YOU AINT BROKEN
YOU AINT BROKEN is a single from JOHN COMMON’s record named THE LOW WINES Vol 1.
YOU AIN BROKEN
Copyright John Common Music
Life can be so mean and cruel
Make you feel like such a fool
Take you back to middle school
Lost your way, Lost your cool
You left your heart open wide
Someone shoved a knife inside
So you filled the hole with wounded pride
No one knows the scars you hide
You’re not a lover, you’re not a friend
You won’t ever trust again,
Took your bitter medicine
Washed it down with could’ve been’s
But when you come to something tough
And you don’t think you’re strong enough
Remember…
You aint broken, You aint broken
You aint broken, You’re just scared X 2
I know you wanna hide, I know you wanna run
But when you wanna run, stay right there
You aint broken, you’re just scared
You’re sealed off, you’re shut down
You’re breakin’ hearts all over town
You wear your scars like a crown
No one ever turns you into their clown
You’re made of stone, you’re made of steel
You know the game, you know the deal
You’re in control now, hand on the wheel
Drive away ‘cause people don’t heal
But when you come to something tough
And you don’t think you’re strong enough
Remember…
You aint broken, You aint broken
You aint broken, You’re just scared X 2
I know you wanna hide, I know you wanna run
But when you wanna run, stay right there
You aint broken, you’re just scared
———-
THE STORY BEHIND YOU AINT BROKEN
We grow up. It just happens. We wake up one day and we’re an alleged adult. We drag around this thing called a personality. It mostly knows how to be appropriate at work and at parties. But on some days, it feels like a broken machine that doesn’t fit in this world.
This song starts way back… with the first wound. And traces how we construct our scar tissue masterpiece, one unconscious decision at a time. Layer upon layer of compounding reactions, stories and memories. A decade or two later: voila, you’re getting tired of acting happy, and wondering why everything tastes like ash.
We wear our brokenness like a badge. Like it’s our best trait. (We worked so hard for it after all.) But it’s not. And I’m calling bullshit. We are oysters whose wounding grit doesn’t always turn into a pearl. Sorry. We’re not broken. We’re just scared.
RELATED ART COLLABORATIONS
John Common has a long history of collaborating with artists from multiple mediums (film, photography, poetry, installations, box art). For this single, Common collaborated with Denver-based filmmakers Tage Plantell and Kit Chalberg. They captured the entire recording session for this song on film. You can see John, Jess and Joe actually singing and playing the take on the final release, live, all in one take. Common collaborated with Denver-based photographer/artist Scott McCormick to create the surreal visual art associated with the release.
LINER NOTES
John Common :: voice, songs, acoustic guitar
Jess DeNicola :: voice
Joe Mazza :: guitars
Song written by John Common
Produced by John Common and Steve Vidaic
Engineered by Jim Ruberto
Recorded at Emmasaurus Studios
Mixed and mastered by Steve Vidaic
Photography and Design by Scott McCormick
Layout and Design by Joshua Schneider
THANK YOU to everyone who has come to a show, bought a record,
told a friend about our music or shared a kind word.
Copyright John Common Music / BMI. All Rights Reserved. Worldwide.