FSOTD: "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade

Let me explain why I love this song...

1) It's by Mayday Parade.  And if a song is by Mayday Parade, it's pretty much a guarantee that I'm going to love it.

2) It's a Slow Build Ballad: it starts off slow and sweet, mellow and acoustic, then breaks out into a gut-wrenching sound with instrumentals and percussion.  The effect is both gorgeous and tragic.  Slow Build Ballads are my favorite.

3) This song takes a very different approach to love and loss.  Where usually the message is "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," the story here is just the opposite: A father telling his son to never fall in love in the first place because there's too much to lose if it goes away.  The father loves his son too much to watch him go through the pain that he has experienced.  I love that this song offers a different perspective.  It's harsh, but it's also real.  And I think it's terribly beautiful.

The first time I listened to this song, I didn't see the tragic twist coming at all.  And of course I started crying.  And of course I was driving.  Crying and driving are two activities that should not be done simultaneously.

Listen and love (just not while driving).



By the time I was your age I'd give anything

To fall in love truly was all I could think.
That's when I met your mother, the girl of my dreams,
The most beautiful woman that I'd ever seen.

She said, "Boy can I tell you a wonderful thing?
I can't help but notice you staring at me.
I know I shouldn't say this, but I really believe,
I can tell by your eyes that you're in love with me."

Now son,

I'm only telling you this 

Because life can do terrible things.

Now most of the time we'd have too much to drink,
And we'd laugh at the stars and we'd share everything.
Too young to notice and too dumb to care,
Love was a story that couldn't compare.

I said, "Girl can I tell you a wonderful thing?
I made you a present with paper and string.
Open with care now, I'm asking you please,
You know that I love you, will you marry me?"

Now son,

I'm only telling you this

Because life can do terrible things.

You'll learn one day, 

I'll hope and I'll pray,

That God shows you differently.

She said, "Boy can I tell you a terrible thing?
It seems that I'm sick and I've only got weeks.
Please don't be sad now, I really believe,
You were the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

Slow, so slow

I fell to the ground on my knees.

So don't fall in love, there's just too much to lose.

If you're given the choice then I'm begging you choose

To walk away, walk away, don't let it get you,

I can't bare to see the same happen to you.

Now son,

I'm only telling you this

Because life can do terrible things.