All this noise of rock and roll
Feels a lot like we’re ready to fold
Feels a lot like we’ve lost the goal
Lost our minds and lost the soul of a nation
A couple lost generations
We’re the ones lost and losing patience
I’m still looking for a correlation
Between what to say and how you roll
Spit it out
Yeah, spit it out
Say it like you mean it
Say it like you mean it
Say it like you mean it
But I still don’t believe it
Oh my soul, wonder where'd you go?
It never did feel like my control
I never could fit in microphones
I never could fit in stop and stand ovations
Give me the songs of the nation
Cause it feels like law lacks motivation
See, I’m still looking for a correlation
Between what you say and how you roll
Spit it out
Like you mean it
Spit it out
You say it like you mean it
But I still don't believe it
Behind the Song:"Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws."
-Andrew Fletcher
While we were tracking songs for the album, we were also trying to develop musical beds that could be useful for the movie. So after tracking the drums and bass for every potential song on the record, Tim and Chad would spend a few minutes jamming, utilizing the tones that we had developed for the previous song. A few of these drum and bass grooves were useful for the movie- but one of them quickly became more important than just background music. "Say It Like You Mean It" was directly inspired by one of these jam sessions. It felt like a perfect accompaniment to Rob Machado's surfing in Bali - aggressive and distinctly stylish with a bit of an exotic flair.
The lyrical element of "Say It Like You Mean It" comes from my own inner dialogue. I want to be the same person on and off-stage. I am drawn towards the people I meet who do what they say and say what they do. This type of living shows a purity of thought and action that is increasingly hard to find. I look at the talking heads and the politicians and I wonder whether their words in the spotlight and their lives behind closed doors match up. Talk is cheap- Life is hard. This is an indictment for me and everyone else in the spotlight: "You say it like you mean it, but we still don't believe it."
--
Jon Foreman