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Being Analytical Will Make You Better at Everything but Being Happy: a user guide on converting your emotions into binary code

by Therapy Session

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1.
You said baby, I envy you 'cause I'll love you no matter what you do You were a stray dog all on your own I took you in and gave you a home You said baby, I love you No matter what you do I just ask that you'll love me Completely unconditionally So even though you know you don't You say you do Even though you know you don't You say you do So even if I know I don't I say I do So even though we know we don't We say we do 'cause no one wants to hear What we all do fear But we've all had to face the truth When their love is yours, it's yours to lose So baby, I love you Depending on what you do I just ask that you'll love me At least until you're not what I need
2.
Whispers from God in your dreams Told you you're where you need to be That must feel so comforting But it's not something I could believe -Though it's everything you need- You said we can't be all alone We can't just be flesh and bone We need a place where we belong Even when we're dead and gone You found a lover; makes you feel weak in the knees You went out and bought a diamond ring You bought the house; had the family But I never bought the American Dream -Though it's everything you need- Now you'll never be alone You have a lover to call you home If I need a place to belong I'll just write another song No place has ever felt like home So it's always easy for me to go You’re probably lucky if you can't understand Why I'd rather hold a guitar than a lovers hand
3.
Well you always had the talent But you always had the blues Guess there's just some things You never seem to lose The wheels keep on spinning But your world just won't move Carrying all that baggage Has worn down your shoes The problem keeps repeating Perfection fades with time You’ll love me one day But then you'll change your mind And you've got your reasons Though I'll never know why 'cause there are thousands of reasons T o stay or say goodbye Add it up like a math equation Till the sums a perfect two But emotions change like the wind, So logic has no use It all gets so complicated With the fickle lover blues My emotions into ones and zeros Yours into walking shoes We only get more complicated As our hearts get drug through time You’ve never loved anyone Just an image in your mind And you've got your reasons Though I'll never know why 'cause there are thousands of reasons To stay or say goodbye You had checked your bags And got on another flight You thought you had found the one So you stayed the night But the problem keeps repeating A different person; a different time We’ve all made our mistakes You were one of mine I know that you're leaving - Though we’ve had better times There were thousands of things you loved But now nothing comes to mind
4.
Start 01:48
Out of my mind and into your bed All the attention just went to my head Guess that it's fine, 'cause I'd do it again Take all this caution, throw it to the wind And it's alright If I stay just tonight Or the rest of my life One step at a time Then out of my head and into your heart It’s the first brush stroke of a work of art I always dread how it falls apart But you can't fear the ending, you just have to start
5.
We'll see what's inside When all the glitter and shine Of Hollywood gets washed away And a friend who never lied Will sell your secrets to buy The affection of strangers and a moment of fame I never felt as close to you - As when Everyone else had let me down. 'cause I thought you'd never do The things to leave me feeling used Well I'm feeling abandoned now. I think that it's time That I Disappear 'cause I can't keep trying Always to remind you That I'm here So maybe it's dishonest To pretend I'm moving on with My life, and I don't need you or anyone So I'm taking the fifth When I'm asked if I miss A time when to be happy, to you I would run. Well it's time To accept what is mine And stop basing my happiness on you Or I may find You will never change your mind And I will always be singing the blues Well if you really need me Come find me dear But I can't keep trying Always to remind you That I'm here 'cause these story books I've read All have led Me to feel That there are happy endings But they're really always just pending Appeals Well falling in love isn't always followed by happy ever after Sometimes you just fell And story book pages Fade outs in romance movies End sooner than their stories would tell And these movies I've watched Have taught me to want And to feel That there are happy endings But they're really always pending Appeals So fade out then cut to Our hero has disappeared And if his love doesn't try to find him It will on reveal what I fear.
6.
If the grand romantic gestures Always seem to fail I guess I better find A new kind of love to sell And it’s true You were starry eyed when I met you Was it me you saw or just a fantasy You found romance While looking up at the midnight sky But at noon you’d shade your eyes and hide under the trees If the grand romantic gestures Always seem to fail I guess I better find A new kind of love to sell And it’s true We value more what we think we’ll loose You’re only wishing on shooting stars I changed the tides When I brought you back the moon So you went sailing off into the dark If the grand romantic gestures Always seem to fail I guess I better find A new kind of love to sell If the grand romantic gestures A lways seem to fail I guess I better find A new kind of love to sell ‘cause while the grand romantic gestures Always seem to fail If you keep alive a fantasy You always will prevail
7.
The Ruse 04:29
If I can't have what I want, I guess I'll take the runner up 'cause with this game of "all or nothing", I'm through So when I lie and say I want no one else I'll keep the truth to myself, Or I'll be left alone And you’ll feel used So I'm just an actor in your play So I won't be the rain on your parade I know you have to pretend Like all of this will never end Just to continue To prove That there's a love that exist Where all your flaws vanish But your love’s just a blindfold You named the truth So I'm just an actor in your play So I won't be the rain on your parade And if you want to lie to yourself I'll join in like everyone else 'cause I know you'll take happiness over the truth But for me, I face facts I take the options that I have And right now I've got nothing to lose -And neither do you So we've got nothing to lose I thought I just had no luck Then I learned to just shut up And let you fill in silence With your ruse It seemed to make us happy enough Not that you notice what I really want Or you'd see you're just all I have Not what I choose So I'm just an actor in your play So I won't be the rain on your parade I'll go where I'm welcome And if I'm welcome to stay I'll play by your rules And I'll stay in my cage
