Simple Kind of Life

Music and poetry/lyrics are one of the few things that can bring me to tears, particularly when they speak to an experience, or feeling you only acknowledge within your darkest moments. The bald-faced lyrics and the utter emotional yearning in Gwen's voice are what really twists on your heart in this song. Although Return of Saturn was a bit of a flop for No Doubt, it has got to be one of their most emotionally satisfying songs and deserves more of the type of kudos given to their other most gut-wrenching song, Don't Speak. As a girl, I certainly have had my share of moments where I question how something so simple ever got so complicated, how everything pure became sullied and you wonder how you came to be at this moment. Would it be different if you could relive it, or would you just lose yourself all over again?

For a long time I was in love...
Not only in love, I was obsessed,
With a friendship that no one else could touch,
It didn't work out, I'm covered in shells...

And all I wanted was the simple things,
A simple kind of life,
And all I needed was a simple man,
So I could be the wife...

I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean,
I don't know how it got to this point,
I always was the one with all the love,
You came along, I'm hunting you down...

Like a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight,
And all I wanted was the simple things,
A simple kind of life...

(If we met tomorrow for the very first time
Would it start all over again?
Would I try to make you mine?)

I always thought... I'd be a mom,
Sometimes I wish for a mistake,
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get,
You seem like you'd be a good dad...

Now all those simple things are simply too
Complicated for my life,
How'd I get so faithful to my freedom?
A selfish kind of life
When all I ever wanted was the simple things,
A simple kind of life...

Update: had to remove the actual video as it was putting weird formatting into my blog, but you can still view it here