Their fourth original album, Details, is a record as ambitious as it is strident in its solitary ruminations on love lost and circadian bloom. Details marks a striking shift from O'Connell's humble beginnings of home-recorded bowed banjo and percussive clangs of books and pans, to expansively twangy rock atmospheres and heart-rending words sung with blistering stoicism – "It was the year of the hole in my chest, writing appeals with everything I had left".
Don't Think Twice It's All Right
Lauren O'Connell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It don't matter, anyhow
And it ain′t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the breaks of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You′re the reason I′m traveling on
Don't think twice, it′s all right.
It ain't no use in turning on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
And it ain′t no use in turning on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
But I wish there was somethin′ you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talking anyway
So don't think twice, it's all right.
It ain′t no use in calling out my name, gal
Like you never done before
It ain′t no use in calling out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I′m a-thinking and a-wond'rin′ walking down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
Don′t think twice, it's all right.
So long honey, babe
Where I'm bound, I can′t tell
Goodbye′s too good a word, babe
So I'll just say fare thee well
I ain′t saying you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don′t think twice, it's all right.
The song "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" by Lauren O'Connell is a cover of Bob Dylan's popular hit. Its lyrics express a sense of detachment and dismissiveness towards a relationship that has run its course. The opening lines, "It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe / It don't matter, anyhow," suggest that analyzing what went wrong is pointless and that the singer has accepted the relationship's end.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the distance between him and his partner, as well as the futility of trying to make things work. He acknowledges that they never communicated much ("We never did too much talking anyway"), and that there's nothing his partner could say or do to change his mind ("I wish there was somethin' you would do or say / To try and make me change my mind and stay").
The final verse ends the song on the bittersweet note of farewell, with the singer acknowledging the wasted time spent in a relationship that was not meant to be, but also refusing to dwell on regrets or bitterness.
Overall, "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" is a song about accepting the end of a relationship with a measured and reflective attitude, and choosing to move on with grace and dignity.
Line by Line Meaning
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
There's no point in questioning why things happened the way they did
It don't matter, anyhow
It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things
And it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
Reiterating that there's no point in questioning the past
If you don't know by now
If you still don't understand what happened even after all this time
When your rooster crows at the breaks of dawn
When a new day starts
Look out your window and I'll be gone
I'll be long gone by then
You're the reason I'm traveling on
You're the reason why I'm leaving and moving on
Don't think twice, it's all right.
Don't dwell on it, everything will be okay.
It ain't no use in turning on your light, babe
Turning on the light won't change anything
That light I never knowed
I never saw that light before
And it ain't no use in turning on your light, babe
Reiterating that turning on the light is pointless
I'm on the dark side of the road
I'm in a dark and uncertain place
But I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
I still have some hope that you'll say or do something to make things right.
To try and make me change my mind and stay
To convince me to stay and not leave
We never did too much talking anyway
We didn't communicate enough
So don't think twice, it's all right.
Don't worry about it, everything will be okay.
It ain't no use in calling out my name, gal
Calling my name won't help anything
Like you never done before
Even if you call me like you used to, it won't change anything now
I can't hear you any more
It's too late for you to say anything that will make a difference
I'm a-thinking and a-wond'rin' walking down the road
I'm reflecting on our relationship while walking away
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I had a relationship with a woman who was very immature
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
I gave everything to that woman, but she always wanted more
Don't think twice, it's all right.
Don't dwell on the past, everything will be okay.
So long honey, babe
Goodbye
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
I don't know where I'm going next
Goodbye's too good a word, babe
Even though we're saying goodbye, it still feels too hard and sad
So I'll just say fare thee well
I'll just say goodbye for now
I ain't saying you treated me unkind
I'm not accusing you of treating me poorly
You could have done better but I don't mind
You could have done more for our relationship, but I don't hold it against you.
You just kinda wasted my precious time
You wasted my time in this relationship
But don't think twice, it's all right.
But it's okay, I'm moving on.
Writer(s): Bob Dylan
Contributed by Nolan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.