“Not Meant to Be” (2008) Theory of a Deadman

It's never enough to say I'm sorry
It's never enough to say I care
But I'm caught between
What you wanted from me,
And knowing if I give that to ya
I might just disappear.

Nobody wins when everyone's losing
Oh it's like one step forward and two steps back
No matter what I do you're always mad
And I can't change your mind,
Oh, it's like trying to turn around on a one way street
I can't give you what you want
And it's killing me and I, I'm starting to see
Maybe we're not meant to be

It's never enough to say I love you
No, it's never enough to say I try
It's hard to believe
That there's no way out for you and me
And it seems to be,
The story of our life

Nobody wins when everyone's losing
It's like one step forward and two steps back
No matter what I do you're always mad
And I can't change your mind
Oh it's like trying to turn around on a one way street
I can't give you what you want and it's killing me
And I, I'm starting to see
That maybe we're not meant to be

There's still time to turn this around
Should we be building this up
Instead of tearing it down?
But I keep thinking
Maybe….
It's too late

It's like one step forward and two steps back,
No matter what I do you're always mad
And I, I can't change your mind
Oh, it's like tryin to turn around on a one way street
I can't give you what you want and it's killing me
And I, I finally see baby
That we're not meant to be
It's like one step forward and two steps back,
No matter what I do you're always mad,
And I, baby I'm sorry to see,
Maybe….
We're not meant to be


I love the imagery and honesty in the song Not Meant to Be. It not only describes a very unhealthy relationship (“If I give that to you, I might just disappear”), I found I can draw parallels to other areas of my life – which is a necessity for me since I don’t even have a man I’m not meant to be with!

First of all, going back to that line I just quoted, “I’m caught between/What you wanted from me/And knowing that if I give that to you/I might just disappear”. I don’t know about you, but I think sometimes I feel that way when God asks me to do something that I don’t understand or don’t want to do. Even as my faith has grown stronger in the past couple of years, and I know, I know that He is my Provider, I still sometimes think He’s asking too much of me.

The next image that really stands out is “It's like one step forward and two steps back”. Now, I know we’ve all been there at some point in our life’s journey; sometimes we take several steps back before we can start moving forward again. Sometimes we just stop and wait. But one thing I’ve learned about God is that no matter how many miles we move back, away from Him, all we have to do is turn around and He’s right there. If only everything in life were so dependable and constant!

And finally, “It’s like trying to turn around on a one way street”. Again, who’s with me on this? How many times have you found yourself going in one direction in life only to realize it’s the wrong way down a one way street (figuratively, of course, as I’m sure none of you would ever actually do that in your car)? Or you’re rolling with the flow of traffic and suddenly need to turn around? Have faith my friends, God will always provide the exit, you just need to be watchful and don’t ignore the signs.

Ok, real quick before I go, this totally reminds me of the movie “Elizabethtown” when Drew (played by Orlando Bloom, who is totally hot), misses his exit, the now infamous “60B”. He keeps asking himself, “Did I miss 60B??” until he pulls over and frantically screams it to the universe. I laugh out loud every time!!

*Photo used was copied from this Google images page.