So What
Unraveling Love's Equation: Ani DiFranco's 'So What' Meaning
Lyrics
who's gonna give a shit
Expressing a lack of concern or interest.
who's gonna take the call
Who will answer the call when faced with a situation?
when you find out that the road ahead
Realizing that the path ahead is illusory or misleading.
is painted on a wall
Metaphor for discovering the deception in one's journey.
and you're turned up to top volume
Being at the peak of emotional intensity.
and you're just sitting there in pause
Paused in contemplation despite the intensity.
with your feral little secret
A hidden and wild personal truth causing inner turmoil.
scratching at you with its claws
The emotional turmoil is persistent and unsettling.
and you're trying hard to figure out
Struggling to understand one's emotions.
just exactly how you feel
Reflecting on emotions before reaching a breaking point.
before you end up parked and sobbing
Reaching a moment of despair and vulnerability.
forehead on the steering wheel
Expressing deep emotional pain and distress.
who are you now
Questioning one's identity in the present and past.
and who were you then
Reflecting on the changes in identity over time.
that you thought somehow
Challenging the notion of pretending and self-deception.
you could just pretend
Questioning the ability to comprehend everything.
that you could figure it all out
Reference to the complexities of dealing with regret.
the mathematics of regret
Regret viewed as a mathematical equation.
so it takes two beers to remember now
Using alcohol to cope with memories and regrets.
and five to forget
Drinking as a means of forgetting past emotions.
that i loved you so
Reminiscing about past love and its impact.
yeah, i loved you, so what
Defiant acknowledgment of past love.
how many times undone
Reflecting on repeated personal struggles.
can one person be
Contemplating the toll of enduring hardships.
as they're careening through the facade
Navigating through the false facade of a desired reality.
of their favorite fantasy
Confronting a distorted perception of a favored fantasy.
you just close your eyes slowly
Close the eyes in anticipation of a significant moment.
like you're waiting for a kiss
Waiting for a moment of emotional connection.
and hope some lowly little power
Yearning for external intervention in a difficult situation.
will pull you out of this
Hoping for a minor force to rescue from despair.
but none comes at first
Initial attempts at help yield little or nothing.
and little comes at all
Minimal assistance, and the struggle persists.
and when inspiration finally hits you
Inspiration is not potent enough to bring relief.
it barely even breaks your fall
Inspiration has a limited impact on emotional well-being.
who were you then
Reflecting on past identity and present self-awareness.
and who are you
Questioning the authenticity of the current self.
now that you can't pretend
Facing the reality that pretending is no longer possible.
that you can figure it all out
Dealing with the complexities of understanding life.
subtract out the impact
Removing external influences to focus on the fall.
and the fall is all you get
Embracing the consequences and impact of the fall.
so it takes two beers to remember now
Using alcohol to recall and forget past emotions.
and three more to forget
Continuing the struggle to forget past love.
that i loved you so
Reiterating past love with a defiant attitude.
yeah, i loved you, so what
i loved you
Expressing past love without regret or apology.
so what
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