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about

Musically, this comes from two places. The first was a jazz harmony class all about ii-V-I progressions, which are all over this thing (I even got to throw in a tritone substitution before the last chorus). The second was when the Decemberists released a song that inadvertently revealed just how easy it is to write your own Murmur-style R.E.M. guitar riffs. Thanks, fellas.

Lyrically, this song is about the honeymoon period, where problems are either cute or inconsequential, written during the actual thing. Accordingly, the references to the good times passing away were originally supposed to have an optimistic, seize-the-day aspect that now seems considerably darker. I still see this as fundamentally positive, though. Not having enough time with someone is only a problem, as it is here, if you've found someone worth spending time with in the first place.

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lyrics

the weekend's coming but you know it never lasts
you're distracted, honey
I'll see you later when the curtain hits the cast
we'll be off and running

it's alright that we've been stretched so thin
I'm fine exhausted
'cause there's an eye to the swirl we're living in
we haven't lost it

it's when we're in bed, damning our phones
'cause the outside world won't leave us alone
but it goes away

when it stays
we can share it
if it goes away
it's still worth caring
let's raise our glasses
to the moment as it passes
'cause all good things are temporary

I don't think there's anything to change
with prayers and curses
just get it started and stand right in its way
don't dare reverse it

there's a little madness to all this anyhow
the way things happen
circumstances will not get me down
a man can dream again

I'm getting better but I'm still learning
who's not afraid of what isn't certain?
but it goes away

when it stays
we can share it
if it goes away
it's still worth caring
let's raise our glasses
to the moment as it passes
'cause all good things are temporary

I've got my doubts
I've got to face them
you might give me scars
but that's like saying
"when lights go out
we won't replace them
we'll sit around in the dark"
and that's just crazy

I'm getting better but I'm still learning
who's not afraid of what isn't certain?
but it goes away

when it stays
we can share it
if it goes away
it's still worth caring
let's raise our glasses
to the moment as it passes
'cause all good things are temporary

when it stays
we can share it
if it goes away
it's still worth caring
let's raise our glasses
to the moment as it passes
'cause all good things are temporary

credits

from Higher Learning, released July 10, 2013
written by David Gassmann

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The Napoleon of Crime Washington, D.C.

"He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order . . . My horror at his crimes was lost in my admiration at his skill." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Final Problem" ... more

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