Born to two neuroscientists, Ritter bought his first guitar from the local K-MART after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic Girl From The North Country. He started at Oberlin College with the intent to follow in his parents' scientist footsteps, but instead discovered songwriting, and the music of artists like Gillian Welch, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen. He graduated and then moved east, favoring its close proximity to historic folk clubs such as "Club Passim" in Boston. On a shoestring budget he recorded his critically acclaimed breakthrough album Golden Age of Radio in 2002 at various tiny, one-room studios on the East Coast. He has continued to grow from there, further developing his sound on subsequent albums.
Josh has recorded several records and E.P.s. In chronological order, they are:
Josh Ritter (Self Titled) (2000)
Golden Age of Radio (2001)
Come and Find Me EP (2003)
Hello Starling (2003)
4 Songs Live E.P. (2005)
The Animal Years (2006)
Girl In The War E.P. (2006)
Good Man E.P. (2006)
In The Dark: Live At Vicar Street (2006)
The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (2007)
Live at the Record Exchange EP (2008)
So Runs the World Away (2010)
To the Yet Unknowing World (2011)
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Live at The Iveagh Gardens (April 2011)
The Beast In Its Tracks (2013)
Acoustic Live, Vol.1 (2015)
Sermon on the Rocks (2015)
You Don't Make It Easy Babe
Josh Ritter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for you to say go away or come in
I'm your locked door's worst knocker
I'm your curtain's best friend
[Chorus]
I'm trying hard to love you, you don't make it easy Babe
I'm trying hard to love you, I'm looking for an easy way
Your friends ask about me you say I can be found
With the cheap romance novels with their spines battered down
Oh the heart has no bones you say so it won't break
But the purpose of loving is the pounding it takes
[Chorus]
The ropes that have bound me leave no marks by their knots
And though they're your hair that don't mean I'm not caught
I know the song of the handcuffs as they scrape across the floor
But that new thing you've got I've got no clue what it's for
[Chorus]
With fortune's rocks millstones you hang round my throat
And a brick for my window weighted down with a note
I hope you find someone just as hard as you come
In this hard world sadly that's so easily done
[Chorus: x2]
In Josh Ritter's song "You Don't Make It Easy Babe," the singer is hopelessly in love with someone who is not reciprocating his feelings. He stands outside their window, anxiously waiting for them to either let him in or tell him to go away. The lyrics express the singer's desperation and frustration. He admits that he's trying hard to love this person, but they don't make it easy for him. The singer is aware that the object of his affection has told friends about him, but only in the context of where he can be found, rather than with enthusiasm or fondness. He acknowledges that the heart has no bones and therefore can't be broken, but he knows that love is a challenging endeavor that requires effort and commitment.
The chorus of the song repeats the line, "I'm trying hard to love you, you don't make it easy Babe," emphasizing the singer's frustration and desperation. In the subsequent verses, he laments that he's caught up in this person's life like a rope, and he's aware of the sound of handcuffs scraping across the floor. Despite his predicament, the singer remains loyal to his love, hoping that one day he can break down their walls and show them how strong his feelings truly are.
Overall, Josh Ritter's "You Don't Make It Easy Babe" is a poignant song about the challenges of love and the efforts we must put forth to maintain a loving relationship. It's a reminder that sometimes love isn't easy, but it's worth pursuing nonetheless.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I am standing at your window again
I am once again outside your window waiting for you to either let me come in or tell me to leave
Waiting for you to say go away or come in
I'm just waiting at your window to be acknowledged
I'm your locked door's worst knocker
I am the person who annoys you by always knocking on your locked door
I'm your curtain's best friend
You only notice me when you want to draw the curtains closed
I'm trying hard to love you, you don't make it easy Babe
I'm doing everything I can to love you, but you make it very difficult for me
I'm trying hard to love you, I'm looking for an easy way
I really want to love you, but I wish it could be easier
Your friends ask about me you say I can be found
When your friends ask you where to find me, you tell them to look for me among the cheap romance novels
With the cheap romance novels with their spines battered down
I am often found among the cheap, tattered romance novels
Oh the heart has no bones you say so it won't break
You try to convince yourself that your heart can't break because it has no bones
But the purpose of loving is the pounding it takes
However, the purpose of loving someone is to endure the pain, the pounding it takes
The ropes that have bound me leave no marks by their knots
Even though you've tied me up with ropes, the knots do not leave any visible marks
And though they're your hair that don't mean I'm not caught
Just because the ropes are made of your hair doesn't mean that I'm not stuck or trapped
I know the song of the handcuffs as they scrape across the floor
I am familiar with the sound of the handcuffs dragging across the floor
But that new thing you've got I've got no clue what it's for
I don't understand the new thing you are doing or what it means for us
With fortune's rocks millstones you hang round my throat
With your wealth, you weigh me down like a millstone around my neck
And a brick for my window weighted down with a note
You have left a brick with a note on my windowsill to show your discontent
I hope you find someone just as hard as you come
I hope you find someone as difficult as you are
In this hard world sadly that's so easily done
In this harsh world, it's so easy to find someone who matches your difficulty level
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOSH RITTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind