Placebo Effect
Gonna have to deal with it sooner or later
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CREDITS
Drums/percussive soundscapes by Adam Soucy
Bass: Dustin Derry
String Arrangements: Chuck Krager
Vocals, Guitar Solo, Rhythm Guitars, & Organ by Trouble
Key: Cm | BPM: 115, 4/4 time
Mood: Haunting, regret, vulnerable, melancholy, angry, bitter, reflective, introspective
Lyrics
I lost my innocence on the hood of a broke down Ford
Just seventeen but had to be my own white knight, that's for sure
Thought the rain had let up, but it was just the eye of the storm
Those meant to defend me
Weren't even pretending
Happy not to see me no more
Some days, it feels like I am standing at my own graveside
A ghost, hanging out where the bodies are buried,
Out of sight and out of mind
Most days, I put the mask back on and play my part
In a costume stitched together from the pieces of my broken heart
CHORUS
Pass me the whiskey, pass me the wine
Pass me the joint and I'll pass the time
Pretending that my pain has faded
And I'm just fine
These sugar pills go down slow
But deep down inside, I know
My soul is still wrecked
And it's just a placebo effect
I lost my faith on the tailgate of my beat up Dodge
An eighteen-second voicemail he left while I was still on the clock
Thought the sun would come out, but it's darkest before the dawn
He just walked away
I wear this ball and chain
The last little dream is gone
Some days, it feels like I am standing in the gallows square
A prisoner, condemned to a life of hard labor,
And no one really cares
Most days, I seem to have my act together, but it's make-believe
I choke down my pills, pretend they cure my ills, but inside, I still bleed
Thought the night would fade to morning but it is still so dark
Headin' west in my Chevy
Even though it won't help me
Soon, I'm gonna have to fall apart but - oh...
©2023 Pretty 'N' Genius Music, BMI, All Rights Reserved.
BEHIND THE MUSIC
Placebo Effect
This song is probably my favorite from the album, but it is also the hardest to show people and to talk about because it is so intimate and vulnerable and exposes so much.
For weeks, I'd had the line "My soul is still wrecked and it's just a placebo effect" stuck in my head, but I didn't know what to do with it. After a while, some more lyrics came to me:
Pass me the whiskey
Pass me the wine
Pass me the joint and I'll pass the time
If anything speaks to the regrets borne out of getting older and having to survive a capitalist hellscape and never being able to attend to the deep wounds that have left you shell shocked and operating on autopilot, seeking any port of comfort in the storms, treating traumatic injuries with bandaids that aren't actually fixing anything, just leaving you able to function for another 24 hours, it's this song.
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