The best songs don’t just tell a story set to music – they capture a moment, encapsulate a feeling and draw in the listener, in a way that’s at once singularly personal and completely universal. When Toronto singer-songwriter Jason Collett was mulling over titles for his new album, the by-turns effervescent and elegiac Here’s To Being Here, he stumbled across a line in an anthology of poetry by his friend Emily Haines’ (Metric) late father Paul, a well-known avant-garde jazz poet.
“I really love the simple sentiment of the title. I think of it as a toast, a raising of the glass to the notion of being present to the moment. Recording this record was all about that for me. Capturing the bits of spontaneous magic in the studio that are just the happy accidents of the day. For me there's a kind of unadorned celebratory ring to the phrase ‘here’s to being here’. There's no irony in it, and lord knows we’ve all had enough of that for a while. I really like Haines’ playful writing. It’s like Dylan, almost Dada-esque; it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I really relate to that era of writing… Ginsberg, that pre-’60s movement.”
Fittingly, Collett’s own work draws upon such classic cultural touchstones while continuing to push the boundaries of the great singer-songwriter tradition. After over a decade of honing his sound and style, in the process becoming a key figure in Toronto’s burgeoning indie scene, Collett returns with the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s critically acclaimed Idols of Exile.
But where Exile was one big house party featuring Collett’s Broken Social Scene brethren, the guestlist was scaled back a bit for Here’s To Being Here, which was built largely around Collett’s former touring band Paso Mino, with producer Howie Beck, New York guitar great Tony Scherr, The Stills’ Liam O’Neil, BSS’ Kevin Drew, and members of Apostle of Hustle and the 6ixty8ights all lending a hand in the studio.
When it came time to get off the road and begin to record some of the 40-plus tunes the prolific Collett had written over the past several years (the father of three children, the busy musician notes he’s able to find sanctuary and perspective to write while on tour), the recording process took place in two quick but productive sessions in winter 2007: four days in a barn an hour outside of Toronto with engineer Marty Kinack in February, and two days at Toronto’s Hallamusic studio in March.
“For me, the studio is a very different beast from playing live. What you’re trying to do is capture a bit of magic in an environment that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that. Howie and I have a really dynamic thing going on,” Collett says of working with Beck, who also produced his last album. “He’s the Woody Allen of rock and roll: he’s neurotic, funny, he’s got crazy ears – he can hear things that other people can’t, which drives *ME* crazy. He works fast, and I like working fast.”
Here’s To Being Here is the sound of a seasoned songsmith fully coming into his own signature sound – from the ’70s AM-radio vibe of road-tested favourites like the rollicking relationship reflections “Not Over You” and “Out of Time” to sparse countrified ballads like Canadiana ode “No Redemption Song” and album closer "Waiting For the World" (partially inspired by Collett's friend James Loney, who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2005), the album redefines the contemporary guitar-based singer-songwriter framework for the current genre-blurring musical landscape. As tuneful as they are poetic, these masterful songs of hope in an age of disillusionment stick in your head as firmly as they capture your heart.
“I feel this is a rock-and-roll music record. Not rock, not rock and roll, but Rock ’n Roll music. I don’t care much for the roots-rock tag or the singer-songwriter one and all the banality those genres conjure up. Rock ’n Roll music encompasses all sorts of influences – country, blues, gospel... all those things, and I’m just part of that tradition,” Collett points out. “We decided midway through the record to avoid embellishing it with horns and strings – which I really love, but I think it sort of helps make the record more cohesive with the absence of that indulgence. There’s not a lot of trickery to it. It’s not like we really stripped things down, it’s just that we never gussied them up.”
Collett, who began writing to try to escape the boredom of the suburb of Bramalea where he grew up, and logged time in Toronto bands before going on to craft two full-length albums (1999’s Chrome Reflections and 2001’s Bitter Beauty) prior to joining the Arts & Crafts family in 2003, has always penned songs with a poet’s knack for reflection and a journalist’s eye for detail. That timeless quality permeates Here’s To Being Here, which not only allows listeners a peek into the songwriter’s thoughts, but also a glimpse into the everyday human emotions that bind us.
“I’m beginning to recognize that I have a body of work. I’ve always tried to make records with a classic sensibility, so that they’re records you can listen to 20 years from now,” Collett says. “I feel like I connect when I’m just being candid. I want to take the audience on a journey with me – by being as present in the moment as I can.”
With the release of Here’s to Being Here, Collett looks back at the ghosts of his past while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the future. The title says it all: it’s a line of poetry, an affirmation, a toast to where we’ve come from, and where we’re going.
Honey I Don't Know
Jason Collett Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
You never earned it, you don't deserve it
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
Honey, I don't know what you see in me
Honey, I don't know what you see in me
You just don't get it, you're gonna regret it
You're standing closer now
But I'll never know how
I don't give away myself so easily
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
You shouldn't take it, but baby, you take it
And I don't know why I get so mean
You make excuses for
The promises I break and more
You should know better by now, you should know me
I could try and make it up to you
If I had the kind of faith you do
But sometimes faith just adds what you don't wanna see
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
The lyrics to "Honey I Don't Know" by Jason Collett portray a sense of confusion and frustration that the singer feels towards their romantic partner. The repetition of the line "Honey, I don't know why I get so mean" shows that the singer is aware of their own behavior but cannot explain it to themselves or their partner. They acknowledge that their partner does not deserve their meanness and that they are standing closer now, but the singer still does not understand why they act out towards their partner.
The singer also questions what their partner sees in them, indicating low self-esteem or a feeling of inadequacy. They believe that their partner just does not understand them and will eventually regret being with them. The line "I don't give away myself so easily" suggests that the singer may be guarded and not fully open with their partner, which may contribute to their mean behavior.
The second half of the song delves into the fact that the partner makes excuses for the singer's behavior and continues to forgive them for their mistakes. The singer acknowledges that their partner deserves better and that they could try to make it up to them, but their lack of faith in themselves and their relationship prevents them from doing so. The lyrics convey a sense of self-doubt and uncertainty about the relationship, as well as a need for the singer to confront their own behavior and figure out why they act the way they do towards their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey, I don't know why I get so mean
I don't understand why I treat you poorly
Honey, I don't know what you see in me
I don't know why you love me despite my flaws
You never earned it, you don't deserve it
You don't deserve my negative behavior because you never did anything to me
You just don't get it, you're gonna regret it
You don't understand how bad I can be, and you will regret staying with me
You're standing closer now
You are trying to get closer to me
But I'll never know how
I don't understand why you want to be close to me
I don't give away myself so easily
I am not one to easily open up
You shouldn't take it, but baby, you take it
You shouldn't put up with my behavior, but you do
You make excuses for
You justify my bad behavior
The promises I break and more
I break promises and cause even more issues
You should know better by now, you should know me
You have been with me long enough to know how I act
I could try and make it up to you
I could attempt to apologize and fix our relationship
If I had the kind of faith you do
If I believed in our relationship as much as you do
But sometimes faith just adds what you don't wanna see
But sometimes holding onto hope just causes you to ignore the reality of the situation
Lyrics © ARTS & CRAFTS MUSIC INC DBA GALLERYAC MUSIC
Written by: JASON COLLETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind