Closer And Closure

(08) Past The Point of Return

Kelen's P.O.V:

"Good afternoon, Houston!" Jenna greeted the crowd in front of her with a grin. "Thank you so much for being here. Today's acoustic set is going to be pretty special, I hope you all enjoy."

Watching as Jenna put her guitar strap onto her body and turned to the side of the tent, I smiled and she smiled back to me. Looking to my side, I saw Parker approach me and I was glad he finally showed up. I told him that he should come and watch Jenna's acoustic set, and maybe he could hang out with her after. If that failed, we'd have to go to plan b... Just like last time.

"Bathwater is a song that... In a way it ties in with The Ocean - it was written about the same sort of feelings. We'd been going through a year of touring and I'd gotten really sick and I was mentally and physically exhausted. We ended up cancelling a tour so that I could recover from what I was experiencing and um, this song stems from a bath that I took, when I was experiencing extreme... skin condition stuff. Well, I used to take bleach baths that really burnt and uh, I guess this is something I never thought I'd talk about publicly, but it was a real part of the writing process and Bathwater is about the feeling of escaping from the world, going underwater and getting away from your thoughts" Jenna explained Bathwater's meaning, beginning to strum the intro. Hearing her talk from her heart like that was inspiring, and somehow, I felt closer to her. I don't know. "Well, I hope you guys don't mind me talking so much, but I thought I'd give you all a clue on what this song is really about. If you know the lyrics, please feel free to sing with me."

"I watch the bathwater drain
It's never looked quite the same
The weight comes back to my body
And I'm hopeless again
I watch the twist and the turns
Distract me from where it hurts
It's like I'm watching my life
Go past the point of return
Of return

So I switch it off
And I let it go
Cause where I hide
You'll never know
But when I'm down
You'll always know
So bathwater hear me now
As I scream out from below

I watch the sun coming up
Over the trees and rooftops
It's like it's piercing the sky
I wish it all could just stop
So I can replay this scene
And live like life is a dream
I'm finding this out the hard way
Nothing's quite what it seems
What it seems"

"This next one is called No Different, and it's a song that talks about my darkest feelings and experiences, which is quite strange for me because I'm a very positive and optimistic person, however this song talks about the ways that sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. That our mind is capable of twisting and turning things and taking us through really dark places. No Different talks about how I'm really conscious of the way our lyrics affect our fans and our listeners, so I wanted to make sure that there was definitely a line that wasn't encouraging these feelings and that it was just a way for me to... Release them" Jenna bit her lip, explaining No Different. Her words were quite interesting, and it was always a pleasure to see her connect with her band's fans. It truly was special.

"I was looking for something to drown out the pain
But with all the wrong answers it started again
I learned on that very day,
I just cannot keep running away from myself
Under a spell dragged myself to hell

I'm not trying to bring you down
I'm just talking to myself out loud
It's not like me to be so down
Slow down

I was looking for something to drown out the pain
But with all the wrong answers it started again
I learned on that very day,
I just cannot keep running away from myself
Under a spell dragged myself to hell"

"This next one, Breaking and Entering, means a lot to Tonight Alive, as a band and as people" Jenna began, tucking some hair behind her ear. Biting her lip, she paused and smiled as the crowd cheered her on. "Most people go through life in the fear of someone else's judgement and we let it control us, and we determine our happiness by the acceptance of somebody else. In this next song, I want you to believe this doesn't exist in our world. I don't want anyone here to be embarrassed by the way they look. I want you all to get that out of your mind and have a good fucking time. You with me Houston?"