Loeb carried the momentum of her early success into a multi-dimensional career encompassing music, film, television, voice-over work and children’s recordings. Her five acclaimed studio CDs include her major label debut, the gold-selling "Tails" and its follow-ups, the Grammy-nominated, gold-selling "Firecracker" (1997), "Cake and Pie" (2002; re-released with three bonus tracks as "Hello Lisa"), and "The Way It Really Is" (2004).
She tours worldwide and has captivated a younger audience as she released award-winning "Catch the Moon" in 2003, and 5 years later "Camp Lisa" in 2008. In conjunction with this project, she launched her own non-profit, The Camp Lisa Foundation, designed to help underprivileged kids attend summer camp through its partnership with Summer Camp Opportunities Provide an Edge, Inc. (S.C.O.P.E.). Loeb has starred in two television series, "Dweezil and Lisa", a weekly culinary adventure for the Food Network and "No. 1 Single", a dating show on the E! Network in 2006.
Her greatest hits compilation, "The Very Best of Lisa Loeb", was released through Universal in January 2006 .
Her seventh studio album "No Fairy Tale" was released on January 29, 2013, by 429 Records. Her eighth album "A Simple Trick to Happiness" was released on February 28, 2020.
Loeb tours with and without her band, such as touring with Daru Oda and Adam Levy. Other band members have included Mark Spencer, Matt Beck, Ronny Crawford, Joe Quigley, Joe Travers, Mark Meadows, Michael Eisenstein, Dave Gibbs, and Leland Sklar.
The Way It Really Is
Lisa Loeb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had to get the words out of my head
So I did
You barely said a thing
You kind of heard me out and then you said
You said:
"You're crazy, why do you keep doing this?
Then I think, I'm crazy
I do this all the time
Until I start to think that nothing's even wrong
[Chorus]
Maybe I am
Hiding in my own confusion
Maybe we're just
A picture in my head
Maybe what if it could be
The way I wish it really was
Maybe I don't want to see it
The way it really is
Sometimes your intentions
Are totally impossible to read
What does that mean?
Sometimes even I
Have no idea what I need
I wish I did.
I'm crazy
Why do I keep doing this?
Everything is fine.
Then you think I'm crazy
I do this all the time
Until I start to think
That something's really wrong
[Chorus]
Looking out my window
At the big blue sky
Lazy sun shining and so I run outside
To look for you
I look for you
And then it starts to rain
Maybe I am
Is that the way it really is?
Maybe we're just
A picture in my head
Maybe what if it could be
The way I wish it really was
Maybe I don't want to see it
The way it really is
[Chorus x2]
Maybe I don't want to see it
Maybe I don't want to see it
The way it really is
The way it really is
The way it really is
The way it really is
Lisa Loeb's song, The Way It Really Is, explores the theme of self-doubt and confusion in a relationship. The song begins with the singer talking to herself, trying to articulate the thoughts that are bouncing around in her head. When she turns to her partner for reassurance, they are less than helpful, brushing off her concerns and telling her that everything is fine. This exchange leaves her feeling even more lost and alone, wondering if she is just imagining the problems in their relationship. She questions her own perceptions and wonders if she is hiding in her own confusion, unwilling to face the truth about their relationship.
Through the chorus, Lisa Loeb vividly illustrates the conflicting emotions that the singer is experiencing. She is torn between the version of her relationship that she wants to be true and what she is actually experiencing. She hides behind her own confusion and clings to the picture of her relationship that she's constructed in her head. At the same time, she acknowledges that she may not want to see the truth of her situation, and that her confusion may be her way of avoiding it.
In the final verse, Lisa Loeb uses the imagery of the sun shining and then being overtaken by rain to reinforce the sense of doubt and confusion that the singer feels. She searches for her partner, hoping to find comfort and reassurance, but in the end, is left with only rain, a tangible manifestation of her inner turmoil.
Overall, "The Way It Really Is" is a powerful exploration of self-doubt and confusion in a relationship. It beautifully articulates the experience of clinging to a picture-perfect version of love while facing the uncomfortable reality of a relationship that may be more complicated than it first appears.
Line by Line Meaning
I kept talking to myself
I had so many thoughts in my head that I couldn't keep them to myself, so I spoke them out loud, even though no one was really listening to what I was saying.
I had to get the words out of my head
My thoughts were weighing me down and making me feel restless, so I had to speak them out loud in order to find some relief.
So I did
I spoke out loud, even though I knew that no one was really listening to me or cared about what I was saying.
You barely said a thing
Even though I was speaking my thoughts out loud, the person I was speaking to was mostly silent and wasn't very interested in what I had to say.
You kind of heard me out and then you said
Even though the person I was speaking to wasn't really interested in what I had to say, they listened to me for a little while and then spoke up when they felt they had to.
"You're crazy, why do you keep doing this? Everything is fine."
The person I was speaking to thought that I was overreacting to my thoughts and feelings and that everything was really fine. They couldn't understand why I was making such a big deal out of things.
Then I think, I'm crazy
Because the person I was speaking to thought I was overreacting and being too dramatic, I started to doubt my own thoughts and feelings and wondered if I really was crazy.
I do this all the time
This was a pattern of behavior for me. I always had these conflicting feelings of wanting to express myself and fearing that I was crazy or overreacting.
Until I start to think that nothing's even wrong
The more I talked to the person and doubted my own thoughts and feelings, the more I started to believe that there was actually nothing wrong and that I was just imagining things.
Maybe I am Hiding in my own confusion
I was confused and overwhelmed by my own thoughts and feelings, and I was having a hard time expressing them in a clear and coherent way. I felt like I was hiding from my own emotions.
Maybe we're just A picture in my head
I began to question whether the person I was speaking to was even real, or if I was just imagining them in my mind.
Maybe what if it could be The way I wish it really was
I started to have fantasies about how things could be if things were different, and I wished that reality matched up with my idealized version of the world.
Maybe I don't want to see it The way it really is
I was struggling with accepting the reality of the situation and didn't want to confront the truth. I was afraid of what I might find if I really looked at things honestly.
Sometimes your intentions Are totally impossible to read
I was having trouble understanding the intentions of the person I was speaking to, and this was making it difficult for me to communicate my feelings effectively.
What does that mean?
I was confused and uncertain about what the person was trying to communicate to me or what they meant by certain things.
Sometimes even I Have no idea what I need
I was struggling to identify my own needs and desires, and this was making it difficult for me to communicate my feelings effectively and understand the feelings of the person I was speaking to.
I wish I did.
I was frustrated by my inability to understand my own emotions and needs and wished that I had more insight into how I was feeling.
Looking out my window At the big blue sky
I was looking outside and taking in the beauty of the natural world, hoping to find some sense of peace or clarity in the midst of my confusion.
Lazy sun shining and so I run outside To look for you
I was searching for the person I was speaking to, hoping to find some comfort or solace in their company.
And then it starts to rain
My hopes for finding comfort or clarity were dashed when it started to rain, reflecting the feelings of sadness and disappointment that I was experiencing in my own life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: LISA A. LOEB, GLEN BALLARD, LINDY ROBBINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind