Brookwrite
Writing - Songs
Honest Love
Johnny wants someone to talk to
without cliche they'd live impromptu
no shadows cast by double meaning
or doubts of who they're with each evening.
But Johnny's not sitting by the phone
as he spends his nights at home alone;
but how does he think, how does he know
he'll find someone to call his own?
You have to know yourself
before you can know somebody else,
and if you want honest love
start by being true to yourself.
Johnny needs someone to trust who
will tell him the things that nobody wants to
but he doesn't need a voice in his ear
saying things he can't bear to hear.
What he needs is someone he'll know
will always be the place he can go
someone whose yes doesn't mean no
and who knows how to let him say no.
You have to trust yourself
before you can trust somebody else,
and if you want honest love
you have to find the strength in yourself.
Johnny has himself to talk to
only heard by the walls in the halls he walks through
but he doesn't always like what he hears
and the ego wages war with the tears.
But Johnny's not alone by far
many men filled with fear there are
and if Johnny can't live with Johnny
how can he ask it of anybody?
You have to love yourself
before you can love somebody else,
and if you want honest love
you've got to stop tormenting yourself.
Written the night before Valentine's Day, 1996, this song has proved popular in obscure coffee houses.
The middle verse (trust) was added in 2008, sometimes heard as the final verse instead.
