Pedro the Lion – Never Leave a Job Half Done
“Blood stains on the carpet, blood stains on my hands. Drag her toward the kitchen, hide the evidence. Oh, the toil a lie can bring, quitters never know. But lies can be the perfect things, if they never show. The crisis posed a question, just beneath the skin. The virtue in my veins replied, 'Quitters never win'. She almost ruined everything. Oh, the toil a lie can bring, quitters never know. But lies can be the perfect things, if they never show.”
This song, which is about a husband who has just murdered his wife and is now trying to cover up what he did, poses perhaps two arguments. By simply reading straight through the lyrics, the argument is that if you lie you can get away with it. People, who are quitters, don’t see a lie through until the end and don’t know that “lies can be the perfect things, if they never show.” However, from the tone and certain words in song, it seems as though this is a very cynical argument. David Bazan is most likely making the argument that even though quitters never win, that phrase doesn’t apply to all situations.
Because this is a song, the intended audience would likely be anybody who listened. The intended audience is also those who have the audacity to say that “winners never quit” or “never leave a job half done.” Obviously, these are not eternal truths or sayings.
The cynical nature of this argument is very effective. By juxtaposing the phrase “quitters never win” with a situation where a man is trying to hide the evidence of killing his wife brilliantly shows paradoxical nature of all encompassing phrases working in real life situations. By also suggesting that the “virtue in my veins” told him that quitters never win also adds to the cynicism.
“Blood stains on the carpet, blood stains on my hands. Drag her toward the kitchen, hide the evidence. Oh, the toil a lie can bring, quitters never know. But lies can be the perfect things, if they never show. The crisis posed a question, just beneath the skin. The virtue in my veins replied, 'Quitters never win'. She almost ruined everything. Oh, the toil a lie can bring, quitters never know. But lies can be the perfect things, if they never show.”
This song, which is about a husband who has just murdered his wife and is now trying to cover up what he did, poses perhaps two arguments. By simply reading straight through the lyrics, the argument is that if you lie you can get away with it. People, who are quitters, don’t see a lie through until the end and don’t know that “lies can be the perfect things, if they never show.” However, from the tone and certain words in song, it seems as though this is a very cynical argument. David Bazan is most likely making the argument that even though quitters never win, that phrase doesn’t apply to all situations.
Because this is a song, the intended audience would likely be anybody who listened. The intended audience is also those who have the audacity to say that “winners never quit” or “never leave a job half done.” Obviously, these are not eternal truths or sayings.
The cynical nature of this argument is very effective. By juxtaposing the phrase “quitters never win” with a situation where a man is trying to hide the evidence of killing his wife brilliantly shows paradoxical nature of all encompassing phrases working in real life situations. By also suggesting that the “virtue in my veins” told him that quitters never win also adds to the cynicism.
1 comment:
Insanity can take the disguise of altruism.
Post a Comment