Emotions are hard. We do our best on a daily basis to try and make sense of the thoughts that are in our head even though it is often an impossible task. Then sometimes a piece of art can come along that just seems to clarify everything, and provide some solace that others are experiencing what you are.

One such song is My Thoughts On You by the Memphis based alternative group The Band CAMINO. A song about the period of reflection that comes after the failed relationship.

The lyrics in this song are perfectly simplistic as lead singer Jeffrey Jordan grapples with the complications of emotions in the aftermath of a relationship.

Every stage of the process is expertly touched upon throughout the track, starting in the very first verse when we are brought through the period of numbness that comes immediately after a relationship ends. That point when you’ve been used to having all your emotions for that special someone and now that you find these emotions have been rendered null and void it makes all the others seem irrelevant as well. A powerful sentiment.

“Since you burned me at the stake, all of my feelings went away”

We are also treated to an exploration of whether the person we were with was actually worth the level of affection and dedication that we had for them. This stage is an especially difficult period of the process as begin to question everything about your partner and whether the elevated feelings you had for them were just you being biased towards the situation. However the song also addresses an incredibly relevant point regarding how we analyse our romantic partners, if you think that person was all that to you then that is all that matters, how they perceived by others isn’t really important.

“I was there when you were blind to everything that I could see

I’ll pretend that it’s just me, but maybe really it’s just me”

One of the things about this song that I found most compelling was that, unlike other songs that document finished relationships, there was no sense that there was any ill feelings on the behalf of our protagonist for the person who broke up with them. Despite the hurt they now feel and the obvious problems that existed in the relationship (“between the fights”) there is still a respect and a fondness for their former partner. This was something that I was able to relate with in a big way as despite how much the breakup hurt, I couldn’t bring myself to think badly of the person who had caused the pain.

“I tried to say thank you, but I don’t know if you heard me

I know it wasn’t your plan , to be the one to hurt me”

The chorus of the song where Jordan continually exclaims that he still needs them is especially poignant and affecting. It is hard for the listener not to be caught by the rawness and vulnerability of these lines.

Across the track, the instrumentation perfectly captures the mood of the song. Jordan, along with fellow band members Spencer Stewart, Andrew Isbell, and Graham Rowell have managed to create a soundscape that perfectly represents the complexity of the emotions behind the lyrics.

For me, however, the most powerful or interesting line or sentiment across the song comes very early on the track during the second verse. The worst part of a breakup is that sense that you’ve missed out, that was your chance and you made a mess of it and now they’re gone. You find yourself questioning whether they were the one who could make you happy, and whether you have any chance of finding somebody else like them again. The perfect articulation of this is why this song deserves to be held up as one of the best ever written in my opinion.

“I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

What if you were the one for me

I hope you weren’t the one for me”

MK