Stripper From The South

 

“Say my name and his in the same breath, I dare you to say they taste the same, Let the leaves fall off in the summer and let December glow in flames”

These one-sided or perhaps western (more correctly, Northern hemisphere) influenced lyrics written by Fall Out Boy are a lot like many other regionally influenced traditions the modern-day society follows. I’m talking about Christmas, Easters and more, but just to focus on the two I’ve mentioned, Christmas is themed around the Northern hemisphere climate or season so is Easter, Christmas in South Africa is usually hot as hell, if Santa came here, he’d mos definitely lose that hat and coat. As for Easter, unlike the brightly wrapped easter eggs and spring inspired marketing tactics, things here aren’t really all that bright and spring-y… We have Easter during autumn after all. Back to the song lyrics, our December actually DOES glow in flames, yeap, not a big deal. It happens all the time. Leaves falling off in the summer? well, that we can talk about, leaves not falling off during summer is something a bit more universal, much like having to deal with a heart you didn’t break or saying you Don’t Care when you actually do.

As I’ve dragged in how we sometimes find ourselves having to deal with hearts we didn’t break, with lyrics that open with the words; Say my name and his in the same breath, I dare you to say they taste the same, the protagonist is clearly trying to prove a point to his love interest, he is trying to convince her that he is not her ex or the boy whom broke her heart, that he shouldn’t have to pay for his sins.

“I Don’t Care” may be know as the lead single that lead to Fall Out Boy’s four-year hiatus. After realizing a decline in sales and popularity, Sold Out Boy (or so they were called by disappointed fans and critics) had sold out to a new audience. When the band took time off to regroup and “find” themselves, it was evident that they in fact did care about making that dough and of course being liked by the buying audience.

“I don’t care what you think as long as it’s about me, The best of us can find happiness in misery”

Stepping away from the song entirely, saying I don’t care is one of the biggest most common lies told by man, or should I say the cool macho men and women who think they’ve got it all together. Personally one of the main things I’ve always felt separate me from the average cool human is that the average cool man spends way too much of their energy guarding their hearts. On the other hand, I’ve always felt more of a need to guard my mind instead. It’s most powerful. My heart keeps my body alive. My mind keeps Ndumiso alive. My heart will never change my body or how it is seen, though my mind can change who I am, my name, what it stands for and how it’s received. Only I am completely in charge of that.

What I’m saying is, the average cool human spends so much of his or her time going on about how they Don’t Care what other humans think. Meanwhile they’re sounding as emotional as BAD WORD and they don’t even see it. Honestly, I care what humans think, doesn’t mean I’m bothered by it. I own up to all good and bad thought of me, it’s all me, I’m not ashamed. Of course if there was something to be ashamed of, I’d try to block it out and pretend not to care at all. Makes sense? Well, maybe it wasn’t meant to.