Music Review: Vertical Horizon "Everything You Want"

Vertical Horizon

Everything You Want

Album: Everything You Want

Year: 1999

              Matt Scannell doesn’t understand why he isn’t enough for his girlfriend in the           resigned “Everything You Want.”

                  A brooding guitar opens the single, setting a solemn tone.   His girlfriend tells him she ran into an old ex-boyfriend while shopping at the mall. She tells him what her ex was up to and how nice it was to see him again. She gives him a peck on the check and asks about his day.  He immediately knows who she’s talking about before she says his name. She’s still in love with him but won’t admit it. He would take more than him saying it. Her friends would have to see it before she might even consider it. There is something more she has to have that he knows he can’t give her. (“Somewhere there's speaking/It's already coming in/Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind/You never could get it/Unless you were fed it/Now you're here and you don't know why/But under skinned knees and the skid marks/Past the places where you used to learn/You howl and listen/Listen and wait for the/Echoes of angels who won't return.”)

                    In the chorus, he wonders why she isn’t with her ex to begin with. She says it’s not a  big deal. However, he doesn’t believe her. (“He's everything you want/He's everything you need/He's everything inside of you/That you wish you could be/He says all the right things/At exactly the right time/But he means nothing to you/And you don't know why.”)

                She cries sometimes. She tries to hide it around him but he can tell by her puffy eyes. He offers her advice when she asks. While she nods, he thinks she’s tuning him out. It’s as though he’s missing something and isn’t sure what it is. (“You're waiting for someone/To put you together/You're waiting for someone to push you away/There's always another wound to discover/There's always something more you wish he'd say.”)

                  The chorus is sung again.

                    In the bridge, he will watch as she stays with him until their relationship runs it course. She doesn’t ask for much time with him. A couple days of week is enough. However, he knows what she regrets. (“But you'll just sit tight/And watch it unwind/It's only what you're asking for/And you'll be just fine/With all of your time/It's only what you're waiting for/Out of the island/Into the highway/Past the places where you might have turned/You never did notice/But you still hide away/The anger of angels who won't return.”)

               The chorus is sung again.

              In the second chorus, he’s good for her. They have a lot in common. He treats her well. But to her, he’s a placeholder. He doesn’t know how to handle it. (“I am everything you want/I am everything you need/I am everything inside of you/That you wish you could be/I say all the right things/At exactly the right time/But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why/And I don't know why/Why/I don't know.”)

               Sannell builds up to his frustration and resentment. By the bridge, he is venting.  The feeling he is lacking won’t go away. It’s created a distance between them and it keeps growing. He’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and there is nothing he can do about it.

               The  human “Everything You Want” is able to articulate in simple terms a tough and heartbreaking  situation