All For You is another song that was pulled from the older repertoire. It was written around 2000-2001 after the band had broken up. Alex and Larry were playing together again and as always when that happens new material gets written. The title “All For You” has always been the sam...e but the lyrics were redone leading up to the recording of “Memoirs”.
In this song our protagonist is experiencing the intense psychological pressures that can accompany inner transformation. Still all around him in the world there are things that he cannot change and an inner sense of self-doubt and so he falls into acute despair even contemplating suicide. He goes from questioning in the first verse, to angry in the second, to slightly insane in the third and finally he’s suicidal in the final tag section of the song. As we’ll see in the next song, “Already Home”, he makes his way through this desperate state and emerges from this intensely negative state transformed with true realization of the nature of self, like a dreamer waking from a nightmare.
The end of the song was originally a separate song called “Broken” and Aaron had the idea of bringing the two songs together. This worked well with the lyrical idea but it was in A-minor while “All For You” is in G-major. So we lowered the key of “Broken” from A-minor to G-minor which allowed us to pull off an interesting segue. It happens slowly throughout the song with the first inklings of key change in the third verse. You can hear the violin playing short, staccato stops with a flat 6th in it, a note borrowed from G-minor rather than the major 6th you’d hear in G-major. By the very end of the song, after the “You are my reason to be” section, you can hear the minor elements layering in more and more until it finally resolves fully in G-minor and we’re into the tag, “Broken.” Over top of this you can hear more violin work, beautifully played by our friend Frank Sullivan. He also played violin on “Flood”, “Poetry in Motion” and “Already Home” and he played mandolin on “No Hesitation”. He is an incredible musician and we were very happy to have him play with us on the record.
What you've said I can't believe it
For you cover my word so that no one can read it
And even though you treat me this way "Do what I say, do it my way"
I will still remain
I followed you through all of these things
I wandered around caught by your sound
They'll think it was me tying your hand won’t understand it was your plan
When it all began
I don't see your mind
It is with me for all time
I did it all for you
When is it I get my return
For I know what I am what I want and you cannot say that is fair
That it is fair I was here from the start I did my part gave you my heart
I did it every day
We had everything
But your selfish needs, your fame and your greed made me bleed
And I got thrown into confusion
I cannot feel I cannot say I cannot love
And I don't see your mind
It is with me for all time
I did it all for you
Tonight may be the night
I walk into the light
I did it all for you
What is this loathing I've under my skin crawling around for the way I am
Thousands of them, I can not get away. I must go to the end
And I don't see your mind
It is with me for all time
I did it all for you
Tonight may be the night
I walk into the light
I did it all for you
--
You will never be my God again
I will never be your friend again
You have forced me to desert you
Even though I don't want to
Why
Do I
Even try
I'm more than frightened
I'm broken
I think I'm ready to die
I'm broken
Tonight I think may be the night
I'm broken
Ready to walk into the light
credits
from memoirs,
track released September 11, 2010
bertoglio, france, hanford, petty
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