You Can’t Have It All
When I get high, you always bring me down
Everything I try hit the stony ground
Got me so confused and now you’re feeling good
Ever changing moods, I don’t know what I should do…
Scratches down my back, when we’re making love
Give you all my time, but it’s not enough
In and out of style, like the music scene
Feels like I’m living in a magazine
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
Voices in your head, always doubting me
Paranoid distortions of reality
You tell me all the time that there’s something wrong
But you never know what you really want
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it, you can’t have it all
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
You…can’t…have…it…all
You…can’t…have…it…all
I’m losing my mind, it comes too easily
Blaming someone else for your misery
Walking on eggshells until you’re feeling bad
This psycho drone is taking over my life
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it, you can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
Demo version
When I get high, you always bring me down
Here another sight, hit the stony ground
Got me so confused ’cause now you’re feeling good
Ever changing moods, I don’t know what I should do…
Scratches down my back, when we’re making love
Give you all my time, but it’s not enough
In and out of style, like a music scene
Feels like I’m living in a magazine
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
Voices in your head, always doubting me
Paranoid distortions of reality
You tell me all the time that there’s something wrong
But you never know what you really want
Push me until I break
Just to see how much I take
In this game, always a winner
You’re the saint, I’m the sinner
Out from the bitter hall
You can torch and punch the walls
You won’t stop until I cry
The very next day, you want me back
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
You…can’t…have…it…all
You…can’t…have…it…all
Blaming someone else for your misery
Seizure come to you very easily
Walking on eggshells until you change your mind
This psycho drama is taking over my life
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
Song Notes
Mark said of the song during the recording of Twilight of the Innocents:
When Tim first played the basic idea for this I thought it was totally weird, but it’s probably now my favourite song on the whole album. The guitar has almost an Eastern European/Russian vibe to the repeating lead parts, the verse has a super groove going on that has a really cool distorted bass line. The arrangement is pretty far removed from what we’re usually up to. The chorus completely drops down to just a quiet guitar and lone vocal, repeating the title line along a very catchy melody. The middle section of the song has a really intense instrumental section, super drumming by our mini-Grohl and then it stays pretty full on, like a mash of Nirvana when they did pop and Weezer in their Blue album era. The chorus has such a hook and I think it’s a sure bet to be a fan and live favourite too. It took a few days to get it initially but it’s one of our best yet
Tim Wheeler said of the track in February 2007 prior to it’s release as a single:
It’s a bitchy love song, dealing with bi-polar emotions. It’s got a really big driving bassline and the beat in the verses is almost dancey. But then the chorus is classic Ash bubblegum punk-pop. I really love it. It was actually written before Meltdown, but I didn’t think it was that good. But then we started playing it again before we started recording and we all fell in love with it. And there was me thinking it would just be a B-side. But then I thought that about “Goldfinger” too.