Written by: Derek Webb
Appears on: Intimate Portrait, Guild 2
Lyrics:
I’ve been putting on and putting off too many people
And I’m getting old to live like an injured man
Ailment and unfilled prescription like the nose on my face
Like a broken boat safety raft and a love for the water
And I just can’t decide to sink or swim it’s me or them
Should I save myself or go back for the others because
Maybe there’s no gray and I was wrong to tell ‘em so
And maybe all that I’ve to do was done a long time ago
‘Cause there was life before my life
There was provision before my need
There was redemption before my sin
For the sake of the world I thank the Lord
That the truth’s not contingent on me
I’ve been dressing up and dressing down for too many people
And I’m a little young to live like a troubled boy, a troubled soul
A fish out of water, ’cause we’re all just the same
We’re all just as good and just as bad and just as distracted
By the corners of our eyes as our fathers were and theirs before
And all those before them and still I glance around
And with the way I stare you’d think I’d seen through a two-by-four
And with the way I walk you’d think I’d never seen grace before
But I’ve been putting up and putting down too many things
That I know nothing about but I’m jealous of
Holding pride as tight as I can like she was my only daughter
See also: MusicBrainz.
Derek on this song:
There is a video clip of Derek introducing this song on Intimate Portrait…
What it Means:
“Maybe there’s no gray and I was wrong to tell ‘em so”…this line refers to the lyric that he wrote in “Another 10 Miles” that said “Nothing is black and white, even me I must admit.”
Other Notes:…when Derek wrote this song, what he had in mind was the electric-guitar driven version found on the Guild 2 CD. He didn’t want to use this song for the Intimate Portrait CD but he was pressured to by Warner Alliance…the recording of this song, at SBC Studio in Houston, TX, can be viewed on the enhanced portion of the Intimate Portrait CD…