Steve Tannen is an American songwriter and performer. He was born in New Yo… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Tannen is an American songwriter and performer. He was born in New York City, but grew up in Australia and Canada in addition to New York. He started performing at an early age and learned music at home. He developed a personal mix of folk and rock while working odd jobs around the U.S. for several years.

Steve returned to New York and, with the help from some musicians, including former Suzanne Vega guitarist Jon Gordon, started a rock and roll project. This turned into his debut album Big Señorita. It was chosen as one of Performing Songwriter Magazine’s Top 12 Independent Releases of 2001. After the release he started touring nationally and winning national and international awards, including the Grand Prize in the USA Songwriting Competition.

His second solo CD “Stopped at a Green Light” was released in September 2003. He is currently frontman to The Weepies, along with his wife Deb Talan, whom he met in 2001 and now resides with in Topanga, CA with their three sons, Theo, Alexander, and Nicholas.

Nobody Listens
Steve Tannen Lyrics

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Shouted for my whiskey, shouted for my wine
Shouted for my true love she used to be with me all the time
Shouted up to heaven for an answer from the sky

Chorus:
Can you hear that If Only, does the good lord call you
Will you come home to me, Ellen where are you
The road's a long and a lonely and I pray each and every day

But nobody listens to a word I say

Everyone's drinking with their heads in their hands
Nobody's talking but I understand
Every word they're saying
Like you're whispering still in my ear

Repeat chorus

I don't want to hear it from you
Why you got to tell me the truth
And all the words that I said, they never said what I meant
And where the time goes I guess that's where you went

I cry to the river and the river cries back
How can you tell me he loves you like that
I'm tired of talking to you all the time

I'm gonna talk to myself
Nobody seems to mind

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Steve Tannen's song Nobody Listens convey the feelings of a person who is struggling with loneliness and missing someone who used to be with him or her all the time. The person is shouting for his whiskey, wine, and his true love, but none of it comes back to him. He is trying to reach out to the sky to find an answer, but nobody seems to listen to him. The chorus repeats with a plea for his beloved, named Ellen, to come back to him. He feels like he's shouting into the void and nobody is there to listen.

As the song continues, the person realizes that everyone around him is also struggling with their own problems, and nobody is really talking about them. However, he can understand their struggles and the unspoken words that they are communicating. He repeats the chorus with a desperate plea for Ellen to come back, but he knows that nobody is listening to his words. The song ends with the person crying to the river, trying to find solace in the water, and realizing that he is alone.

Line by Line Meaning

Shouted for my whiskey, shouted for my wine
I turned to alcohol to numb my pain and loneliness.

Shouted for my true love she used to be with me all the time
I miss my true love who used to be by my side constantly.

Shouted up to heaven for an answer from the sky
I'm desperately seeking guidance and answers from a higher power.

Can you hear that If Only, does the good lord call you Will you come home to me, Ellen where are you The road's a long and a lonely and I pray each and every day But nobody listens to a word I say
I'm pleading for my lost love Ellen to come back to me, but feel like my prayers go unheard.

Everyone's drinking with their heads in their hands Nobody's talking but I understand Every word they're saying Like you're whispering still in my ear
Even in the company of others, my thoughts of my lost love consume me and I can understand their unspoken sentiments.

I don't want to hear it from you Why you got to tell me the truth And all the words that I said, they never said what I meant And where the time goes I guess that's where you went
I'm in denial about the reality of my situation and am struggling to accept the truth.

I cry to the river and the river cries back How can you tell me he loves you like that I'm tired of talking to you all the time I'm gonna talk to myself Nobody seems to mind
I'm feeling abandoned and talking to myself as I can't find anyone to listen to my problems.

Contributed by Lila S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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