an extended excercise in pompousity continued

Song #2 Faker The faker is the only song where I am gonna consider parts that were not actually on the album, I think that "the time is a song" part sheds light on the meaning a bit, but was scrapped because of stylistic differences with what I think Rob wanted to just be a country-pop ballad. Let me go on record as saying I do think that for the purposes of dither it was the right choice, although live it adds a lot both musically and poetically.

First off we do certainly know that it is not about "the famous outlaw played by charles bronson"

First let me start by giving my general impressions of the song without specifically targeting any lyrics. First off its is obviously a very very personal song, something that Rob was probably almost reluctant to write because it was so personal, but was probably therapeutic in doing so. I think this song deals with the feeling that most of us have at one time or another that we may be a fake. That we have spent so much of our time trying to fit in, or trying to fit others definitions of what a good person is, that we have in fact lost sight of who we actually are. Also it deals with finding who you truly are, and the constant struggle to follow that vision. I have dealt with this a lot, which may be one of the reasons why I think this is one of the best songs on dither.

Wastin away, sittin around, time on my hands, leaves on the ground, been showed the way, hinted around, never was certain and I never been found

I think this is addressing Rob's self percieved lack of direction in life or inability to find direction. I don't think that anybody has showed him the way unless it was possibly becca, but more of life in general has showed him the way, but that he didn't follow up because he wasn't sure enough or too scared. The fact that life never actually tells you anything directly but just hints around it. leaves on the ground is a concrete emotional suggestion (I believe thats what they are called anyway) where the image of leaves on the ground brings connotations of cold weather and bare, desolate trees, which is apperntly how rob feels during this time; cold, bare and desolate. never was certain goes back to him not being sure enough to follow up on what was hinted around, while never been found is talking about the fact that either nobody has really found who he is or that he has never found himself, or very likely both of them.

I am a faker, pretending along

This is pretty straight forward, Rob is confessing his "sin" of being a fake and pretending to be what he really knows in his heart that he is not, possibly because he has no idea what he "is", but knows this isn't it.

lost sight of my maker, I will die before I finish this song

This is a hard one for me, mainly because I have no personal ideas on what Rob views his maker to be, so therefore I have no idea what losing sight of said maker would entail. Also I will die before I finish this song is difficult because it could mean a lot of totally different things. Having laid out appropriate disclaimers: It could mean that he thinks that "the faker" will die before he finishes this song ie finally realizing and dealing with this will kill "the faker". Also it could more simply mean that it took him a long time to write this song and that he thought he would die before he finished it. I don't necessarily mean actually writing the song, but a more loose meaning in that I think if this is how it is to be interpreted it is more likely meaning that Rob figured he would likely die before he came to terms with this issue. That it would be more of a life long struggle than a victory that could be had. This is also interesting because of the way that the song ends live, it never seems to end and often is segued out of. Combining the two meanings I have laid out above leads an interesting an in my opinion better and more likely overall meaning. The word "song" in this song seems to be a symbol for a life, ideal life path or a means of elucidation or anything like that. Then when you look at I will die before i finish this song it seems to suggest that Rob feels like finding yourself is a lifelong journey, the constant personal evolution of a person makes it somewhat impossible to actually ever find who you are because when you find who you are you will have changed and then have to find a whole other person. You will in fact die before you find out who you are, that the only way to live is to not be any one thing, but be able to be a living changing entity. Also the fact that the lyrics are often changed could indicate a sense of neverending struggle. But the fact that it was indeed released on dither in a "final" version could mean that Rob has came to grips with this, and that he feels like he is going in the right direction, but then again it could just be that it was too good of a song to leave out. Undoubtedly this is one of the most meaningful choruses to ever grace a moe. tune, and the sheer number of ways that it can be interpreted is a credit to it. You don't have to experience exactly what Rob felt to be empathetic towards it, but you can experience any number of feelings and yet you have identified with it.

Been showed the way, hinted around, never was certain and i never been found, fakin away, pretendin around, rains in a bucket and there's dust on the ground

the first part is just a rehashing of familiar themes. Rains in a bucket and there's dust on the ground is one of the great couplets (do I have my poetry forms right?) in moe. history. First of all its a paradox, because there is rain in a bucket and dust on the ground. If it had just rained there wouldn't be dust on the ground, but rather mud. This could be a biblical allusion to when Moses or Joseph? laid out the sheep skin and said if it was wet and the ground dry the he would take that as a sign. I am sure I just butchered that all to hell, but I think it gets the basic idea. That he is recieving all these signs about where he is supposed to go in life and what he is supposed to do, but he is doing nothing about them. Also rain being in a bucket seems to suggest the passing of time, again the wasting away of time. Another possible meaning of this could be that while life is proverbially raining on Rob(in a good way) he is unable to make use of it ie he is still dust in spite of the fact that he has been given so much. One more meaning it could be is that rain is symbolising a cleansing effect, but it isn't reaching him, but rather is getting trapped in a bucket. the frequent use of ground and dust equaling humans is pretty solid here so either of the last two meanings I have given are what I am most comfortable with. It's hard to tell exactly what this means, but there in lies the beauty, it means all of these things, and the individual listener can pick his own although it probably has a specific meaning to Rob.

