One Thing
"One Thing" is the fifth track on Angels & Ghosts.
Lyrics
With a light that's almost way too much for me
Ain't it something, when waves crash on the shore
The ocean's wilder than before
It's a different world today
No one seems to care much anyway
Don't listen to what they say
They don't know what they're fighting for
And there's always life on Mars out there for me
You just need one thing
Love
Ain't it something, when you stare up to the stars
And you wonder how we could have come this far
Don't say nothing, just lay down next to me
We can watch those tasteless shows on our TV
It's a different world today
No one seems to care much anyway
Don't listen to what they say
They don't know what they're fighting for
You just need one thing
You just need one thing
Love
There's always one thing, that takes me far away
Then I don't hear a single word you say
There's always something, that makes me want to stay
There's really nothing more to say
You just need one thing
Love
You just need one thing
Love
Dave's Take
"In this song in particular I'm trying to show some vulnerability and how I feel about life and the world that surrounds us. I wanted to show that particular balance between vulnerability and beauty...Of course I am referring to that Bowie song [with the line, "there's always life on Mars out there for me"]. It still means a lot to me. I can still play that song and I can still hear a person who's lost. But at the same time, I can see this beautiful landscape he's lost in, and how we desperately try to find things to numb ourselves from the way we feel. And today, of course, television is what we find ourselves sitting in front of and watching addictively for no apparent reason, other than to numb us from our real feelings...It's weird because at some point a song takes on a life of its own. All of a sudden the song becomes much bigger than any idea you ever had about it when you started writing it. It leads you into a melody, or in this case a word — love — that maybe is something that I'm still desperately trying to find. I know that's the truth. I know that word encapsulates everything we really should be. But sometimes I feel so far away from that, you know? We're all here on this planet together, and you can't possibly be unaffected by what goes on."1
My Take
Here we have a very stripped-down, acoustic ballad. Every album by Dave seems to contain at least one of these- "Stay" from Paper Monsters, "Miracles" from Hourglass, and "Presence of God" from The Light the Dead See, to name a few examples. It's almost like a requirement. But hey, if it sounds like I'm complaining or something then that is actually far from the truth. I love when the music is stripped down because it really lets me hear all of the nuances in Dave's voice. And in this one, the disillusionment with the real world is palpable. In fact, these lyrics read like the embittered escapist's anthem and I am all here for it. Of course, there is an obvious reference to David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" with the words, "there's always life on Mars out there for me," and the theme of criticizing the modern world is shared between the two songs. Also, is it just me, or does beckoning the listener to "lay down next to" him seem to be Dave's favorite thing to do? For instance, "Come on over / Lay down beside me / And I'll try" from "I Want It All" and "Just lay down beside me / You know what I like" from "Down" are two examples that I can think of. It just makes me think- wouldn't it be something to lie on the grass with Dave and watch the clouds roll by in the sky as you daydream about life on Mars together? I know it would be for me! Anyway, that's just the kind of mood this song puts me in.
Music Video
There is no music video for this song.