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Watch Every Word
words and music by Paige Powell
©2014 Paige E. Powell
1. I was wrong to mock your words, to tease you to your face
You froze, and I knew something’s wrong, your silence filled the place
As I recalled what I had said, you slowly backed away
And I wished I could take it back—
And watch every word that I say
2. My heart has been so cut and scarred, it fears the knife of words
But your smile, your touch, has turned my thoughts
into carefree flying birds
But one night, your words flew around—an angry bird of prey
And I wished you could take it back—
And watch every word that you say
Bridge: The tongue is small, but it is a fire
A restless evil, [some say] [says James]
Poison, cursing, and praising words
All come out from the same place
3. We say our words must only lift, and never tear us down
But lives we build on these ideals would fear to make a sound
We’ll learn to think before we speak, ‘cause words can hurt or betray
We’ll know that we can’t take it back—
And we’ll watch every word that we say
We’ll know that we can’t take it back—
And we’ll watch every word that we say
Slightly jazzy, this thought-provoking song is about words spoken during a relationship that could harm it. “My heart has been so cut and scarred, it fears the knife of words.”
This slow-paced song is about words that sometimes spill out of our mouths and like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube, “we wish that we could take it back” but can’t. It’s so true that words can heal, but words can hurt, and hurt even more than sticks and stones. In the bridge of the song, I quote a few famous verses from the book of James in the Bible. Well crafted, this song has been praised as one of my best by the former president of the Songwriters Association of Washington, Rob Veale.
April 9, 2021: The Story Behind the Song, "Watch Every Word"
I was always skeptical about "love at first sight" until it happened to me! He spotted me in the parking lot at church and decided he had to meet me. I took one look at him and my whole being said "YES!" quite loudly in
my mind. He asked for my phone number, called the next day and took me to lunch. It happened so fast and he was so serious. Just holding hands was thrilling! We actually had an argument about which one of us loved the other more!
But after many dates and lots of time, we found we were hurting each other with our words. We had to start being careful about what we said, and careful about making assumptions about each other. Sadly, we reached an impasse, and we both cried when
we broke up. Sometimes a relationship cannot be repaired without therapy, and refusing therapy can end it. But one good thing from that broken relationship is that I wrote "Watch Every Word" and I still remember him and the days we spent together when I sing the song.
"Watch Every Word" is a slow ballad with some jazz guitar chords and the bridge is from the Bible's book of James: "The tongue is small, but it is a fire, a restless evil... Poison, cursing and praising words all come out from the same place". About 2 years ago, had the opportunity to perform it at St. George's United Methodist Church as part of their worship service. I also work for them as their webmaster and video editor. I've also played the song at some open mic events, so if you'd like to see a video of me playing it in front of a LIVE audience, I recorded my performance of it a few years ago here on YouTube. I start the video with a little story about a father at a dinner table teaching his children with a tube of toothpaste! So, dear reader: more stories for YOU!
Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every one of you! And I want to give an extra "shout out" to my new subscribers — thank you for signing up!
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