Everyone has that song that they go to when they are feeling down. There is something powerful in the lyrical advice, and the music that supports it. Next To Nothing delivers both in their song, Misery. Sean Scott (Bass/Vocals) wrote the song from a place of honesty; “I wanted to write a song that helped others to not make the same mistakes that I made.” Keller Nigh (Vocals/Guitar) helped place the music where it needed to be. Check out the full story below.
Background:
The song Misery was written shortly after the release of Brutally Honest in 2012 in preparation for the new album, Stories We’ve Never Told. The lyrics for this song were written by myself, Sean Scott (Bass/Vocals). The music was written by Sean Scott (Bass/Vocals) and Keller Nigh (Vocals/Guitar).
The song Misery is written in a story format where the writer is warning a fictitious girl to stop making the same mistakes that he did. He tells her that he sees her doing all the same things he used to do and that she is better than that. In the verses he describes how his struggles with depression have had such a negative impact on his life. The pre-chorus represents the moment where he realized that things need to change for him. The lyrics portray the writer having an epiphany on a drive where he was looking for answers. The chorus is meant to bring everything together and send a message that the writer wants to change for the better along with the fictitious girl. The idea that the song is actually written about the writer comes out in the outro where it says, “But you, I know you’re better than me.” The intro leads the listener to believe that the song is about someone the writer knows, but the ending changes the whole story and shows that it was the writer who was having all of those struggles.
I wrote this song during a dark time in my life. For a long time I had been struggling with depression and during this time it had really taken its toll on me. I had watched myself ruin a lot of good things in my life. Friendships were lost, relationships were ruined, jobs were lost, and so much more. I had set myself up for so much success in life and let a disease come in and destroy it all. I lost joy for the things I used to love and I let myself essentially waste away in my bedroom. As I started to find a way out of the mess I had created I was inspired to write about it in a way that might help others who struggle with similar issues. I wanted to write a song that helped others to not make the same mistakes that I made.
Lyrics
Intro
Don’t let yourself slip away like you’re used to
You’re addicted to this misery
But girl I know somebody just like you
The same somebody who once told me
You gotta give it all up
Cause hopes got no place to stay
And that she’ll never be closer than a daydream away
But you, I know you’re better than this
Verse 1
He said I
Don’t dream of spending all of my days
Counting down the seconds till I fade away
He said I’ve seen this before and I can hardly breathe
It’s got me gasping for air haunting future memories
Pre-Chorus 1
And he’d take his car and drive
And hope that this road would mark a page in his life
Chorus
Won’t you sing me to sleep oh baby
Won’t you stay with me just maybe?
Take my hand and well go
Somewhere we both know we should be (should be)
Won’t you promise me oh baby
You won’t go too far away
Catch me when I fall so we can have it all
Won’t you stay?
Verse 2
He said I
Can’t think and I can hardly see
I’ve got my mind wrapped up with everything
And now I’ve wasted away
All the things I say don’t mean a thing
He said I’m
Tied up left with nothing to lose
Every day I gotta find a new excuse
For why I’m letting go of everything I made for myself
Pre-Chorus 2
He found the end of the road that night
That’s when he saw the rest of his life
Outro
Don’t let yourself slip away like you’re used to
You’re addicted to this misery
But girl I know somebody just like you
The same somebody that once told me
You gotta give it all up
Cause hopes got no place to stay
And that she’ll never be closer than a daydream away
But you, I know you’re better than me
