Demo: Because (Demo 3)

Because
Demo 3
August 5, 2004
[3:14]


[ Download ]

Lyrics:

If the light from the window is making you weep,
The sidewalks are bare and you're struggling to sleep,
Then why is it some people smile at the dawn?
It's all clear to me but I'm not letting on.

The world's turning east but the wind's to the west,
And in all of your time here you couldn't have guessed
If the sun is so bright why the sky is still blue;
Well, I know the answer but I'm not telling you.

If you feel like you're wasting the time of your life,
You tally your days in the wall with a knife,
Then how come the good times are fresh in your brain?
Don't ask me to say when the cause is so plain.

And why is it everyone acts as they do?
I'd tell you why but I haven't a clue.

They say that today is the first of the rest of your life,
And the last of the life that you've known;
And you can sleep in and hide,
You can make it outside,
Take what you see and then make it your own.

So why is it everyone acts as they do?
I'd tell you why but I haven't a clue.

You see that today is the first of the rest of your life,
The last of the life that you've lived;
And you can stare straight ahead
Or look backwards instead,
But if you like what you get,
Then we'd love what you give.

Instruments: Dean Exotica QSE Acoustic/Electric Guitar.

At some point during summer 2004 I came up with the vague idea of turning the cliché phrase — "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." — into some kind of song lyric. I ended up deciding to tack it onto Because, for which I had recorded two previous demos a year before.

Taking a fresh look at the song, I ended up changing the vocal style and the guitar style to something much softer. I also changed the song's key from C to E (played the same way, using a capo on the fourth fret of the guitar).

In this version, the theme of the song is even more solidly established — first, narrowing in on the depressive aspect of the first three verses by removing the old final verse; leaving intact the subsequent admission of cluelessness; and finally, appending the new verses to close on a positive (albeit still somewhat clueless) note.