Foolish Games
People say that love is a game. The thing is that they never say what kind of game it is, and how to play it. What is the rule in the game of love anyway? Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in his book, “Nausea”, “It’s quite an undertaking to start loving somebody. You have to have energy, generosity, blindness. There is even a moment right at the start where you have to jump across an abyss: if you think about it you don’t do it.” Hence we just jump into the game without even having a second to think about it. That is the thing about love. However, is it really like that? When we just jump into a game without thinking, then does it make us a fool? The funny thing is that people actually understand what love can cause them, the good and the bad, and they keep jumping into that anyway. Why do they do that? Why do we do that? Why do we jump into this foolish game willingly? They say that true love is sincerity. What is sincerity means anyway? Does being sincere mean that we are willing to be taken for granted? Where is the sense in that? It is a logical fallacy everywhere.
“Well in case you failed to
notice, in case you failed to see, this is my heart bleeding before you. This
is me down on my knees. And these foolish games are tearing me apart. And your
thoughtless words are breaking my heart; you’re breaking my heart.”
–Jewel, Foolish Games
This one song I would like to talk about right now is a very
meaningful song for me. I’ve been loving this song for so long but I always
find it hard to write about it since it means a lot for me. I feel so related
to this song. It is about a man. I know him all too well. I love him all too
much. This is a pop-country ballad song titled “Foolish Games”, performed by
American singer-songwriter, Jewel. It was released in July 8th 1997 as the
third single taken from the singer’s debut studio album, “Pieces of You”. It
was also the third single to be lifted from the 1997 “Batman & Robin” motion
picture soundtrack. Jewel re-recorded the single for the soundtrack to produce
a more radio-friendly version. This version is shorter than the album version
by one verse. The lyrics of this song about unreturned love began as a poem Jewel Kilcher wrote at
age 16, when she first started keeping a serious journal. The verse was “about a relationship that I was dramatically
involved in on paper,”
she said. “I’m sure he knew nothing of it.” Her journal entries formed
into a poem. A
year later, it evolved into a song. “I think the woman is looking at
herself saying, ‘Why am
I involved in a relationship where I’m selling myself so short?’” The melodic line and chord
progression of the verses in “Foolish Games” carry echoes of “Diamonds &
Rust”, recorded by Joan Baez. For her first greatest hits album released
in February 5th 2013, Jewel re-recorded this song as a duet with Kelly Clarkson
with new rock ballad arrangement. The song details the frustration and agony of
knowing that the intensity of one’s love is not reciprocated by one’s lover.
![]() |
"Foolish Games" single cover | source: en.wikipedia.org |
Once in our lifetime
there will be someone like him, but actually there is no one else like him,
because he is the only one. He is the one whose weirdness is captivating us to
the bone. He is the one whose craziness could counterbalance ours; hence making
us infatuated with him. He is the one whose magnificence is making us feel so
small and low. He is the one whose mysteriousness is making us feel like always
being outside. Once upon a time in our life he just came into it and barged in.
Even without doing anything but just standing there, he has the power to bring
us down on our knees. Even without saying anything but just some pep-talks, he
has the power to make our hearts bleed. “You
took your coat off, stood in the rain; you’re always crazy like that. And I
watched from my window; always felt I was outside, looking in on you. You’re
always the mysterious one with dark eyes and careless hair. You were
fashionably sensitive but too cool to care. You stood in my doorway, with
nothing to say besides some comment on the weather.”
Once in our lifetime
there is always someone like him, but actually there is no one else like him,
because he is the only one. He is the one whose brilliance is mesmerizing us to
the bone. He is the one whose philosophy could counterbalance ours; hence
making us infatuated with him. He is the one whose idealism is making us feel
so small and low. He is the one whose principle is making us feel like always
being dirty and stupid. Once upon a time in our life he just came and
everything is never be the same again since then. He just came and a book can
never be enough to write about him. “You’re
always brilliant in the morning, smoking your cigarettes and talking over
coffee. Your philosophies on art, Baroque moved you, you loved Mozart. And
you’d speak of your loved ones as I clumsily strummed my guitar. You’d teach me
of honest things, things that were daring, things that were clean, things that
knew what an honest dollar did mean. I hid my soiled hands behind my back;
somewhere along the line, I must have gone off track with you.”
Once in our lifetime
there is the one who is able to make our heart bleeding and make us down on our
knees. There is the one who is able to tear us apart. There is the one whose
words seem thoughtless since it is breaking our heart. “Well in case you failed to notice, in case you failed to see, this is
my heart bleeding before you. This is me down on my knees. And these foolish
games are tearing me apart. And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart;
you’re breaking my heart.” Once in our lifetime there is the one who is
able to make us feeling delusional and make us feeling deceived. There is the
one who is able to make us feeling like love is a foolish game; a game that is
tearing us apart and breaking our heart. There is the one like him, once in our
lifetime. “Excuse me, guess I’ve mistaken
you for somebody else; somebody who gave a damn, somebody more like myself. And
these foolish games are tearing me, you’re tearing me, you’re tearing me apart.
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart; you’re breaking my heart.”
![]() |
"Pieces of You" album cover | source: en.wikipedia.org |
Have you ever felt like there is some hollow and emptiness inside for loving someone who does not love you back? Have you ever felt like there is some ultimate and constant sadness for loving someone who only cares for himself? Have you ever felt like there is some excruciating pain inside for loving someone who doesn’t give a shit to you? Have you ever felt like there is some torturing desperation inside for loving someone who always neglects you? Well I know exactly how that feels; when you love someone sincerely but he takes that sincerity for granted. This foolish game is tearing me apart. His thoughtless words are breaking my heart. After all, it only makes me realize that he means so much for me for being able to break my heart. It only makes me understand that he is the one who matters the most for me for being able to tear me apart. I could play this song on repeat for a thousand times but that won’t stop my heart from aching. I could write a hundred pages of letter for him but that won’t stop my feeling from being hurt. However, even though he leaves and goes away, that won’t stop myself from loving him.
“Excuse me, guess I’ve mistaken
you for somebody else; somebody who gave a damn, somebody more like myself. And
these foolish games are tearing me, you’re tearing me, you’re tearing me apart.
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart; you’re breaking my heart.”
–Jewel, Foolish Games
You took your coat off,
stood in the rain, you’re always crazy like that
And I watched from my
window, always felt I was outside, looking in on you
You’re always the
mysterious one with dark eyes and careless hair
You were fashionably
sensitive but too cool to care
You stood in my
doorway, with nothing to say besides some comment on the weather
Well in case you
failed to notice, in case you failed to see
This is my heart
bleeding before you, this is me down on my knees
And these foolish
games are tearing me apart
And your thoughtless
words are breaking my heart, you’re breaking my heart
You’re always
brilliant in the morning, smoking your cigarettes and talking over coffee
Your philosophies on
art, Baroque moved you, you loved Mozart
And you’d speak of
your loved ones as I clumsily strummed my guitar
You'd teach me of
honest things, things that were daring, things that were clean
Things that knew what
an honest dollar did mean
I hid my soiled hands
behind my back somewhere along the line, I must have gone off track with you
Excuse me, guess I’ve
mistaken you for somebody else
Somebody who gave a
damn, somebody more like myself
And these foolish
games are tearing me, you’re tearing me, you’re tearing me apart
And your thoughtless
words are breaking my heart, you’re breaking my heart
And you took your coat
off, stood in the rain, you’re always crazy like that
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