These Crazy Times
Jon McLaughlin Lyrics

Time's just a passin'
The passing of time is constant and inevitable.

Everyone's fine if you ask 'em
People tend to put on a façade of happiness when asked how they are doing.

Like we're pulling a fast one with our smiles
Our expressions of happiness might be hiding our true feelings.

And when it gets real bad
During times of hardship and struggle.

Oh, just raise your glass
Toast to the difficult times as a way to cope with them.

We might as well laugh before we cry
Find humor in the bad times since crying or sadness won't necessarily make it better.

All the stores are closing early
Businesses are closing due to difficult economic times.

And half the factories shut down
People are losing their jobs due to the economic climate.

People are sleeping in the allies
Homelessness is on the rise due to difficult times.

'Cause we could only bail a couple out
The government has limited funds to provide aid and cannot help everyone.

Talking heads on the TV screen
News reporters and experts discussing the state of the world.

They try to tell us what to do
The media is attempting to influence public opinion and provide guidance for how to handle challenging times.

How do you separate the truth from the fake
It is difficult to distinguish between facts and falsehoods.

'Cause man I ain't got a clue
The singer is admitting they don't have the answers either.

I close my eyes and remember
Recalling memories of the past.

The ones we lost last spring
Reflecting on those who have passed away.

Rising profits mix with goodness
The artist is expressing their belief that good things can come from financial success, but it is not always guaranteed.

Like that oil in the sea
A metaphor for how success and goodness can be contaminated by negative aspects.

I remember when
Another memory from the past.

But forget how long it's been
Struggling to recall when the memory took place.

Since we all lived in peace
Longing for a time when life was simpler and less divided.

But you can't just sit and grieve
The artist acknowledges sadness, but reminds themselves and others that action is necessary.

The growing gap between
The widening division and differences between people and beliefs.

What we know and believe, I believe
The artist's personal conviction in their beliefs.

Well I’m running out of new words to say
Struggle to articulate feelings or express them in new ways.

And the sky’s been a grayish blue for days
The singer is reflecting on the weather which can be seen as a metaphor for their own emotional state.

And the slowly growing sympathy
An awareness that others can sense when we are struggling or going through hard times.

Waits for me on every face.
The artist sees others watching and waiting to see how they respond to difficulty.

I’m trying to figure out what clever is
The artist is attempting to be witty or clever but is finding it difficult to do so.

I look for clues in awkward silences.
Over-analyzing social situations for hidden meanings or clues.

And I don’t know what happened
The singer is expressing confusion about their current state of being.

But I’ve been this way ever since.
Acknowledging a consistent emotional state that has been present for some time.

There are elephants in every room I see,
The artist is using elephants as a metaphor for unaddressed or ignored problems.

They softly hum beneath the words we speak.
The problems are present despite any attempts to ignore them.

We’ve sugarcoating everything
A tendency to hide negative emotions with overly positive language or attitudes.

And now it’s rotting out my teeth.
The negative emotions or problems are taking a physical and emotional toll on the artist.

To live you have to know what to ignore
Ignoring small problems or negative feelings in order to focus on the bigger picture or positive aspects of life.

Decisions set the good and bad at war
Every decision presents the potential for both positive and negative outcomes.

Your life is what you’ve chosen, but
The choices we make shape the life we have.

Living is the back and forth.
Life is a series of ups and downs, back and forth between struggle and ease.

And time’s not what she used to be
Time seems to move more quickly or differently during difficult times.

She’s turned into an enemy.
The passage of time can make it feel like things are harder, worsening the situation.

And all that was in front of me is behind.
Feeling like progress has been lost or stagnated during difficult times.

God knows how I try.
Despite the difficulty, the artist is still trying their best.

And the truth that keeps me up at night
An underlying fear or worry that is always present, even when sleeping.

Is somehow hard to recognize
What is causing the fear or worry is not entirely clear to the artist.

And the world is keeping both my eyes closed.
The singer feels like external forces are hiding the truth from them.

Yeah everybody knows.
Others seem to have an awareness of something the artist is blind to.

And time’s just a passin'
Reiterating the constant passage of time.

And everyone's fine if you ask 'em
Reiterating the tendency for people to hide their true emotions.

It's like we're pulling a fast one with our smiles
Reiterating how expressions of happiness may hide deeper struggles.

Oh when it gets real bad
In moments of extreme hardship or struggle.

Just raise your glass
A coping mechanism to find humor in the bad times.

We might as well laugh before we cry
Reiterating the idea that finding humor is better than crying or despair.