What It Takes
Some folks can only play that silver lining
Some folks can only play that cold dark cloud
It’s all the same. It’s in the way you play the game
And in the way you play the crowd
There’s nothing bad but thinking makes it so
So if it hurts too much, just let it go
You’ll never make it on more than what you know
And less than what it takes to get along
So spare me all you’re whining about the love affair
That fell apart and broke your heart
and left you in despair.
It never was much more than a reason to care
It’s better to forsake it
It’s less than what you make it
Some folks are predators, and some are prey
Some folks get eaten up, and some get away
It’s all the same. It’s in the way you play the game
And if you live to fight another day…
They’ll take your heart and bleed it
and leave nothing in its place
They’ll take the air you’re breathing
and blow smoke rings in your face
So let the sleeping dogs lie
and leave them their space
It’s better to forsake them
It’s better not to wake them
©1995 Glen F. Nemeth • All Rights Reserved
This is the angriest, most cynical song I ever wrote. At the time (1994)
I was breaking up with a girlfriend, and I was just trying to console myself
with such cogent observations on the relationship as, "It's less than
what you make it."
Like most of my songs, it tended to enlarge the theme to include
all relations, with some tart gems about predators and sleeping dogs thrown
in for extra acidity.
Everybody who heard this song to hated it, but I found it
really therapeutic and sang it with great gusto.
— Glen
What It Takes