Hand Me Downs
It's been a while since the sleeve I put my heart on was my own
It's been a while since I thought that I might wear this once I'd grown
Who says these stains aren't to blame?
'Cause I don't need these hand me downs
Hanging off my shoulders, trailing on the ground
I don't feel these hand me downs
Are comfortable now
Don't get me wrong, they seem to suit you fine, they're just not me.
They're just too long and when I try to move they tangle 'round my feet
And pull me down
I don't need these hand me downs
Hanging off my shoulders, trailing on the ground
I don't feel these hand me downs
Are comfortable now
The logos and slogans,
They're not to my taste
These patterns, these pictures
Too much in my face
Too jaded, too faded
Am I better off naked
Or would I expose myself?
I don't need these hand me downs
Hanging off my shoulders, trailing on the ground
I don't feel these hand me downs
Are comfortable now
They're not comfortable now
Not the style they're wearing now
© Kieran Metcalfe 2005
This is a tricky song to explain as it sounds really negative. It may come across at first glance as being about losing faith, and throwing your former values back in the faces of the people you shared them with.
It's not really about that at all. It's more about a time when I reached a point where the trappings of calling myself a Christian, and the expectations of the Church had really started to get to me. I'd reached a point where I felt that I needed to get away from what everyone was telling me were the right things to believe and the right way to "do church".
There's a fair amount of pent up frustration in the song, and it's all about a deep need to own your beliefs, rather than have them handed down from other people.
©2008