“Terrible Things”: A Painful Reality – Izzati Rafiee
Terrible Things came out ten years ago, in Mayday Parade’s Valdosta EP yet it’s only in 2019 that I first listened to this, on random shuffle. I found myself tearing up to this masterpiece on first listen, fully adoring the melody and story that are incorporated in the song. It became a source of comfort for me since then, even if it means that I would be in a river of tears.
The pop-punk song repeated a set of piano chords for almost one third of the song, which later mashed into a passionate strumming of electric guitar and drum-bashing. The vocals, done by lead vocalist Derek Sander, had tugged people at their heartstrings and broken people’s hearts simultaneously, fully thanks to his sorrowful, melancholic vocals.
With a simple concept of storytelling in its lyrics, the song started with the infamous elderly conversation starters of “by the time I was your age”, which is a great hook for people who enjoy stories in songs. The narrator, a father – later narrated his love story to his son, which includes his first time meeting the girl of his dream, and other honeysweet moments which lead to marriage between the couple.
It might sound like a normal love story for now, but I recalled feeling nervous to see where it goes. The title being a literal Terrible Things is definitely bad news, but the out-of-context bitter remarks from the father, such as “now son, I’m only telling you this because life can do terrible things” and “you’ll learn, one day, I hope and I’ll pray that God shows you differently” that were included within every verse are definitely not helping either. It helps in building up the suspense, and we just know that the worst is coming by the time the piano fades, leaving Sander’s vocals standing alone by himself.
Slower piano chords incoming, the father narrated his final conversation with the girl, which she revealed to be dying from sickness. Her final words being “please don’t be sad now, I really believe, you were the greatest things that happened to me” had broken many hearts – including mine, followed by a moment of silence and an epic entrance of passionate instrumentals of electric guitars and drums.
With raw emotions, Sander sorrowfully sang the father’s heart out, expressing his regrets of finding love and losing love; and warning his son to run if he ever finds one, for he fears the son would experience the terrible pain he has. Mayday Parade ended the father’s story with the same remarks that had been repeated throughout the song, finally being able to put the remarks into context;
“Now son, I’m only telling you this
because life can do terrible things.”
Terrible Things, a masterpiece with a painful reality of falling in love…or maybe just of life in general.
(Listen to Mayday Parade’s “Terrible Things” here – https://youtu.be/bllr63yMszw)
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