Black Years

Story Behind The Song

Black Years is an up-tempo rock song with a good balance of dynamics. The instrumentation is vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic drums, and keyboard. Black Years was released in late 2018 on the Gocasual album All the Old Ghosts. The song placed as a finalist in the 2018 SongDoor International Songwriting Competition. The judges praised the song saying, "Man, you can really write lyrics. Not only are they intelligent, but they're thoughtful and full of insight. Really good structure and phrasing, and whomever does your arrangements deserves a Grammy®. The manic melodies kind of belie the subject matter, but that can be interpreted in any number of different ways. Fantastic dynamics - those choices lend a ton of personality to the song. Hard rock is often so pretentious ... this is such a breath of fresh air." I have an instrumental mastered mix and an electronic remix of this song too.

Song Length 4:03 Genre Rock - Alternative, Rock - Punk
Tempo Fast (151 - 170) Lead Vocal Male Vocal
Subject Existence, Regret Similar Artists Foo Fighters, Green Day
Language English Era 2000 and later

Lyrics

People know they're right
I took the opposite of advice
Like I've done every single time
The truth was always the lesser evil
Even when I couldn't meet its eyes
I'll see if I can ever forgive myself
For wasting those black years

In the mirror this meant I looked around and around
Until the light had all run out

Reasoning, not reckoning
Waking up alarmed again
Hoping for impossible but living out the bearable

You can blame it on yourself
Especially when no one else will
For lack of living in the short time assigned

God is exhausted and begging for just one honest breath
Taken with the knowledge that
We're more important to ourselves than we can be to someone else
Everyone else is in your way

In the mirror this meant I looked around and around
Until the light had all run out

Reasoning, not reckoning
Waking up alarmed again
Hoping for impossible but living out the bearable

You can blame it on yourself
Especially when no one else will
For lack of living in the short time assigned

There's no monument, epitaph, or symbol to signify the simple
Whose blood is rich enough to satisfy the humble enjoying a good life?
Better men than me lived in obscurity
I'm not the man I thought I'd be

You can blame it on yourself
Especially when no one else will
For lack of living in the short time assigned

Lyrics Michael Larrabee Music Michael Roy
Producer Michael Roy Performance Michael Roy, Michael Larrabee, Stephen Haaker

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