There’s an odd point in time when I see Jon Brion play, when I realize that although I love his unbelievable musical chops, his delightful and charming sense of humor, his love of all things pop, and the wonderful way he says motherfucker, that the reason his music hits me so hard is that he’s just as much of a romantic mope as I am.
Usually, the song that forces this realization upon me is Ruin My Day
i know it’s today
so i guess you could say one recovers
it’s odd you should call me
but then after all we were lovers
i don’t wait by the phone like i used to
i don’t hope for kind words you might say
you don’t prey on my mind like you used to
but you can still ruin my day
When I saw him the other night though it was the song that rang in the New Year for the East Coast, I Was Happy With You.
Luckily for Jon, but not for me, a musician can whine endlessly about a lost love as long as he puts it to a good tune. That probably isn’t even true of a good poet. So whereas Jon gets wild applause for echoing these sentiments, all my friends groan and tell me to move on. Hopefully, at least Jon would understand my plight.
I Was Happy with You
it was a break in communication
that’s what i’ve been told
for lack of evaluation
feelings unchecked and uncontrolled
and I was always living in my head
not speaking with my heart
isn’t that what you fucking said
cause your mind ripped us apart
chorus:
but I was happy with you
however I looked
whatever I did
whatever it was
i was happy about
the ins and the outs
the ups and the downs
the pros and the cons
i was happy with you
if it makes me a fool
maybe i am
maybe i was
verse:
i always counted us a lucky
for being on the right track
but not a day goes by without me
taking note of the fact
well it surprised me when you said
we’ve been wrong for quite some time
am I so easily misled
perhaps i’m really blind
chorus
verse:
stop sending me the message
that we were nearly done
it’s part of everyone’s rite of passage
to have to fucking leave someone
i can’t tell you what you’ve got in store
or what you’re missing cause
it’s not my business anymore
it probably in fact never was
