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Otan Vargas’ melancholic voice is often compared to Staind’s Aaron Lewis. In fact, Aaron Lewis admitted, “He sounds better than I do most of the time.” This statement was made just as Lewis called Vargas on stage to play Staind’s hit single, “It’s Been Awhile.” The song, performed at a Valentine’s Day concert in 2009, was praised with a standing ovation at The Music Box Borgata Hotel and Casinos. It has been Vargas’ career highlight thus far.
Coming from humble beginnings, the Filipino musician was born in 1984 in Tondo, one of the poorest areas of Manila. The son of a folk singer, Otan grew up in a community where nearly everyone around him knew how to sing.
His acoustic career began in 2006, shortly after he moved to New York. Vargas sings about enduring suffering, battling the voices within, and trying to find a constant peace for his soul. Though many of his lyrics speak of being “down and forsaken,” his music rises above bitterness. Vargas’ gratitude comes through in all his writing. Really, when have you ever opened a rock album, acoustic or otherwise, to be greeted with the words, God bless all of you?
Alone is Otan Vargas’ full length debut album, released December 2009. The raw emotions pour out through Vargas’ rhythmic guitar and powerful vocals bring to mind grunge band slow songs such as “Indifference” by Pearl Jam and “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains.
A Place
Otan Vargas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no place to run
Endlessness of this misery
Slowly breaking me down
It's raining and now I'm walking by myself
It's hard to penetrate in your heart I don't have a place
From this wreckage that you left
But I can't get out here
You buried me along with all these memories
It's raining and now I'm walking by myself
It's hard to penetrate in your heart I don't have a place
Can you hear me
Cause all this time
I tried to hide this from you
Can't you see look at me
There's nothing left but you
It's raining and now I'm walking by myself
It's hard to penetrate in your heart I don't have a place
In Otan Vargas's song A Place, the lyricist portrays a deep sense of disappointment and heartbreak. The bitterness inside of the singer, and the endless misery they feel is slowly breaking them down. The song's opening lyrics capture the singer's pain, which they seem to have no escape from. The repetition of "It's raining, and now I'm walking by myself" suggests a desire for solitude, but the singer is unable to shake off the pain that's crippling them. The feeling of not having a place is also prevalent throughout the song, adding to the sense of hopelessness that the singer feels. In their heart, they cannot find a place to belong, a place to heal, or even a place to feel safe.
The final verse is the most poignant in the song, with the singer asking their lover if they can hear them. The singer has been trying to hide their pain from their lover all this time, but they can no longer hide it anymore. The way the singer says, "Can't you see, look at me, there's nothing left but you" highlights the depth of their heartache. This line suggests the singer has exhausted all hope and has placed all their trust and identity in their lover, which is why it's devastating that they don't have a place in their heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Bitterness inside of me
I am consumed by feelings of bitterness
There's no place to run
I feel trapped and unable to escape my feelings
Endlessness of this misery
My misery seems never-ending
Slowly breaking me down
My emotions are causing me to gradually lose strength
It's raining and now I'm walking by myself
I am alone and walking in the rain
It's hard to penetrate in your heart I don't have a place
It is difficult to connect with you emotionally because I do not feel like I have a place in your heart
I'm dragging my soul out
I am trying to overcome my emotional pain
From this wreckage that you left
You have caused me emotional damage and I am trying to recover from it
But I can't get out here
Despite my efforts, I am still struggling to move past my negative feelings
You buried me along with all these memories
My memories of you are contributing to my emotional pain and I feel trapped by them
Can you hear me
I am asking if you are listening to me
Cause all this time
I have been struggling with these negative emotions for a long time
I tried to hide this from you
I have been trying to keep my emotions hidden from you
Can't you see look at me
I am asking you to pay attention to my emotional state
There's nothing left but you
My emotions are so tied to my memories of you that you are all I can think about
Contributed by Asher C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.