Bad Habits
Echoes of Desires: Unraveling the Bad Habits in Ben Harper's Melodic Tale
Lyrics
I got a bad habit slowly sinkin' in
I have a bad habit that is gradually taking hold of me.
I got a bad habit now slowly sinkin' in
The bad habit is intensifying and becoming more ingrained.
Got me hearin' voices, seein' through my skin
I am experiencing hallucinations or intense perceptions, possibly related to the bad habit.
When a man gives you his hat, he's livin' on borrowed time
When someone shares something valuable (like a hat), it symbolizes a limited time or borrowed time.
When a man gives you his hat, he's livin' on borrowed time
Reiterating the idea that the giver of the hat is living on borrowed time.
The shoe fits so I wore it but I left one lace untied
Accepting a situation (wearing the shoe) but not fully committing to it (leaving one lace untied).
Just a bad habit now of wantin' what I need
Developing a bad habit of desiring things that I actually need.
Got a bad habit of wantin' what I need
The bad habit persists, wanting necessities rather than luxuries.
I may have been born to buy, I ain't never been free
Suggesting a conflict between a natural inclination to acquire and a desire for freedom.
I cry once a day, it's a condition of the heart
Expressing a regular emotional release, possibly caused by matters of the heart.
Oh, I cry once a day, Lord, it's a condition of the heart
Reaffirming the emotional release as a condition of the heart.
You're like a puzzle in a box but I'm the one comin' all apart
Comparing a relationship to a puzzle, with the speaker feeling like they are falling apart.
Got a bad habit, you know the one I mean
Acknowledging the existence of a particular bad habit.
I got a bad habit now, you know the one I mean
Reiterating the presence and acknowledgment of the specified bad habit.
No before, no after, only inbetween
Emphasizing the lack of clear distinctions (before or after), only an ambiguous "in-between."
It's a bad habit, buries me in the dark
Describing the bad habit as something that engulfs the speaker in darkness.
Got a bad habit now, buryin' me in the dark
Reaffirming the worsening nature of the bad habit, burying the speaker in darkness.
'Til the only light is a match that just won't spark
Highlighting a point where only a dim light (symbolized by a match) fails to ignite.
The only light, only light
Emphasizing the absence of any other light except for the match that won't spark.
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