“Done It Again” - a song about compunction
I’m entering my lonesome cowboy era with this one
Story Pairing
I recently saw a post from a cynical creator asking if there are any more original thoughts that exist? Ones that are truly unique.
I’ve been thinking on that a lot lately and I don’t think it matters in the way the asker was proposing the question. As a writer I love capturing individual perspectives, but there are a lot of the pieces that are reused. In music and art I think that is kind of the point. To take all the shared colors and sounds and words and laying them out in your own way. Sometimes that means it looks a lot like a neighbors and sometimes it looks completely different.
That concept was a partner as I writing this song. Making bad decisions aren’t unique to any one individual. Heartache and loss and longing don’t belong to anyone but to everyone. They are the avenues we have to connect with our peers. I’d bet all my 10s of dollars that there isn’t a single sane adult human that hasn’t felt like they were a villain in an interaction they’ve had at some point.
This sort of introspective writing is important and even if it’s not “original” it may be packaged in just the way that someone needs in order to feel “seen” and “understood”.
I hope that my fellow makers don’t hesitate to make something because comparison gets in the way. If you have an idea that ignites your passion, then you’re there. No need to fact check it against the directory of original thoughts, screw that. Take your excitement and go make something perfectly yours with it.
I guess I am also becoming a self-help influencer to partner with my lonesome cowboy vibes. Ok, someone take this keyboard away from me.
I hope you enjoy this new song. It’s distilled from some of the many things I’ve done that I wish I hadn’t.
Song Structure
Capo 1
Intro: E / A
Verse: E / E7 / A / E / B7 / A / E
Chorus: A / E / B7 / A / A / E
Voice Memos
Notebook Page
May 2025
Lyrics
I’ve done it again, a heart broke in two
It seems that it’s all that I know how to do
Could’ve kept walking, stayed out of her light
Left her to find someone better that night
If I had a wish, I’d go back to when
Before I’d done it again
I’ve done it again, stayed when I should
Have packed up my things, and gone while I could
But comforts a cage, hard to break free
So I sit and I welcome in more misery
Lord if I could, I’d go back to when
Before I’d done it again
From my head to my toes
I’m a mess all way round
You’ll find more mistakes
As you're traveling down
To the core of my being, you wont like what you're seeing
I’m a villain, a monster, a broken amen
I’m a fool who’s done it again
I’ve done it again, drunk what I swore
I’d leave on the shelf and not touch anymore
But the burn in my chest was the least of the pain
When I dialed your number and cried out your name
If I had the nerve, I’d go back to when
Before I’d done it again
I’ve done it again, opened my mouth
Took what I was thinking and let it all out
Watching it go, fly through the air
To ruin the day of the one standing there
If I could unsay, I’d go back to when
Before I’d done it again
From my head to my toes
I’m a mess all way round
You’ll find more mistakes
As you're traveling down
To the core of my being, you wont like what you're seeing
I’m a villain, a monster, a broken amen
I’m a fool who’s done it again
I’ve done it again, unlatched my case
Put down in verse all the things that I hate
How all I did, and how all I do
Turns into a way that I’m hurting you
If words would allow, I’d go back to when
Before I’d done it again
If the past had a door, I’d go back to before
Before I’d done it again