Framing Hanley is a five piece alternative rock band from Cookeville (Tenne… Read Full Bio ↴Framing Hanley is a five piece alternative rock band from Cookeville (Tennessee), United States. Nixon, Chris, Brandon, Tim, and Luke came together to form a band that was eventually named Framing Hanley. (The band was called by a different name up until 2006, Embers Fade, but changed in dedication to a great friend of the band, Ashley Hanley, who passed away.) With their amazing musical abilities and live show the band quickly gained a large following in Nashville. In November of 2006, the band was fortunate to hook up with producer Brett Hestla (Dark New Day), who helped harness their energy into two songs. These two songs were enough to capture the attention of Jeff Hanson (Creed, Sevendust, Shinedown, Paramore) and his record label Silent Majority Group.

Their debut album 'The Moment' came out May 15th, 2007 on Silent Majority Group.

Framing Hanley's sophomore album, titled 'A Promise To Burn', was released on May 27th, 2010.

Framing Hanley is:
Kenneth Nixon: Vocals
Ryan Belcher: Guitar
Brandon Wootten: Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jonathan Stoye: Bass, Backing Vocals
Chris Vest: Drums

Former Members:
Tim Huskinson: Guitar (2005-2008)
Luke McDuffee: Bass, Backing Vocals (2005-2013)
Nathan Birdwell: Guitar

It's Not What They Said
Framing Hanley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Like a foggy mirror,
Where receptions blurred
And things could stand to be clearer.
Sometimes it's hard to look you in the eye.

[Chorus]
If I could be the man on your shoulder
A God as you grow older.

I'd sleep so much easier tonight.
Close your eyes, they'll tell a story,
Of happy endings.
Close your eyes, re-write the story,
A new beginning.
It's not what they said, and it's not what we read
And all the promises they made us,
Are all shattered on the ground.

Your defense,
You've done no wrong
And live life in innocence,
So how could they have looked you in the eye?

[Chorus]

It's on the ground.
And when the cards are down,
It's safe to say that all bets are off.
It's on the ground.
And when the cards are down,
Well it's time to play, it's hard to say.
So bet all call.

It's not what they said, and it's not what we read
And all the promises they made us,
Are all shattered on the ground.
It's not what they said, and it's not what we read
And all the promises they made us,
Are all shattered on the ground.

Shattered on the ground,
All the cards are down
Everything they told us
Has always been so wrong,

So wrong, so wrong.
So wrong

Overall Meaning

The song "It's Not What They Said" by Framing Hanley is about lies and broken promises. The opening lines of the song compare the situation to a foggy mirror, where things are blurred and not clear. The lyrics suggest that despite promises made, things did not turn out the way they were supposed to, and the singer struggles to look someone in the eye because of it.

The chorus of the song revolves around the idea of being a source of support to someone as they grow older. The singer wishes to be like a God to the person on their shoulder, taking away their fears and helping them to rewrite their story with a happy ending.

The latter half of the song has the lyrics reiterating the fact that everything promised fell apart, and the person depicted in the song has done nothing wrong. The lines, "And all the promises they made us, are all shattered on the ground," convey a sense of trust that was betrayed. The song ends on a melancholic note, with the character heartbroken by the shattered promises and how everything they were told was wrong.

Line by Line Meaning

Like a foggy mirror,
Life is constantly distorted like looking in a foggy mirror.

Where receptions blurred
Clarity seems non-existent in communication.

And things could stand to be clearer.
Communication could be improved if clarity was achieved.

Sometimes it's hard to look you in the eye.
Some things are difficult to confront.

If I could be the man on your shoulder
If I could help guide you, I would.

A God as you grow older.
A guiding force that helps you as you age.

I'd sleep so much easier tonight.
I would feel better if I knew I could help you.

Close your eyes, they'll tell a story,
When you close your eyes and reflect, you can learn a lot.

Of happy endings.
Reflect on the good moments in life.

Close your eyes, re-write the story,
You have the power to change your situation.

A new beginning.
You have the power to give yourself a fresh start.

It's not what they said, and it's not what we read
Don't always trust what you've been told or what you've read.

And all the promises they made us,
Broken promises create disillusionment.

Are all shattered on the ground.
Promises that have been broken are useless.

Your defense,
Innocence can be used as a defense.

You've done no wrong
You aren't to blame for everything that has gone wrong.

And live life in innocence,
Sometimes it's better to have ignorance than to be aware of everything.

So how could they have looked you in the eye?
It's hard to face someone knowing they have wronged you.

It's on the ground.
Everything has been destroyed and there's no use in salvaging it.

And when the cards are down,
When everything is going wrong.

It's safe to say that all bets are off.
It's uncertain what will happen.

Well it's time to play, it's hard to say.
It's tough to make decisions when you don't know what the outcome will be.

So bet all call.
Take a chance, it's all or nothing.

Shattered on the ground,
Everything is in ruins and there's no coming back from it.

All the cards are down
There's nothing left to lose.

Everything they told us
The lies and deceit of others.

Has always been so wrong,
Dishonesty and deception have never been true or right.

So wrong, so wrong.
Lies and betrayal are never good.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRANDON CHRISTOPHER WOOTTEN, JONATHAN LUKE MCDUFFEE, KENNETH W. NIXON, STEVEN CHRISTOPHER VEST, TIMOTHY HUSKINSON, TIMOTHY MATTHEW HUSKINSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS