Liars and Saints

 My admiration for John Mayer's gift is really about "My Stupid Mouth": My stupid mouth Got me in trouble. I said too much again-- To a date over dinner yesterday. I could see she was offended-- She said, Well....anyway.... This is shockingly low-stakes and so honest. Mayer--known for saying dumb things--has perhaps compared his own penis to David Duke. He is kicking himself. Well....anyway.... We bit our lips-- Looked out the window. Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper.... I played a quick game of chess with the salt- and pepper-shaker. The song gets funnier: There is a gap between the speaker's self-pity and his awkward dinnertime performance. The lips, the napkins, the salt-shaker: God is in the details. One more thing.... Why is it -my- fault?  Maybe I try too hard.... But it's all because of this desire. I just want to be liked. I just want to be funny.... Looks like the joke's on me! A punchline: The speaker, having vowed never to comment again, suddenly ...

  One "student" of Tom Petty is John Mayer; once again, we see quietly witty verses and a simple chorus: Take all of your wasted honor-- Every little past frustration-- Take all of your-so called problems. Better put 'em in quotations. Say what you need to say. Mayer is arguing with himself; he is lightly mocking his own self-seriousness. This is just appealing. Walking like a one-man army-- Fighting with the shadows in your head. Living out the same old moment-- Knowing you'd be better off instead, if you could only-- Say what you need to say. Mayer scolds himself for being emotionally tight-assed, "fighting with the shadows in your head." (Notably, Mayer mocks himself for being the opposite thing--a verbally flatulent Hannah Horvath--in the song "My Stupid Mouth." "I'm never speaking up again....it only hurts me....") Even as the hands are shaking-- And your faith is broken-- Even as the eyes are closing-- Do it with a heart wide op...