Dear Tragedy

Album: Bayside (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from Bayside's second album, this one finds lead singer Anthony Raneri taking out his frustrations on a girl he feels has been using him. While Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," Raneri feels he would have been better off never falling into the clutches of this devil woman.
  • This became a very popular song for the band, which posed a problem because Raneri can't sing it and play his guitar part live at the same time. When they do perform the song, his guitar tech plays the guitar part while Raneri concentrates on the vocal. "I can't play it and sing it at the same time," he said in our 2014 interview. "Parts of it are in 10/8 and then there's time signature changes, it goes to 3. There's 10/8, there's 3/4 and 4/4 all within the song. Time signature changes, tempo changes, it's really high in my range, also. It's not even an option for me to play it and sing it at the same time."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Danny Kortchmar

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Who Wrote That Song?

Who Wrote That Song?Music Quiz

Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.