Special (Joe Hawley Cover w/ Lyrics)

this one is very special (ha) to me for a few reasons.
first, despite having played them for the better part of nine years, this is the first time live drums have appeared on the channel.
second, writing rap is not something i do often, and have struggled deeply with in the past. despite that, i'm quite fond of how that section of the song turned out.
finally, the minutiae of the whole creative process from start to finish was enlightening in a way that most previous covers weren't, and that i can't be bothered describing.
so basically, i'm pretty proud of this video. and that's good enough for me.
see you again soon...
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LYRICS:
- simultaneous lyrics indicated by () parentheses -
- new, original lyrics indicated by [] square brackets -

Generally, I'm a modest guy.
I've eaten my share of humble pie.
Sometimes that's delicious, but I do have wishes
to swim with the biggest of bigger fishes.
What would be the point if we were all the same?
Life would be an abject, hackneyed game.
(I pledged to play no part in that abject, hackneyed game.)
No frame of reference for pleasure when there's no pain.
I'd rather not refrain.
I'd rather not abstain.

Do you believe I'm special?
Would you agree I'm special?
How could I be so special?
Do I believe I'm special?

I'm not afraid to be cast aside.
Invisible guys don't need to hide.
The struggle is real, but what's the deal
when folk feel like they need to have the most appeal?
I remember practicing most weekends
at the expense of spending joyful time with friends,
imagining that it would yield the best rewards,
not four repeating hip-hop, doo-wop chords.

Do you believe I'm special?
Would you agree I'm special?
How could I be so special?
Do I believe I'm special?

[Mom always told me that I was one of a kind.
But as I got older and wise, that sentiment began to weigh on my mind.
What makes me different from all of the others dreaming?
I can't seem to recall the reason that I'm worth redeeming.
I say indifference is bliss so when I inevitably miss,
this dissonance that I'm listening in
suspends my solipsistic senses a little bit less;
makes my hurt less intense.
If you claim it's how you planned it, you don't have to make amends.]

[But I'm not stupid. I know when it's lies that I tell.
If there's one person in this world that I can't trick then it's myself.
I suppose it's just the problem with trying to be self-aware:
you don't need a mirror to see the misery in your stare.
But I see through this senseless entropy.
These maladies made a man of me.
This blade that Dionysius insidiously insisted on Damocles
is one that bodes an omen of darkness... or so they tell,
without giving us a chance to see the hand in which it's held.]

And anyway, who am I to fret like this?
Maybe a key change can pull me out of this abyss.

Sooner or later I shall find myself
and make amends with the me left on the shelf
[in a jam session and lesson taught of love and sin,
until we finally find that great, resounding din.
So] maybe I'm unique and maybe not,
but I might as well deliver all I've got.

Do you believe I'm special?
Would you agree I'm special?
How could I be so special?
Do I believe I'm special?

Do you believe I'm (we're) special?
(You know we've been to this scene, an aboriginal meme.)
(Join if you keep it coming back, and coming back)
Would you agree I'm (we're) special?
(Had a smotherful mother full of meddle and steam.)
(and coming back, why don't we keep it coming back?)
How could I (we) be so special?
(Can't believe what we've seen, won't be burned to the ground,)
(and coming back.)
Do I (we) believe I'm (we're) special?
(though make ourselves castles every tide we're around.)
(Join if you)

Oh, live the dream
(Do you like how I walk? Do you like how I talk?)
(keep it coming back, and coming back)
in a time machine, you've been waiting forever.
(Do you like how my face has learned to tick like a clock?)
(and coming back, why don't we keep it coming back?
Oh, live the dream
(I have a wonderful life, I know a powerful Bob. (Todd.))
(and coming back.)
in a time machine, you've been waiting forever.
(He eulogizes me for being geocentric. Ha ha ha ha.)
(Join if you want it coming back.)