slippin away, waitin around, words in my brain, words make a sound, been showed the way, hinted around never was certain and I never been found, trippin away, slidin around, out in the rain, drops make a sound, fakin away, pretendin around, the jokes on you, get your jaw off the ground

"slippin away" could like most of this song be taken a couple of ways, first it could mean slipping as in making a mistake, but more likely is rob feeling as though he's beginning to slip away from what he considers to be his path in life. Rob is just waiting to find himself, or that the real path is just waiting for him to find it, again the beauty of this is that it can be taken either way and they both make contextual sense. "words in my brain, words make a sound" is obviously contrasted with "out in the rain, drops make a sound" and would really lose something if not taken in that context. Rob has all these complex ideas and words in his head, but when it all comes down to it they just make a sound, just like the rain drops do. The words and thoughts don't get him where he needs to be. Also I think it is fairly easy to say that the rain is here and likely throughout the song symbolising a cleansing type idea. A connection to what rob is looking for. The fact that Rob is out in the rain seems to suggest that he feels like he is being provided the tools with which to find his path ie the cleansing rain, but can't find his way or the way won't find him. The fact that "been showed the way hinted around... and trippin away slidin around" are between these two related verses suggest that they have a purpose in being put there. Been showed the way has already been examined so it won't be repeated here, but trippin away slidin around is interesting. First of all for the purposes of this examination trippin WILL NOT refer to being high. It is likely that Rob knew what he was doing, but other than the sense that Rob may think that he is wastin his life away by trippin all the time it will be thrown out as meaning that. Which for pro druggers either way it would hurt a pro drug stance, because if it does in fact mean drugs then it is decidedly anti drugs. trippin around most likely here means trippin over himself. Although Rob has been working so hard to find his path he almost feels like it is this effort that is getting in his way. Slidin around could mean that he is again sliding away from where he wants to be or also it could mean that he is sliding from place to place trying to figure out what is for him.

The jokes on you get your jaw off the ground

is the last non chorus part of this, which in that makes it really significant. It seems to me to mean to all those who have taken him how he is that "look, its all a joke I'm not really like that", now get your jaw off the ground. Also it could likely mean that he is not apologizing for what he is changing into. That if you really love him then you don't love what he seems to be at a specific point in time, but rather you love his essence, what he is deep inside, something that he may or may not actually be, but you love him for what his journey in life is, the ultimate Rob, the Rob he strives to be so to speak.

Ok now that is all that is on dither, but the live version has this:

time is a song just waiting for a singer
song is a fire that burns in the night
burning so hot that your flesh becomes thinner
If you can't hold the flame then you tend to lose sight

The wonderful world of multi symbolic prose. First off you have the equation of time equaling a song waiting for a singer. Time is something that is there no matter what, as is a song that is yet to be written its there waiting to be released or sung. Time has all these possibilities and it is just waiting for somebody to come along to realize these possibilities. Just because something doesn't happen doesn't mean that it isn't in time, just that no "singer" came along to "sing it". Also as noted earlier song is meaning the ultimate path in life, or a life itself, so then it can be taken as time is a life or path just waiting for somebody to live it. Further extending this to the next verse you get life is a fire that burns in the night. the symbol of fire for life is great on many levels. First you have the fact that a fire can only burn for so long, the life seems to be exuberant, but once it runs out of raw materials it is dead, and finished, and all that is left is what the life or fire touched. A life or fire can also be very comforting but also very destructive. The irony that both hitler and mother theresa both lived lives bores this out. You can either be a positive, lighting, warming, comforting life, or a destructive one.

The fact that it is burning in the night seems to suggest the darkness that surrounds our lives, and that other lives or fires are the only source of light. It goes back to the song where Rob is trying to find his way. But its dark outside and the only light that is around is the light that he himself produces. So the only true way to find the way, is to follow your own light, the light that emmanates from you. Burning so hot that your flesh becomes thinner if you can't hold the flame you tend to lose sight, indicates the difficulty you have following the flame. It is hard to be true to something, but if you can't hold that flame and take the negatives that it comes with, then you tend to lose sight of what you are searching for, and are left purely in the dark with no light to guide you.

When I first heard Faker I kinda got this feeling like it was something special, but never really took the time to think about the lyrics to it. For me at least this is one of the most deeply personal songs that Rob has ever written. TO look into the faker you look into the humanistic struggles Rob faces. You get a feel for who Rob is and how he strives to follow his inner flame so to speak. You can actually identify with Rob on a very deep personal level. I usually shy away from making personal judgements about a person from songs they have written, but to me I can't imagine this being written by anything other than a wonderful and thoughtful man. Who is deeply honest with himself, which is the irony of this song. Although Rob is claiming to be a faker most people never realize or will never admit to themselves that they are, and it is in this realization that Rob needs to constantly struggle to find his way that he is being honest to himself. I didn't mean to sound all new agey, but I really think that is what was meant by the song.

Jacob (I am dreading trying to decipher understand) Rabon

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