June 22, 2010

My Favorite Lyric Tuesday
You and I Both - Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz is an amazing lyricist and I have a feeling he will make his way onto many, My Favorite Lyric Tuesday entries. I have so many favorite lines of his, but I thought I'd pick this line from You and I Both, a cut that Mraz had been singing in San Diego coffee houses many years before his 2002 debut album was released.

See I'm all about them words
Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words
Hundreds of pages, pages, pages forwards
More words then I had ever heard and I feel so alive

I selected this not only because it really is one of my favorite Mraz songs, but I recently was watching his "Tonight Not Again" DVD, and he talked about writing the song. I was always intrigued by the pattern and how he managed to romanticize the word "words." And the word "unencumbered" also always struck me.

Mraz explained that he wrote the song for an ex-girlfriend, someone who inspired his path to songwriting. She loved the word "unencumbered" and he tossed it in there as a salute to her; so she would know the song was for her.

And as sweet as the song is, it has its bittersweet ending.

And it's okay if you have go away Oh just remember the telephone works both ways And if I never ever hear them ring If nothing else I'll think the bells inside Have finally found you someone else and that's okay Cause I'll remember everything you sang

Great song ... enjoy the video; one of my favorite live version of the song. The "unencumbered" line is at 1:10.


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