Lyrics
"No One Knows"
Come and sit down in that chair and tell us what you've seen
And we’ll pretend that we are listening
Tell us about the things he did when you were seventeen
That somehow no one else was there to see
No one knows
No one knows but you
Nothing can prove the things you say, so we’ll just have to see
But we’ll pretend that we have sympathy
It’s your word versus his word then it’s up to us to choose
Nothing else is left for you to do
No one knows
No one knows but you
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na
Sorry about the things you say are in your memory
But now it’s time for you to let it be
Nothing that you could say today would make us change our minds
We’re moving on and leaving you behind
No one knows
No one knows but you
© 2021 Andrew J Stenehjem (ASCAP)
Lyric Video
Background Information
Another song of mine that's sung from the perspective of the antagonist, this is about someone whose sharing of experiences of abuse are met with indifference and hostility. I have a habit of sometimes singing from the perspective of a person that I disagree with, don’t understand or don’t relate to, and this song is an example of that. I empathize with the person being sung to, not the person singing.
This is a tough theme to wrap up in what some might consider to be a relatively upbeat musical arrangement. I actually debated whether or not to release it because I didn’t want it to have a negative impact. I even did a version with some of the lyrics changed in an attempt to make the story more subtle. In the end, it seemed like the song needed to be what it was initially, so I decided to release it as is.
As with all of the songs on my debut album, I wrote, performed, recorded and mixed myself it in my 104 year-old house.