8.
What you’ve got, I want But not enough to change This puzzle’s a jigsaw With one flaw It’s easy to rearrange -and rearrange- So I pushed it all away I just pushed it all away 'cause when you have it all, it feels like a cage So I pushed it all away What you saw Were the lines you'd draw When I was only blank I was whole before I was told there's more And was put in my place -I must be put in my place- -But I can't stay in one place- So I ran away I just ran away I might as well lie in my grave If I have to stay in one place Well, if I had never known That I was all alone Would I long to know What it feels like to call you home What I said before It can't be either/or There must be something between 'cause it means so much more When there's an open door Yet you stay with me
9.
Time 05:03
If there’s a winner Then someone must lose It cuts deeper When she has to choose If chances were endless I wouldn’t feel so used If life’s not fair Why play by the rules If timing is everything, I’ll wait I wish I had something to lose ‘cause then I’d be cautious When I have to choose Well I had a chance Now I’m asking for two ‘cause I know you love me I just have to prove - it to you. If timing is everything I’ll wait I’ll wait for you I wish I had something to lose
10.
Plot Points 03:19
What happens is I see through To what plot points lead to Never predicting anything new No matter what you do The story's been done too But I hope it's not true Because it’d be a shame If it's all just the same Repeat with new names But no story's new It's tragic I'm used to It's comedy to get through And still have a reason to continue It's too good to be true It’s fiction I've escaped to But I hope that's not true (At least not with you) Because it'd be a shame If it's all the same Repeat with new names But no story's new And all the stories written are reused But the irony's lost when it's assumed That things will play out as they do Nothing’s leaned if you fooled this fool So it's a shame If this ends the same This story can't change I'm always doomed And the cynics will say Nothing perfect is made So you know how this plays No story is new But I hope that's not true At least not with you
11.
I spent my life Trying to do what's right But a gift just might Be a burden too I made you my wife When you just wanted one night To let the loneliness subside In you So now I do my best to never start the fire 'cause I lack control over my desires I dream together, we could leave But just my imagination runs away with me I miss the touch But not enough To dig what's buried up in me And if you called my bluff That I could never love Don’t you dare crush What I hid deep I used to lay my heart at your feet But now I'd rather turn and retreat If I love you, I never want to burden you So I will spend my days in solitude I missed the chance At that second glance I should have advanced But it feels doomed Don't repeat the past Even the sun won't last But the heat is back With the morning dew
12.
Cards 04:11
All I have is what I'm dealt, I do my best to build a house And who walks in makes it a home But that's something you cannot own No, you’ll never have it all This house of cards is bound to fall What killed the cat is all I have Keeping me from choosing death Tarot cards and crystal balls May lead to scales with grim results ‘cause I’ll know I'll never have it all Must find happiness in faults But how much is enough To keep me from giving up It's only chance and circumstance You’ll find happiness and romance But we're only entitled to a death And that card up my sleeve may be all I have left I can’t say I wouldn’t walk away ‘cause I know There may be a time when I’ll choose to go.
13.
You asked me if I'm alright I don't know what that means And no one should be tortured by These emotions but me So I smile and hide behind a joke It’s become my routine There are so many ways to cope With never achieving a dream Well I caught myself running again No direction, at full speed If I slow down my mind races And never fails to remind me That no matter how far I stray The rivers all flow to the seas I would love for you to stay But things will return to the way they must be Beauty's last kiss is a sting Still we pass with hopes to collide 'cause you could make me feel anything And right now I want to die -But I want to feel alive- I want to feel anything other Than what just came over Me Give me a kiss to believe in 'cause I don't have a reason To breathe You ask me if I'm alright I don't know what that means And no one should be tortured by These emotions but me So I smile and hide behind a joke It’s become all I can be There’s not so many ways to cope With not getting what you need
14.
I taught you to swim And you let me drown I gave her my heart And she shot me down Now when you draw blood I just paint the stars 'cause we're all connected By these scars Love never seems real in memories I always wake from nightmares at the end of dreams I loved that feeling while in your arms So now I try to play it on my guitar I write songs No one wants to hear 'cause I'm full of pain No one wants to feel It’s another drug To substitute That feeling that I had with you But nothing feels as real As self-deceit I lie to myself While you lie with me "All you need is love," Was your solution But it's always come With some delusion Chase a feeling You can never keep From broken hearts To broken strings Film and paint Tape and clay Try to hold onto a moment That got away I want to believe Something good can last But there's no proof of it In my past All I've built Gets torn apart My connection to you Is a work of art
15.
