Hopeful
Josh Ritter Lyrics

Supposedly it was a wise wise man
A wise man once purportedly claimed

Who said it's better to have loved and lost
That having loved and lost is preferable

Than never to have loved at all, never to have loved.
Than to have never experienced love at all.

How many times does the truth that you take to be true
How often is what you believe to be true

Is just truth falling apart at the same speed as you
Actually disintegrating at the same pace as your life

Until it all comes away in a million degrees
Until everything crumbles away completely

And you're just a few pieces of fallin' debris
Leaving you as nothing more than falling debris

And she's hopeful. hopeful. for me.
Despite everything, she remains optimistic about me

I'm coming out of the dark clouds
I'm finally beginning to emerge from my distressing situation

She went away and she packed all her lovin'
She left and took all her affection with her

I could not believe it how little there was
To my surprise, there was hardly any love left

I stood in the cold kitchen with nothin' to say
I remained silent in the cold kitchen

Who'd keep the whole world spinning when she went away yeah?
Who would maintain the world's normalcy in her absence?

She kept telling me about the good things I deserve
She repeatedly told me of the good things I deserved

That I wanted somebody I'd mistaken for her
That I desired someone I had taken for her

But one look in my eyes and she'd know she was wrong
However, one glance at my eyes would reveal the error in her statement

So she wouldn't look back at me until she was gone
Thus, she avoided looking back at me until her departure

How many times did you give all your love
How often did you give everything for love

And find out it was so far from far from enough?
Only to realize it was still insufficient?

I followed her out into the street in the rain
In the rain, I trailed her to the street

And the whole world stopped spinning and just went up in flames
The entire world came to an infernal stop

The sunlight corroded and the days started to fail
The light became dim, and the days grew dull

The rocks in the road sharpened shadows to nails
The rocks on the road made shadows seem pointed like nails

The fencepost were empty and so were the trees
The fence posts and trees were all vacant

Had the bluebird of use on its' last tune for me
The useful bluebird was at its final tune for me

I've seen her around now with someone new I don't know
Now, I've spotted her with someone new and unknown to me

She likes green-eyed boys who are haloed in hope
She is amused by inexperienced youths who are filled with aspiration

But I know the look in his eyes and I know all the old signs
I recognize the expressions and indications in his eyes

Just a couple more curves before his own road unwinds
Before he, too, faces his own path of transformation

These days I'm feelin' better about the man that I am
Now, I'm beginning to feel good about myself

There's some things I can change and there's others I can't
Certain things I can transform, and others I can't

I met someone new now I know I deserve
I found someone new who makes me feel I deserve love

I never met someone who loves the world more than her
I've never met someone who cherishes the world more than she does

She has been through her own share of hard times as well
She, too, has gone through her own struggles

And she has learned how to tear out the heaven from hell
She discovered how to extract good from evil

Most nights I'm alright still all rocks roll down hill
Most nights I'm okay, but still, everything falls downhill

But she says I'll get better, she knows that I will
But she assures me I'll improve and truly believes it

The word is as the world is
The saying rings true to the way things are

Everybody's gonna hurt like hells some times
Everyone will experience excruciating pain at times

The word is as the world is
The saying is an accurate reflection of the world

Everybody's gonna hurt like hells some times some times
At times, people will go through periods of enduring agony