"There's no 'I' in Team" from Lilly to Dory

I'm a big fan of music.  Having made that giant understatement, I'd like to mention I'm also quite a fan of poetry.  They are very similar, in fact, I often feel like music is poetry but with what I like to think of as an extra "dimension;" that is, the meaning that the actual music can portray aside from the words themselves, and their ability to work together to create something that is colorful and tangible.  This is not to downplay poetry, of course, poetry can communicate just as well.  Music simply does it in a different, and often remarkable, way.

This post is concerning one of the most poetic songs I've ever heard, and is a wonderful example of what I mean by this added dimension that music brings to poetry.  It's less of a hypothesis, and more of an observation, really.  And a curiosity with what you think, as well.

So, the song is "There's no 'I' in Team" by Taking Back Sunday.  I know, I know, you're probably asking "do you mean to say there's intellectual discussion to be had concerning this pseudo-emo pop-punk played by fully grown men with the seemingly quite contrary accessory choices such as full beards and plaid flannel shirts?"

Well, yes... there is.  And if you're in the right mood, they will seriously rock your socks off.

Observe:

As you may have noticed, the two singers alternate back and forth with each line.  If you pay attention to the lyrics, the meaning for this becomes quite clear.  It is a conversation between two friends, well, an argument to be more specific.  I'm going to attempt to write out the lyrics here in a way that shows the distinction between the two singers' parts.  I'll put Adam Lazzara in plain text, John Nolan in bold, the parts they sing together in italics, and the part that is spoken over the both of them towards the end by a second recording of John Nolan in ((double parentheses)):

I can't regret it.  Can't you just forget it?
I started something I couldn't finish.
If we go down we go down together,
Best friends means...
Best friends means....
Well I've got a $20 bill that says you're up late nights starting fist fights Vs. fences in your back yard.
Wearing your black eye like a badge of honor,
Soaking up sympathy from friends who never loved you
Nearly half as much as me.

Broken down in bars and bathrooms,
All I did was what I had to.
Don't believe me when I tell you it's just what anyone would do.

Take the time to talk about it,
Think a lot and live without it,
Don't believe me when I tell you it's something unforgivable.

Well I can't regret it, can't you just forget it?
I started something I couldn't finish.
If we go down we go down together, best friends means...
Best friends means?
You never knew (well I never told you),
Everything I know about breaking hearts I learned from you, it's true.
I've never done it with the style and grace you have,
But I've made long-term plans based on these mistakes.

Broken down in bars and bathrooms,
All I did was what I had to.
Don't believe me when I tell you it's just what anyone would do!

Take the time to talk about it,
Think and learn to live without it.
Don't believe me when I tell you...
It's something unforgivable.

Is this what you call tact?
You're about as subtle as a brick in the small of my back.
((Have another drink and drive yourself home))
So let's end this call, and end this conversation.
There's nothing worse! I swear you have no idea
((I hope there's ice on all the roads))
That's right, he said...
((And you can think of me when you forget your seat belt))
That's right, he said it.
Of the jealousy that got me thinking
((And again when your head goes through the windshield))
That's right, he said,
That you always had it way too easy!


Broken down in bars and bathrooms,
All I did was what I had to.
Don't believe me when I tell you it's just what anyone would do.

Take the time to talk about it,
Think a lot and live without it,
Don't believe me when I tell you it's something unforgivable.
 

Best friends means I pull the trigger,
Best friends means you get what you deserve.

Best friends means I pull the trigger, best friends means you get what you deserve!

So, there's some dissecting to do here. The situation described is one almost everyone can relate to; the difficult decision that is doing something for a friend that you feel is in that friend's better interest, knowing that it may appear to your friend as a betrayal of their trust.  Whichever end of that you're on, it can stir up all sorts of angry hurt feelings, and in this case, a couple of black eyes and each wondering what the meaning of friendship really is.  This song, through the emotion in the singers' voices and the dark, turbulent atmosphere of the music, captures those feelings which would be difficult to portray in a visual sense alone; it's important to hear the back-and-forth exchange between the two voices, and the way they bend the phrases upon repetition to mean something entirely different from what they meant the first time it was said.  It becomes clear that though the two friends interrupt each other with almost every line, they are both metaphorically and literally, trying to say the same thing.  And, as only good friends can, they are finishing each others sentences.

Love,
Lilly

PS - A note on intertextuality: This song was written in response to a song by the band Brand New called "Seventy times Seven."  The two lead singers are childhood friends, and the songs interrelate as each friend's take on a real fight they had.  In response to "There's no 'I' in Team," Brand New wrote ANOTHER song, "Mix Tape." These songs will boggle your mind with the way they share lines and twist and interpret them in different ways!  If you're wondering, the pair did eventually make up.  I actually saw them perform this song together when I saw TBS and Brand New back in 2005!