In "Black and White," Jonah Kagen longs to feel good, right, and at home, but anger and fear keep pulling him under. He wants the world's weight to fade to black and white, a simpler state where he can be enough without love, without another, without fear. He resents being angry all the time and worries he might die carrying it, yet he still loves this life and searches for souls that won't shame him for feeling. The repeated wish to feel enough without that person becomes the song's quiet, stubborn hope.
Black and White Lyrics by Jonah Kagen
I wanna feel good
I wanna feel right
I wanna feel the weight of the world fade to black and white
I wanna feel home
And not have to be here
I wanna be enough without love, without you, without fear
I’m angry at the world around me
I’m angry that you speak so loudly
I’m angry that I’m angry all the time
I’m afraid that I might die with it
That I might never get another opportunity to sigh different
But it won’t do me any good to be a bitch and never cry, will it?
I just
I wanna feel good
I wanna feel right
I wanna feel the weight of the world fade to black and white
I wanna feel home
And not have to be here
I wanna be enough without love, without you, without fear, yeah
You disagree, man, call the cops
I’m saying shit I’m sure you’ve thought
I’ll walk until my feet fall off
To find the souls that don’t make me
Feel like shit for feeling shit
I’d love to just get over it
There’s so much more than suffering
It’s simple
But it gets hard sometimes when you toe that line
I get some damn mad, but I love this life
God, you piss me off when you talk like that
What am I to do? This is all I have
Ah-ah
I wanna feel good
Wanna be alright
I wanna feel the weight of the world slip easy off my mind
I wanna go home
I wanna get it all right
I wanna be enough without you
It really is black and white