Well I fell hard and just never got up ‘cause you were a pill when I needed a crutch Living on the streets- vomit on his clothes, He asked me for change I said I can't provide to you sir, The will to seize the day He said his heart was broken, And it was never resolved So now around the bottle, I see his life is revolved Well, I'd been wondering so I asked, if life's a burden or a gift He smiled at me and said, "Depends how you're handling it." ‘cause I've been thinking, Of putting a needle in my vein To find an addiction, I can sustain He said "You'll never get that same feeling, But if you're just too neurotic to love, Then sit right here with me boy, And take that drug." -“And give up.”- "Well, we've all got out problems," I say, "I know I've got mine. And nothing is ever resolved, we’re just buying or wasting our time." So he asked me, if life's a burden or if it's a gift I said, "Sometimes I'm happy, and sometimes I feel like shit." Well I don't like the feeling, when she's not around So doc gives me feelings that aren't my own I don't like the feeling, when she's not around So they pump me full of feelings that aren't my own Best find a better way to deal ‘cause we all want to be happy or too numb to feel But when you decide you'd rather feel nothing than a chance of pain You’ve already stepped one foot in the grave You’re one foot in the grave I'm one foot in the grave
16.
Sunny Day 04:11
When it's all just distractions To keep death of my mind They're not reasons to live Just things to occupy time If I could, I would give up But there's a glimmer of hope And I want that life so badly That I'm willing to cope 'cause a sunny day Can get me through a month of rain A sunny day Can get me through a month of rain And when I have nothing I'll think of a day like this And against all the pointless suffering The scale still seems to tip 'cause a sunny day Can get me through a month of rain A sunny day Can get me through a month of rain A sunny day Knows just how much I can take 'cause a sunny day Is never too far away
17.
Maybe you were right When you said all we need is love But you never mentioned How rare the true kind comes I wish I knew where I was going And if I'll be smiling when I'm there All I know is I'm unhappy Staying here So I’m waiting For something to happen But then I'm just always waiting For something to happen For things to change- And when did our water And when did our blood Turn into poisons That can steal our lives from us So we put our guard up Afraid to be touched ’cause someone might hurt you - darling So they can take what they want So I'm always trying to limit the pain ’cause how can you be happy When no one around you can feel the same But then I'm just always waiting on someone else to wake ’cause love is selflessness, it's not just something you say. And yes, we need to love to be loved And still stay selfish enough to survive So these people keep lying to me To keep me alive Maybe you were right When you said all we need is love But you never mentioned How rare the true kind comes
18.
Well no one knows how we got into this mess But they're eager to tell you, how you ought to live An explosion or a plan Neither explanation would change who I am And you're still searching for why we exist 'cause it's hard when you feel lonely on this big planet With the vastness of space and you're still stuck here And you think an explanation would change how I feel But when I'm with her I don't care if planets collide I need no other reason for being alive I'm just grateful for every breath From the vastness of space to the emptiness That would chill through my bones And leave me with this weight It’s all been lifted, She always takes its place So I'll take every breath into my lungs Be grateful for every moment that comes Because she's reason enough to need another day She’s reason enough, But she went away So I guess I'll subscribe that it's all left to chance ‘cause it all seems pointless without her in the plan
19.
The Truth 03:57
Easy answers are easy to sell With promise of gifts or fear of hell Men who claim the truth is out Can’t all be right so I have my doubts They’re just afraid of uncertainty I accepted it at seventeen That’s when I knew how little we know And we’re all just afraid of being alone So anyone that says They know what’s best They’re lying to you They’re lying to you The vastness of space and time Makes you a spec in and infinite line Purpose means there’s a reason for this, But you find your own meaning in why you exist In every person you ever affect Compassion and love will all come back It’s as simple as you reap what you sow But maybe I’m wrong. What do I know? So anyone that says They know what’s best They’re lying to you They’re lying to you Because there are so many ways To make mistakes And what’s true to you Is just true to you We now know we’re not at the center But we kept the sense of self-entitlement As if you could choose your rightful place But it’s selfish to die and selfish to live And your confident claim to know What is right and wrong Is just your desperate attempt to feel That you are where you belong But what’s true to you Is just true to you So anyone that says They know what’s best They’re lying to you They’re lying to you Because there are so many ways To make mistakes And what’s true to you Is just true to you
20.
Scars 06:15
Can’t give up But must give up On ideals Or I’ll never be Satisfied with How I feel And we keep hoping All will go As we’ve planned But the universe Won’t yield to Our demands Well nothing last forever So best you get used to watching it all fall apart From your first love, to every endeavor There’s an end to all you start Everyone you know They will go Keep thinking she won’t Or maybe he won’t But no one lives forever So best you get used to watching it all fall apart From your first love, to every endeavor There’s an end to all you start And if you want to be remembered You can try to leave your mark But headstones all will crumble And it won’t matter when it all goes dark Still we continue to build And tear down In hopes to find a purpose Or maybe to be found Still all I love is vincible So I am willing to bleed I’ll spend a lifetime waiting For someone to say to me: “Please don’t go.” “Please don’t go.” Well I can’t live forever So I’m getting used to watching myself falling apart Still I try to make things better And they are with you in my arms And this is all that really matters To experience beauty through love and art ’cause I will go the way I entered With empty hands, but now a heavy heart And we’ll have our scars.
21.
If I could I guess I should Stay a little while At least a little while 'cause it's understood That all that's good Are said with a little smile At least a little smile You got my heart beating again Only thing certain is closing curtains You said "nice to meet you", with a smile So I thought I should stay for a while ... at least a little while 'cause it's understood That nothing good Comes from always hiding out There are so many routes Till when they’ll drain your blood And those who did and never loved Will both be underground So don't wait around Don’t wait around.

