I Wish I Wrote That: “Signed, Sober You” by HARDY
I love it when a song just levels me with sheer craft. Like… it’s so good, it makes me mad. But it also makes me smile. And I can’t decide whether I want to pick up a guitar or throw in the towel once and for all. Yes, when that happens you know you’ve stumbled across a winner. And HARDY’s “Signed, Sober You” is one such tune:
There are a million things to love about this tune but let me just share a few thoughts on why it’s such a fine piece of songwriting.
1. We’re in the scene from line one
Third shot down, I’m in trouble
I love this opening line. “Third shot down, I’m in trouble”. Bang! Right away, we’re thrust into a bar scene with our hero. You don’t need to be watching the video to see the flickering neon beer signs, sense the pool table off in the corner, and practically feel the chunky wooden bar underneath your forearms. From the first six words we’re sucked into the world of this character. It’s instant drama—and we want to know what happens next.
2. A healthy dose of suspense
Stumble through the front door, gone as it gets
Flip the kitchen light on, there it it
On the fridge, just my luck
“Read this if you’re drunk”
Something is unfolding. We know that much. But what exactly is this all about? The details are coming slow and steady but we still don’t quite have the full picture. Even as the note on the fridge appears, we don’t know who it’s from. And if you’re like me, you might assume it’s from the lover who recently left him. But like me, you’d be wrong.
3. An original idea, expressed simply
Don’t think about it, mister
Don’t even touch your phone
I know you think you miss her
But I promise you, you don’t
There’s healing in the lonely
Sit back, kick off your boots
And you’ll thank me in the morning
Like you always do
Signed, sober you
Arrgggghhhhhhh!! So. So. So. Good. Now we finally understand what this song is all about. I love the plain-speak, “Don’t think about it mister, don’t even touch your phone.” It’s a great example of how you to don’t need big words to convey big ideas. As Mark Twain put it, “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”
4. Playing with language
There’s healing in the lonely
I particularly love this line in the chorus. What an original expression. He transforms the word “lonely” from an adjective into a noun—if not a proper noun: The Lonely, capital L, right? A lesser writer might have said, “There’s healing in feeling lonely,” or “There’s healing in the lonely times.” But as writers we’re free to bend, twist, push, and break the language. Whatever it takes to get the message across.
5. Making every word count
P.S., there’s pizza in the freezer, Dumb and Dumber on the TV
It’s so stupid, that’s what you’d be
To go diggin’ through her Instagram
If you’re thinkin’ ’bout that, read this again
Pizza, freezer, Dumb and Dumber, TV—the details continue to paint the picture. We’re back at our hero’s apartment. Look at how Hardy uses the word “diggin’”. He could have said “lookin’” or “checkin’ out.” But he found a far more visceral word, far more active and emotionally charged. It perfectly reflects the desperation of the narrator.
6. Zooming in, zooming out
Yeah, well remember last time that you hit her up
You heard some other guy, how much does that suck?
That set you back a month, yeah, trust me, old friend
You don’t wanna go down that road again
In movie-making, an actor’s performance will feel very different when it’s shot close and tight, versus far and wide. We have the same perspective tools available to us in writing. Thus far, we’ve been zoomed in on the details of a single night. Here in the bridge Hardy zooms out to give us the bird’s eye view to help us better understand what’s at stake for our character.
7. A twist at the end
Don’t think about it, mister
Don’t even touch your phone
I know you wanna kiss her
But I promise you, you don’t
It’s always a nice stroke of craft to give the listener a little something extra at the end of a song. Hardy swaps “miss” for “kiss” here, just to put a cherry on top.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. Well done compadre!
Hope you enjoyed this breakdown and if you’d like to book an online songwriting lesson, grab a freebie right here.
