don't get mad when i stare at you with nothing to say

#005 - Second Best - 2009

I wrote "Second Best" really fast as I was working on recording some of the other demos this fall. It's going to be a part of the "Emotional Masochism" album that I've been configuring and reconfiguring since about 2003 mainly because it falls in line with the rest of those songs. It was a different songwriting approach than I normally use in that I constructed the rhythm parts first and then layered guitars over that. Extensive use of backup vocals. Lyrics below:

"Second Best"

meltdowns turn to

breakdowns turn to

mass hysteria

I told you

that I was going to be the boy who

takes care of ya

Treat you better than you’d ever been treated before

Up until that day you finally threw me out the door

Go ahead and rip my heart out of my chest

I’d rather be nothing at all than be second best

And don’t get mad when I stare at you with nothing to say

Cuz I’m not the one who threw it all away

breakups turn to

make ups turn to

same old mistakes

I told you

that I was giving you

my heart until it breaks

Now it’s in a million pieces scattered across the floor

But still I just keep coming back coming back for more

Go ahead and rip my heart out of my chest

I’d rather be nothing at all than be second best

And don’t get mad when I stare at you with nothing to say

Cuz I’m not the one who threw it all away

sadness turns to

madness turns to

a whole lot of lies

I told you

that I was never really good at

kissing you goodbye

I’m feeling so confused about the words that made us cry

Gotta leave you in the past and reclaim my life

Go ahead and rip my heart out of my chest

I’d rather be nothing at all than be second best

And don’t get mad when I stare at you with nothing to say