Despite What You've Been Told

The Weather in the seventh episode of Welcome to Night Vale is the first example of standard indie rock, after two raps, three folk songs, and Scandinavian post-rock.  "Despite What You've Been Told" by Two Gallants is full of angst, a drifter making a sexual connection but lamenting his lost soul/happiness/conscience.  The verses follow an AABC pattern, what Walter Everett calls Statement-Restatement-Departure-Conclusion.  The end-rhyme scheme seems straight-forward, but it connects the pairs of stanzas with an aaab cccb dde ffe pattern.  There are a few unusual features of the form.  First, the chorus doesn't appear after the first verse. Instead, we get the refrain "That's how we deal with boys like me" to signal the end of each verse, coupled with a conclusive cadence.  The narrator is "satisfied" with his negative view of himself.  Finally after the second verse we get the chorus with the song title set apart as a pickup to the new harmonic content and a more conventional rhyme scheme (aabb).  The narrator recalls past moments of pride/glory when he had a soul, and slightly relaxes musically. 

The title also fits well with the WtNV episode, "History Week," telling us to forget everything we've been told about the history of Night Vale, which the Sheriff's Secret Police would probably appreciate.



Verse 1:  I guess by the bloodstain of your lips / And the wander of your fingertips / I should prove true to my emptiness / And stay here

Well I'm just a kid of ill repute / But the skin I wear's my only suit / And you are just a substitute / For the one that I hold dear

You know you could be anyone / God forgive my tasteless tongue / I never should have been set free

I carve my eyes, I skin my face / And beg somehow to be replaced / That's how we deal with boys like me

Verse 2: I guess by this world so sick with loss / And your services so free of cost / I should climb down of my rugged cross / And lay with you

But you know by now it's half past late / And I only came here for escape / You, you're just my next mistake / Like me to you

You know you could be anyone / God forgive your unborn sons / I hope they don't end up like me

I drag my mind through streets of shame / Blame myself, forgive the game / That's how we deal with boys like me

Chorus:  But despite what you've been told / I once had a soul / Left somewhere behind / A former friend of mine

And I hate to speak so free / But you mean nothing to me / So if the streetlights they shine bright / I'll be home tonight

Verse 3: I guess by the dim light in your eyes / And that to you all things come as a surprise / I should set the steel trap of your thighs / And dive right in

But to you I'm just a confused child / Insecure or in denial / Go raise your robes, go have your trial / I'll let you win

You know I could be anyone / God forgive what I should have done / My thoughts enough to guilty be

And yes, I guess I've made this bed / But I'll take the sidewalk instead / That's how we deal with boys with me

Chorus: But despite what you've been told / I once had a soul / Left somewhere behind / A former friend of mine

And I hate to sound so true / But I mean nothing to you / And with the streetlights they shine bright / I'll be home tonight

Outro (instrumental)