Undoubtedly a contestant for Bayside’s darkest song, lyrically-speaking, “Dear Tragedy” is told from the perspective of someone on the receiving end of an unfaithful relationship. What primarily sets this song apart from the ocean of similarly-themed songs is the end of the first verse, in which the...
[Verse 1]
I'm never waking up again
So I'll never have to find out what you did
Each day it's harder to pretend
That your eyes aren't lying as much as your mouth did
I'd grab your head by your hair and I'd hack it off
Put it on display at the front of the yard
On a stick that's decorated with a little pink bow
And a sign that says "Her friends and family
Should have taught her more about love"
[Chorus]
Dear Tragedy, I never had anybody
But being alone wasn't half as bad as being obsessed
With a breath-taker, a smile-faker
These years alone have eaten me alive
[Verse 2]
Recounting pages in a book
That I'd torn out ashamed that one day you'd look
Afraid that once you did you'd really know how it felt
To be a sucker on a string that you dragged around wherever you'd go
I'm running around, around and it hurts
Tempted to tape up the pages I'd ripped
And although I recognize that we're attached at the lips
That you're the one in charge and that the captain's gotta sink with the ship
[Chorus]
I never had anybody
But being alone wasn't half as bad as being obsessed
With a breath-taker, a smile-faker
These years alone have eaten me alive
[Interlude]
[Chorus]
Dear Tragedy, I never had anybody
But being alone wasn't half as bad as being obsessed
With a breath-taker, a smile-faker
Years alone have eaten me alive
[Bridge/Chorus]
Breath-taker, smile-faker
How could I have let you in my life?
You're a breath-taker, a smile-faker
These years alone have eaten me alive
[Elision]
I never had anybody
But being alone wasn't half as bad as being obsessed
With a breath-taker, a smile-faker
(Dear Tragedy, Dear Tragedy)
These years alone have eaten me alive
(You'll pay for what you did to me
You'll pay for you what did to me)
Dear Tragedy was written by John “Beatz” Holohan & Nick Ghanbarian & Jack O’Shea & Anthony Raneri.
Dear Tragedy was produced by Kenny Gioia & Shep Goodman.
Bayside released Dear Tragedy on Tue Aug 23 2005.
Anthony, in a 2014 interview with SongFacts:
I can’t play it and sing it at the same time. Parts of it are in 10/8 and then there’s time signature changes, it goes to 3. There’s 10/8, there’s ¾ and 4/4 all within the song. Time signature changes, tempo changes, it’s really high in my range, also. I...