I’ve always loved this song, and I finally figured out why: The narrator is actually male – just as the actual narrator of “Angry All The Time” is female. This is not Roseanne bitching out Rodney for his adultery, this is the lamentations of the cheated-on guy.
Big duh, right? Who writes poetry? Why?
Listen for the games of the tempters, referenced repeatedly. Those are men pulling proto-PUA stunts. This is a beta-boy bitching about the sad consequences of marrying a hot-crazy woman.
I recast the lyrics to swap the sexes, and it makes sense to me. My guess is that this was a trunk song – written by Rodney Crowell to some degree of completion much earlier, then pulled out of the trunk later and polished for Roseanne Cash. An argument in support of that contention is the extreme simplicity of the chord structure, Texas Doo Wop.
I would love to see a slow, yearning cover of this by a male country singer. The story hangs together better, IMO, and the pain is more convincing. Built-in market, too, composed of all the people who love the original.
Seven Year Ache (as adapted)
You act like you were just born tonight
Face down in a memory but feeling all right
So who does your past belong to today?
Baby, you don’t say nothing when you’re feeling this way
The boys in the bars try to capture your eye
But you don’t say nothing when they’re telling you lies
You look so careless when they’re shooting that bull
Don’t you know heartaches are heroes when their pockets are full?
You tell me you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
The girls say, “When is she gonna give us some room?”
The boys say, “God, I hope she comes back soon”
Everybody’s talking, but you don’t hear a thing
You’re still uptown on your downhill swing
The boulevard’s empty, why don’t you come around?
Baby, what is so great about sleeping downtown?
There’s plenty of dives to be someone you’re not
Just say you’re looking for something you might’ve forgot
Don’t bother calling to say you’re leaving alone
’Cause there’s a fool on every corner when you’re trying to get home
Just tell ’em you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
The girls say, “When is she gonna give us some room?”
The boys say, “God, I hope she comes back soon”
Tell me you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
The girls say, “When is she gonna give us some room?”
The boys say, “God, I hope she comes back soon”
