Can We Pretend
Can we pretend
That from now on
There is no yesterday
Paint a portrait of tomorrow
With no colors from today

[Chorus]
There's a light that shine in your face sometimes
That takes my feeling wraps them around your need
But there's shadow hiding in your heart sometimes
That makes my feelings turn back in on me

Can we pretend
The pain is gone
And go our merry way
Paint a portrait of tomorrow
With the colors bright and gay

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The song "Can We Pretend" by Bill Withers seems to express a desire to escape the pain of the present by pretending that everything is okay. The lyrics ask if it's possible to forget about yesterday and paint a picture of tomorrow without any of the negative colors from today. Essentially, the song is about the need to mentally escape from difficult circumstances and imagine a brighter future.

The second verse describes the conflicting feelings the singer has towards the person they're singing to. There's a light shining in their face that makes the singer want to wrap their feelings around the person's needs. However, there's also a shadow hiding in their heart that causes the singer's feelings to turn back in on themselves. This suggests that the person the singer is singing to may not be entirely trustworthy, or at least not consistently so.

Overall, the song is about the desire to forget about the struggles of the present and escape into a brighter, happier future. However, the lyrics also imply that this desire may be futile if the people around you are not reliable or are bringing negative energy into your life.

Line by Line Meaning

Can we pretend
Let's imagine

That from now on
Starting from this moment

There is no yesterday
Forget the past

Paint a portrait of tomorrow
Envision the future

With no colors from today
Without any influence from the present

There's a light that shine in your face sometimes
You have a bright side to you

That takes my feeling wraps them around your need
Your positivity makes me want to support you

But there's shadow hiding in your heart sometimes
However, there are also negative aspects

That makes my feelings turn back in on me
Which can make me feel uncertain about expressing myself

Can we pretend
Let's imagine

The pain is gone
That our suffering is over