Tristesse
• Written by ARYEH
ARYEH's Notes
Stand we must, and wait we must, and trust we must, even when we cannot see so much as a hand before our face. The Lord does not always take the burden from the shoulder, but He gives strength to the back that bears it ~ARYEH
[Verse 1: POV of Sadness]
Aw, dear, we find ourselves at last
At the bitter end, the empty climax
Requiem for a life deprived of pleasure, purpose, or meaning
May my eulogy for the still-living breathe new meaning into an ill existence
One man's tragedy can be another man's wisdom
Let's get it
At the start, there was nothin' but infinite bliss
And then fate took a hit and said, "let there be tristesse"
That's sadness, idiot
You could call it an accident or an abysmal sin
But all I know is that, in the end, you don't win
"Yes, I do," said a few deluded humans
Fools who abuse substances to fool themselves into amusement
Givin' the blues new twists, gettin' ripped to this music
Gettin' too loose in an attempt to keep it all together
Hedonistic endeavors, a case of spiritual leisure
You keep your treasure in a chest full of red herrings
But you can feel the guilt and shame you're still bearing
You think the pills you're wearing will prepare you for the perils
The brain chemicals to make you forget that this world's terrible
The Prozac to distract from all the panic attacks
But that panic in fact was the pain of a greater sadness
When you wake from your sleep, you will feel more bleak
When the numbness wears off, you will feel more grief
And then you'll come to know me, that there's no escapin' me
No evadin' me, no erasin' me
No eradicatin' or vaccinating against me
No medication, meditation, or manifestation can break me
Or break the pain I bring, or break the chains that hang
Or break the rains that fall on all things
I am that melancholy
I am the first verse of a certain rapper's song
That you'll hear after your laughter is gone
And your aspirations wrong, and your bastards move on
And your casket gets drawn, and you get laid to rest
Yes, I am that chronic distress
That undeniable, identifiable emptiness
That wakes you from your dreams and makes you lose your sleep
And wakes you up to see you can't escape reality
So let me restate my thesis, I am tristesse
The primal pain and distress
The primordial bane of existence
The mortification of a thousand lifetimes
Incarcerated in a human vessel with no lifeline
I am what all life turns into in time
I am the fin of all things, the nihilistic endgame
The death rattle that rings, the death metal that sings
The deathbed of a king
And I am almost everything
Because without me, you'd have nothin' to feel happy about
I'm the reason that you cry and the reason that you shout
And the reason you survive and the reason you hold out
Because I'm the only way you know when joy's around
And I'm the only way you know when joy is gone
Because joy is temporary and sadness is long
Because joy is necessary for sadness to be strong
Because without me, you'd have nothin' to be joyful for
So you can try to run from me, but you won't get far
Because I exist in your head and your heart
I'm always close at hand and ready to start
The minute your mirth goes dark
I exist in your heart and your head
So it's best if you let me into your bed
To lie with me until the end
When we can finally be at rest
Feedback & Comments
About the Artist
ARYEH
Member since March 7 2025