about

Being Analytical Will Make You Better at Everything but Being Happy: a user guide on converting your emotions into binary code, is a double album (Pt. 1: Perception & Pt. 2: Perspective) totaling 21 songs, plus a bonus 5 song EP (Projections & Reflections) of b-sides that were cut from the album exclusively for people who purchase the full album through Bandcamp.
Written, produced and performed by Joel Michalak, this album has been in the works on and off since the release of Therapy Session's debut album Burning Bridges & Building Walls.

The album is a concept album exploring dualities of the human condition, existential nihilism, and ugly truths surrounding the idealistic, romanticized version of true/unconditional love.

credits

released October 11, 2016

The album was entirely written, produced, performed, mixed and mastered by Joel Michalak, except for the following guest appearances:

Honorary Therapy Session member Carlos Landaverde on drums for the songs "Cards" and "Explosion or a Plan",

Joe Fraley and Sebastian A. Bach back up vocals on Unconditionally, Start, and Coldest Day (b-sides disk)

Jean Marie Delkhaste performing back up vocals on Unconditionally, American Dream, Start, and Coldest Day (b-sides disk)

Alaska Reid performing vocals on Replace Me When You Can (b-sides disk)

Special thanks to Carlos Landaverde and Simon Brown who helped hammer out the live versions of some of these songs, which ultimately influenced the direction a few of the songs took.

Cover art created by Joel Michalak using an MRI scan of his brain and a photo of the galaxy NGC 6503, AKA "The Lonely Galaxy Lost in Space," Courtesy of NASA, ESA, D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University), and the Hubble Heritage Team.

This album is dedicated to Evelyn.

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