Nothing at all

carroll

Nothing at all
Verse
I suppose we’ll always feel guilty.
We ignored the signs.
Maybe if we’d paid more attention.
John would be alive.
Pre chorus
We thought he was crying wolf.
Another false alarm.
We never dreamed that this time.
He would do himself harm.
Chorus
We figured it was best to ignore him.
So, we ignored the call.
Now we know the worst thing you can do is
Doing nothing at all.
Verse
We thought he was just doing his thing.
Wearing those long sleeves.
Never dreamed that he was a cutter.
Thought he just smoked weed.
Verse
We thought the Prozac was helping him
To cope with his stress.
Never asked him to talk about it;
His romance with death.
Pre chorus
We thought he was crying wolf.
Another false alarm.
We never dreamed that this time.
He would do himself harm.
Chorus
We figured it was best to ignore him.
So, we ignored the call.
Now we know the worst thing you can do is
Doing nothing at all.
Verse
His parents thought he would outgrow it.
Thought it was a phase.
Thought confrontation would make things worse.
Let him have his way.
Pre chorus
We thought he was crying wolf.
Another false alarm.
We never dreamed that this time.
He would do himself harm.
Chorus
We figured it was best to ignore him.
So, we ignored the call.
Now we know the worst thing you can do is
Doing nothing at all.

sidshovel

Hi Carroll,

Self harm, another hidden disease, good for you to shine the light.

You captured a whole range of, "if only we knew's".

Pretty much a real-life snapshot of apathy and regret.

Well written and well paced.

Sid

RainyDayMan

Now we know the worst thing you can do is

Doing nothing at all.

those are strong lines. Sadness and regret coming through loud and clear.

My only thought is whether or not to use "John". On the one hand it makes things more specific, but using a generic "he" might make it easier for people to apply it to someone else they know. If it's written for a specific person, then of course that overrides everything.

carroll

Easy enough to change