven’s “Trouble” is about a generic unease and the desire for relief. It is a great depiction about how a troubled mind/soul/body can almost overcome your whole being.  We feel for Stevens when he asks Trouble to “please be kind” to him. He has a gentle soul and the voice to match.

The best part of “Trouble” is the bridge: “I’ve seen your eyes…” The piano comes in and the song begins to take on another form than the verses. The verses tell us of his weariness, but the bridge sounds like his heart and body fighting back; like he is going to conquer this trouble.

Cat Steven’s “Trouble” is a beautiful song. For those not familiar with Cat Stevens, his story is fascinating. He was a huge star who gave up everything at the height of his fame to be an Islamic devotee. He didn’t perform any of his songs for 30 years. He also changed his name to Yusaf Islam.

He has an amazing catalog of work that is underrated for several reasons. One, is that I think people are turned off by the Islamic turn he had. Two, the fact that he turned his back to music that was important to so many fans. Three, most would consider him soft-rock, and as I have previously mentioned, I think that genre gets a bad rap.

Lyrics Trouble

Trouble
Oh trouble set me free
I have seen your face
And it’s too much too much for me

Trouble
Oh trouble can’t you see
You’re eating my heart away
And there’s nothing much left of me

I’ve drunk your wine
You have made your world mine
So won’t you be fair
So won’t you be fair

I don’t want no more of you
So won’t you be kind to me
Just let me go where
I’ll have to go there

Trouble
Oh trouble move away
I have seen your face
And it’s too much for me today

Trouble
Oh trouble can’t you see
You have made me a wreck
Now won’t you leave me in my misery

I’ve seen your eyes
And I can see death’s disguise
Hangin’ on me
Hangin’ on me

I’m beat, I’m torn
Shattered and tossed and worn
Too shocking to see
Too shocking to see

Trouble
Oh trouble move from me
I have paid my debt
Now won’t you leave me in my misery

Trouble
Oh trouble please be kind
I don’t want no fight
And I haven’t got a lot of time

written by Cat Stevens

What if you believe that the grass could grow/
Up through the snow, it’s possible.

In “Try”, Lisa Loeb contrasts herself with a friend who has a pessimistic viewpoint on life. Some might call it “realistic”, but Loeb says that if you just try to change your attitude, things could possibly be better. What is the worse thing that could happen? She thinks that you’ll find that you can accomplish a lot more if you only try.

Try is a great song about the benefits of taking the optimistic view on life. Perhaps we could all use a reminder to try to put things in perspective: like she says, most of our problems are little things. It is not like our dreams are shattered. Loeb always seemed like she has a very upbeat attitude and this song is a great representation of her personality.  This song is very on-brand.

As “Try” begins, Loeb uses a piano instead of her patented acoustic guitar. That is a wise choice. It helps to hear the song differently. The introductory chords sound like they are about to bring an important message. Overall, the lyrics in the song are very strong. They are much more straightforward than in much of her other work. Also, this is a fairly unique concept for a song. There are multiple good lines. Her voice sounds pretty like it always does. There is a lot going for  Lisa Loeb’s “Try”.

Try Lyrics

What’s the difference between you and me?
To me it’s kind of small.to you it’s like prison;
What’s the difference between you and me?
To me it almost happens, to you it almost isn’t.

How did you become so sure?

Your girlfriend never smiles, no one ever calls.
You begin to wonder if they were your friends at all.
You frown, you take a look around,
You shout, “this’ll never get better”.
But the doubt that you grow
In your field is sprouting,
Turning your field into a deeper valley.

You’d find
(I know you’ll find)
The mountains aren’t so high,
(The mountains aren’t so high)
If you’d only try,
To do better.

It’s 9:33 and the traffic, at the stoplight
Somebody hits you, nothing ever goes right
In the gridlock, nothing ever goes right.
But it’s just a little scratch, not a permanent scar,
It’s just a tiny dent, you don’t need a new car.
It’s just a little mess, your dreams aren’t shattered,
You climb up while I hold the ladder.

You’d find
(I know you’ll find)
The mountains aren’t so high,
(The mountains aren’t so high)
How many times I’ve tried.
How many time I’ve missed and I’ve tried
How many times I’ve tried,
How many time I’ve missed and I’ve tried
When everything’s so difficult, I feel so low.
But I find a better view on the other side of the window.
So that’s the difference between you and me.
What if you believe that the grass could grow
Up through the snow, it’s possible.

You’d find
(I know you’ll find)
The mountains aren’t so high,
(The mountains aren’t so high)
If you’d only try,
To do better than get by.
You’d find
(I know you’ll find)
The mountains aren’t so high,
(The mountains aren’t so high)
If you’d only try,
To do better you’d find
The mountains aren’t so high.
(The mountains aren’t so high)
If you’d only try
To do better than get by
To do better than get by

Songwriters: Lisa A. Loeb

If you knew how lonely my life has been/
And how long I’ve been so alone.

Randy Newman wrote “Feel’s Like Home” in the 80s, but it was Chantal Kreviazuk (and also Edwina Hayes) who turned this song from a C into an A. The lyrics tell a simple story about a loving relationship feeling like home. Despite its simple concept, the meaning is elegant; the song is much more passionate than the title suggests.

The lover’s eyes makes the narrator lose herself and her heart beats fast at the sound of his voice. The best line of the song is the one above, and Kreviazuk rightly highlights it in her version. She was lonely and alone until her love came along. The meaning is simple but incredibly moving.

The upbeat piano in Kreviazuk’s version is an interesting contrast with the slow finger-picking guitar of Hayes version. Both are great interpretations. Both are also these artists best performances. Kreviazuk’s feels more like a celebration. She feels genuinely surprised by her emotions and the words she’s saying. It gets the slight edge.

Lyrics Feels Like Home

Something in your eyes,
Makes me want to lose myself.
Makes me want to lose myself
In your arms.

There’s something in your voice
Makes my heart beat fast.
Hope this feeling lasts,
The rest of my life.

If you knew how lonely my life has been,
And how long I’ve been so alone.
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along,
And change my life the way you’ve done.

It feels like home to me,
It feels like home to me.
It feels like I’m all the way back where
I come from.
It feels like home to me,
It feels like home to me.
Feels like I’m all the way back where I belong.

A window breaks down a long dark street,
And a siren wails in the night.
But I’m alright ’cause I have you here with me,
And I can almost see through the dark there is light.

If you knew how much this moment means to me,
And how long I’ve waited for your touch.
If you knew how happy you are making me,
I never thought that I’d love anyone so much.

It feels like home to me,
It feels like home to me.
It feels like I’m all the way back where
I come from.
It feels like home to me,
It feels like home to me.
Feels like I’m all the way back where I belong.

Songwriters: Randy Newman