INTERNET! Why can’t you get the lyrics right?

Here’s what I think the lyrics are:

Someone said they left together
I ran out the door to get her
She was holding hands with Trevor
Not the greatest feeling ever
Said, “Pull yourself together
You should try your luck with Heather”
Then I hope they slept together
Oh, the less I know the better
The less I know the better

Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side
No surprise when you’re on his shoulder like every night
Oh my love, can’t you see that you’re on my mind
Don’t suppose you could convince your lover to change his mind
So goodbye

She said, “It’s not now or never,
Wait ten years, we’ll be together”
I said, “Better late than never,
Just don’t make me wait forever”
Don’t make me wait forever
Don’t make me wait forever

Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side?
I don’t suppose you could convince your lover to change his mind

I was doing fine without ya
’Til I saw your face, now I can’t erase
Giving in to all his bullshit
Is this what you want, is this who you are?
I was doing fine without ya
’Til I saw your eyes turn away from mine
Ah sweet talking where he wants you
So come on Superman, say your stupid line
So come on Superman, say your stupid line
So come on Superman, say your stupid line

The unexpectedly sexy-hot video version doesn’t help:

The video takes the perspective that the song is basically the whole rejection story. The girl is doing most of the speaking except when the song explicitly says, “I said.” — There’s a strong case for this but that’s a different post, I believe he’s speaking to himself most of the time. That’s my perspective, fuck the video (regardless of how cool it is).

Back to the words. Let’s go down the list of wrongness:

Google tries to be helpful but gets the first damn line wrong, so not very promising:

Live/Left. The context and a careful listening make it clear, “Someone said they left together,” Even if you think “live together” is right, the next sentence is clearly: “I ran out the door to get her.”

Which makes more sense:
Someone said they left together, I ran out the door to get her, she was holding hands with Trevor.
or
Someone said they live together, [omit I] ran out the door together, she was holding hands with Trevor.

So he doesn’t emphasize his “e” in “left” and then puts the “T” of “left” on the “together.” You hear him do something similar on “not the greatest feeling ever.” Where he is really light on the first “t” of greatest and doesn’t emphasize the second “e” of ever. He also does it on “out the door to get her.” It’s just how he sings it. It doesn’t mean she’s living with Trevor! (Fuck Trevor!).

It’s LEFT, Internet. LEFT TOGETHER!

Next….

According to Google and a number of other websites:

“And I hope they slept together”
or
“Then I heard they slept together”
or
“Man, I hope they slept together”

This one is tough. Lyrically, it seems like we’re still outside the door he just ran through, looking at the encounter.

Now there are a few things could be happening here. First, she and Trevor have already slept together or they haven’t. And the song is either jumping into the future or we’re still in the present after he ran out the door.

If he’s jumped into the future then, “Then I heard they slept together” works well and he’s responding to the unseen source of the gossip.

However, if he’s still in the present, then he could hope they slept together (perhaps at the party? before leaving and holding hants).

The word definitely sounds like “hope” — when he sings “yourself” later in the song, though he doesn’t close his “r” sounds but it is clearly an “r” — so he makes his ‘R’s clear and there isn’t one here.

If we consider the whole phrase to be, “Said, ‘pull yourself together, you should try your luck with Heather.’” I think the verdict is clear:

Then I hope they slept together.

And the he’s not telling some unseen person, he’s continuing to tell himself, “Oh, the less I know the better,” about what has already happened.

I think this is a stronger choice because telling himself The Less I Know the Better is that reminder we all try to remember.

Next…

Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side
No surprise when you’re on his shoulder like every night

The repeat of this chorus has a slight variation… Google and others think, “can’t you see a child on my mind.” WTF?!?! He wants to have a child with her even though he was just saying to himself, “try your luck with Heather.”

Now the music video interprets the line “said, ‘pull yourself together, you should try your luck with Heather,” as coming from the girl. Like our singer has interrupted Trevor and her and is freaking out. Maybe this is a valid interpretation but “pull yourself together” is more often spoken to oneself.

And later in the song the author is more direct, “She said….” when speaking of things she said. It’d be easy to fit “she said” into that phrase if it was her speaking. (i.e. “She said, ‘pull yourself together, you could try your luck with Heather.” could easily fit)

EITHER WAY… he doesn’t want a child. The line is clearly “can’t you see that your on my mind.” He’s doing the thing that singers do where they lazily turn the “y” into “ch” — he does it elsewhere in the song. It’s no big deal.

“Oh my love, can’t you see that you’re on my mind.”

Okay, there are more mistakes… It seems like he is saying “you” not “we” when asking her to get her lover to change his mind. Also, it’s not “waiting years” it’s clearly “wait ten years.” Or my favorite obvious fuck-up, “Eating into all his bullshit” is so clearly wrong, it’s definitely “giving into all his bullshit.” There is no “T” in there.

But there is one lyric I cannot figure…

Right after the last “Til I saw your eyes turn away from mine,” and before “So come on super man, say you’re stupid line.”

There is an “A” sound vowel “Ah” or a back of the throat, “O” sound, then some syllables and “where he wants you.”

Google (and others) oddly suggests: “He’s not going where he wants you.” WTF?

That’s just weird, it is clearly not the vowels sounds. And it only makes sense if you imply a “to go” at the end of the line, “He’s not going where he wants you to go.” Implying some sort of weird duplicity — he wants you to do stuff he’s not willing to do…. which is just — huh?

Other sites suggest: Oh, sweet darling, where he wants you.

This is what I heard after listening carefully, as well. But the whole rest of the song is pretty sensical and throwing in a phrase like “sweet darlin’” is out of place. The rest of the song he refers to her as his “love” now he’s going mushy southern slang?

And so I isolated that portion of the song and now I think it’s a “t” not a “d”.

“Sweet talking where he wants you.”

Now, this has the virtue of — like — making sense… except the “Ah” sound before the line, “Ah, sweet talking where he wants you.” (No, it isn’t an “Oh, sweet talking…” all his other ‘Ohs’ in the song are very clear “O” sounds).

So what the hell is that line?!

I can’t find a fit — even trying to change it to “Always sweet talking where he wants you” doesn’t make fit. Same with “All sweet talk where he wants you.” — They’re close but not quite right.

Also, he mentioned he’s bullshitting her, so “sweet talk” fits better with that theme. But I’m still unsure…. what is it?! For now, I leave it as “Ah sweet talking where he wants you.” — Seems closer.