This song is a story of the artist changing for a girl, going from a messed up bad-boy type character to a genuine, vulnerable guy. However, the artists girlfriend then begins falling for a “friend” of hers, who fits the exact stereotype she forced the artist to change himself from.
[Verse 1]
I was surprised in a Cleveland car park
In the form of my new Texas sweetheart
The perfect setting for an awkward first kiss
You were smiling, so my lips met your teeth
You pushed me back into my bed with your eyes
You shift your hips to help your underpants pass your thighs
I couldn't see you through the dark, but I could hear your voice
Whisper, "never let the distance catch us"
You told me that you've known a lot of assholes
Hey, I'm an asshole but I'd never treat you wrong
No more fighting, no more whiskey or cocaine
I can change if you promise to love me
[Chorus]
I'd rather die on the plane flight home
Than disappoint you in the years to come
Let me crash into the ocean
Let the water fill my lungs
I'd rather die on the plane flight home
Than disappoint you in the years to come
Let me crash into the ocean
Let the water fill my lungs
[Verse 2]
Everything changed when that boy got hit
He fell and bashed his brains on the concrete
And I was thinking, "what the fuck's so wrong with me
That'd make you sit by his bed for four long days"
And, oh, I know you said you were just friends
But I guess I'm not as stupid as you think
I've been waiting for a late night accident
Burning holes in my ceiling from my bed
Tell me - do you have a thing for the bad kid?
I heard he's packing heat, and sells prescription meds
I would've killed that motherfucker with my bare hands
But I changed for you, 'cause you promised
[Chrous]
I'd rather die on the plane flight home
Than disappoint you in the years to come
Let me crash into the ocean
Let the water fill my lungs
I'd rather die on the plane flight home
Than disappoint you in the years to come
Let me crash into the ocean
Let the water fill my lungs
[Bridge]
If the bad boys are what you want
I can show you bad, I can show you bad
If the bad boys are what you want
I can show you bad, I can show you bad
You want a boy that makes his mother cry
You want a boy that drinks, so he can sleep at night
And all his friends at needle's edge
With seatbelt tourniquets in the passenger seat
A boy addicted to another's sheets
When every girl means no more than the last one did
Read the stories on my hands
And my broken nose
And the scars on my legs
[Outro]
If the bad boys are what you want
I can show you bad, I can show you bad
If the bad boys are what you want
I can show you bad
I can show you bad
I can show you bad
Cleveland, OH was written by John Floreani.
Cleveland, OH was produced by Fletcher Matthews.
John Floreani released Cleveland, OH on Fri Mar 04 2016.