(The) Harvey Danger Database

I like to watch the right decisions dance around my head
and sit around reflecting on the ones I made instead
I got lost in thralldom right away
And look at where I am today:
Fingering a thin and fraying string forever

And if it drags me down, what can I do but follow?
To swim against a vortex or to lie me down and wallow
in the big wide empty
The big wide empty

Brought up in seclusion
California breeds confusion.
When your fossil fuels run dry, meet me under the delusion
We could leap off of the infrastructure
Choose our words less carefully
The music of a thrumming nerve
a rhapsody

And if it drags me down, what can I do but follow?
To swim against a vortex, or to lie me down and wallow
in the big wide empty
The big wide empty
I cannot see the edges and I cannot see the guts
No, I cannot see the rivets and I cannot see the struts
And the line between open and embarrassing is hard to see at best
and ever-narrowing…

My dear old friendly passing acquaintance, it’s really good to see ya
It’s been a while, to say the least
(is always a good idea)
We knew how we felt and what to say
and look at where we are today:
waiting for the string to break

And if it drags me down, what can I do but follow?
To swim against a vortex or to lie me down and wallow
in the big wide empty
The big wide empty
Tonight I saw the edges, ’cause tonight I finally tried a bit
Look what came of it

Sean: Manic depression's a frustrating mess.^DSS

Sean: The title "Big Wide Empty" is taken from a film made by my friend Matt Southworth. The experience of writing, directing, shooting, recording, and editing the movie, almost literally by hand, in a rented garage, was emotionally devastating. The song has nothing to do with the film, but much to do with emotional devastation.^P&F

Sean: This song came along in the weird in-between days after we thought we'd finished the record, only to be told the label no longer existed and our world was now operating on corporate time. In the many months that followed, we would get together from time to time to write new songs. Three of the four numbers that arose from these sessions are on the actually finished album: Show Me the Hero, Humility on Parade, and Loyalty Bldg. It's hard to imagine KJV without them. It may be equally hard to imagine it with this song, despite its dark beauty. I don't think I'm stepping out of line to suggest it's a BIT of a dirge, though what form is better suited to an exploration of despair. Many of the band's finest moments appear on this song, most notably Jeff's howling guitar solos, abetted by the e-bow (I think?). It would be immodest for me to extol the success and beauty of the lyrics, but I can say it's the closest I ever got to really digging into the way depression exerts its hold on... one. And the ticking clock sound? Amazing. I utterly love this song, which was named, by the way, for my old friend Matthew Southworth's finished-but-unreleased film.^25B