mirror is a song about the costs of being hard on yourself. we all have these avatars that we give to our critical inner voices - we might imagine a scornful parent telling us we’ll fail, or a critic telling us our work comes up short, or a society telling us that we aren’t good enough - it’s about recognizing that most of this criticism is self-inflicted. for years, i was imagining the worst thing a critic might say about my music and looking at my own work as negatively as possible as a way to protect myself from criticism, but it never once served me. my hope is that other people can overcome this same kind of shame - it can be really liberating to recognize that most of the time, we’re only letting our own thoughts get in the way, and we can do something about it.
Verse:
Well, you were the aftermath
Of every judgment
So cold by the sweat that
You’ll waste away
And you carry your enemies
But they’re so familiar
I’m sick of the company
So I cull the shame
Chorus:
And I know you’ll say how I’m a burden
Yeah, do your worst, all at once
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
And it’s not the voice of all the others
You’ve only said it to yourself
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
Narrator: (They come to feel like things we’re saying to ourselves.)
Verse:
An inch from my ears again:
“You should be sorry,”
A solemn man:
“A better song could fix my problems”
I’m tired of your questioning
You’re cut down too easily
And I don’t know what’s good for me
I can’t decide
Chorus:
And I know you’ll say how I’m a burden
Yeah, do your worst, all at once
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
And though they sound like one another
You’ve only said it to yourself
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
Narrator: “Now these voices have become our own.”
Verse:
An inch from my ears again:
“You should be sorry,”
A solemn man:
“A better song could fix my problems”
I’m tired of your questioning
You’re cut down too easily
And I don’t know what’s good for me
I can’t decide
Chorus:
And I know you’ll say how I’m a burden
Yeah, do your worst, all at once
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
And it’s not the voice of all the others
You’ve only said it to yourself
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
And I know you’ll say how I’m a burden
Yeah, do your worst, all at once
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
And though they sound like one another
You’ve only said it to yourself
I know what you want from me (from me)
I know what you’re thinking
Narrator:
Sometimes, the inner voice is encouraging: Calling for you to run those final few yards;
You’re nearly there, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. It will all be OK in
the end.
