What’s not to like about “Maybe You Should.” It is the pure, rich voice of Taylor Hicks singing a powerful song from the heart.
The heart rending lyrics of “Maybe You Should” have the feel of resignation. When all the words have been spoken and silence is broken only by tears, there is nothing left. Painful words recall the way love once was. Yet, in spite of the resolve and promises, all that remains is to give in to the inevitable.
“If you can leave here tonight,
Baby, maybe you should.”
We hold on to love, fight for it, live for it. Sometimes, we finally give up on it. “Maybe You Should” is a last acquiescence, a death knell in “this room” now filled only with memories.
The acoustic simplicity of “Maybe You Should” leaves a blank canvass for the emotional lyrics and rich vocals. Taylor’s simple delivery is straightforward, a sigh of resignation, even as plaintive words make a last attempt to rekindle those “tender years.”
“Baby, I just keep on seeing all that moonlight shining down
The way our love could light up this little Alabama town.
I keep holding on to hope still finding reasons to believe...”
If there is a trace of underlying anger it is in realizing “there’s a lot that I misunderstood” –an anguished moment when neither words, nor music, can change life.
“If you can tear down everything we built,
Deny everything we felt,
I guess there’s a lot that I misunderstood.
If you can leave here tonight,
Baby, maybe you should."
An austere, but rich piano track moves hand in hand with expressive lyrics. Bass, guitar, drums, organ and pedal steel are so finely interwoven that they are almost indistinguishable. Their blending is such a smooth musical backdrop that the mood of “this room” is all we hear.
Vocals fade at the end like someone walking out of the room. A final “maybe you should” is a whisper in an empty room sung only for the singer. Like the door closing or the final curtain falling and the lights coming up, the last musical notes take us to another inevitable—life goes on.
“Maybe You Should” is a hauntingly beautiful, bittersweet song that finds a place in each of us where love did not last forever. It plays in that deep, hidden spot in our hearts that we cover and deny that the pain is still there. But in remembering lost love, we also remember the bright spots when love could “light up this little Alabama town.”
And so for that, we go on gambling, leaning on love, and, sometimes, walking away.
Stunning lyrics are the fire in this song. They contrive to place us in the past, the present and the probable future. Words and phrasing are creatively unpredictable—not the usual “ losing you” lyrics. They are matched by beautiful melodies that carry us through a story that comes together for the kind of musical experience that we will listen to for a lifetime.
Smokey Robinson told Taylor that the songs you record, you have to live with for a long time.
“Maybe You Should” is a song that Taylor Hicks can live with for a long time!
And so can I.
“Maybe You Should,” written by Taylor Hicks/Gary Nicholson/Michael Reid is from the album, The Distance, by Taylor Hicks on Modern Whomp Records.
Photo courtesy of RagsQueen, The Magic Bag, 6.22.09
“Maybe You Should” video capture by RagsQueen at Smith’s Olde Bar, Atlanta, 8.16.09
Listen to an MP3 sample of “Maybe You Should” from The Distance at TTHC Discography:
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