"Say Anything" was a really fun song to write, and a blast to produce -- primarily, because it was sort of an experiment. In general, the choruses and hooks (more specifically, the chord progressions and melodies in said sections), have a strong pop-rock vibe, and pop-rock isn't typically my cup of tea. The chord progression is simple, the harmonies are a bit emo and desperate, even a little pitchy in some parts, and the break-for-the-hook trick is nothing new for songwriters and listeners, alike. However, the ominous-sounding counterparts, and darkly sarcastic lyrical content compliments the aforementioned sections of the song... and in my opinion, it justifies my reasons for writing it in the cliche pop-rock format.
The lyrics were written from the perspective of an average Joe (who for the sake of simple comprehension, we'll call "Joe") who has all but given up on trying to win over this girl (who for the sake of simple comprehension, we'll call "Jane") he is infatuated with. There is nothing wrong with "Joe", except that to "Jane", he isn't stunningly gorgeous, extremely popular, or filthy rich, or anything not superficial. Jane is a total knockout ("super hot", for those of you up-all-nighters, reading this from your mom's basement while the next level of Immortal Zombie Dragon Fantasy 9 is loading on your PlayBox 5). Jane is also just about everything Joe is not. Joe hasn't come on too strong, he isn't being creepy or pushy, he just isn't the type Jane would ever give a chance to. Jane, like most "dream girls", has a romantic history of dating only grade A assholes, who take advantage of her and treat her like crap. In fact, she has just been cheated on and dumped by her latest boy toy, and poor Jane is left feeling sorry for herself, and posting "pitiful, hungry-for-sympathy, but too good to ask for it, and too dumb to recognize her own need for improvement" posts via social media about how she just wishes her "Prince Charming" would come save her from her daddy's tower, (but only after Prince Charming gets a newer, more expensive horse, and coughs up the money for a sharper, shinier sword, instead of patiently waiting for his free, bi-annual upgrade like some cheapskate peasant.)
Meanwhile, Joe grows discouraged. He hasn't always known Jane's true colors, and began with a genuine crush for a girl he just thought was the most beautiful thing to ever walk the earth, the sugar to his Kool-Aid, the reason God made halos. Having never successfully engaged her in a conversation, nor been able to persuade her into giving him her phone number or contact info, his only knowledge of her character is what his imagination has created based off of the way she laughs when she's with her friends, the Led Zeppelin shirt he has seen her wear when she jogs through town, and the way she looks when she's singing along to the radio in her Mustang, as he once saw when she sped through a yellow light adjacent to where Joe was jumpstarting his pickup. Totally oblivious to Jane's cold, high and mighty personality, he seethes with vengeance when he learns about how Jane's ex treated her, and is puzzled beyond solution as to why a girl so great and so beautiful would give the time of day to such scumbags, why she seems to only be attracted to the same chumps who used to knock Joe's books from his hands, and shove him into the lockers. If only he could get one chance with Jane, he could show her how great of a guy he is, he could prove to her that good guys do exist, and that he was one of them. Time passes by, and Joe starts to learn a little more about the type of person Jane really is, judging by the way she treats him when he does get the opportunity to bump into her or answer the phone. She's rude, stuck up, dismissive, and Joe begins to wonder if she could even name track number 9 on Led Zeppelin's IV album...."there ISN'T A TRACK 9!!" Joe would shout, "THE ALBUM ENDS WITH "WHEN THE LEAVY BREAKS!!" Then he figured he would follow it with a middle finger...maybe two, he hadn't decided that yet, as there was still one card left to play. After all, whether or not she was a sad, souless human being, she was still Joe's crush, and had been for way to long for him to just give up. Lacking not hope, nor desire, Joe convinces himself that Jane must find something attractive about guys who are total jerks and treat her like dirt. He takes the brutally honest and extremely desperate route, in a final attempt to get Jane's attention, and that's where the sarcasm in the lyrics takes lead. I never did decide if (lyrically speaking) Joe is being really really sarcastic, or if he is genuinely convinced that Jane wants to be treated badly, and so he's, in the most romantic way possible, offering to do just that. All she has to do is respond (say anything). I also was sort of hoping to accomplish leaving the listener with a strong suspicion that maybe ole Joe isn't such a square after all (that's where my mind was at when I wrote the first pre-chorus, "I never claimed to guarantee..." And this would also make the chorus lyrics quite literal, albeit overbearingly honest, by default:
Maybe Joe is a true heartbreaker, a womanizer, a player. Joe thought so highly of Jane, he was convinced he had to portray the "Mr. right" image to her, if he had any expectations of getting her attention. However, so be it if that's what Jane is truly attracted to, whether by genuine masochistic appeal to the "bad boy" who will always leave her feeling inferior and inadequate, or because of some other post-traumatic, emotional, character flaw. In this case, the chorus lyrics Then again, maybe not. After all, the idea of a girl attracted to a guy she can "fix"...that's...that's just too far fetched.

At this point, the lyrics should be pretty self-explanatory, but just to conclude:
The intro obviously refers to this prick who just cheated on Jane and dumped her. "I noticed how he left you standing, crying in the rain.."
And then I reference Jane's reluctance to listen to reason, especially from a "scrub" like Joe. (sorry, i couldn't help it)
The chorus, in either of the two perspectives, is my favorite. It's soooo honest, whether it's sarcastic or "matter-of-fact".
Lastly, the second verse sort of charts a "snap" in Joe. He's sort of getting aggressive and telling this chick, "you know what? I tried being the nice guy, showing you respect, and becoming a better man because I thought we might be good for each other, but you still choose to treat me like you're so much better than I am. I didn't wanna play this card, but Im well aware of how ugly you are on the inside. I see your true colors, but it still doesn't stop me from wanting to get to know you, because guess what? I'm just as ugly as you.
Hopefully the listener makes sense of the Twilight reference. I watched the movies and read almost all of the books. I've nothing against Stephanie Meyer, or her outrageous, romantic, serial-killer fantasy. However, it always struck me as odd, although very imaginative, how she converted such a huge following of teen girls and boys from knowing vampires to be just another of the classic, legendary, monsters, to viewing them as charming, goodie-goodie boy toys, with giant hearts full of love. What I recall from common knowledge of the mythical creatures, is that they're murderous, blood-thirsty demons, who's selfish habits are not unlike those of a determined drug addict...oh, and you kill them by stabbing them in the heart with a stake. And they hate garlic...
So I just thought it would be sort of interesting to unite those two opposing ideas into one line of lyrics. Funny to think about, huh? You know, because so much of society got caught up in the Twilight hype, evolving a new, romantic, lovey-dovey twist on that whole disturbing vampire culture thing. Anyways...

This was the last song I wrote while Picture White was still together, and I actually didn't even intend for us to play it as a band; it was another song to throw in the "songs you've written that won't necessarily fit your band, but at the same time, you don't know where or when else you'll get a chance to use it...it's not like you're going to move to Nashville and pursue a songwriting career. So just pretend you're saving it for a rain day" box. (That took several peel-n-stick labels.)


However, Picture White went into the studio that week, I showed everyone the parts I had, and we really turned "Say Anything" into something I never could've accomplished on my own. There were so many directions we could've taken the song, but we sort of just "let go of the wheel", so to speak, and this was the result. I dig it.