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"The Only Exception" | "Careful" | "Playing God" | 
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"Careful" is the first track off of Paramore's third album Brand New Eyes and the fourth single.
Background[]
Careful was first played live on October 8, 2009, in the Fillmore Auditorium (Denver, CO).
In a public letter written by Josh Farro explaining why he and his brother, Zac Farro left, some lyrics from Careful were mentioned. Farro, discussing the anti-bible point of view of the verse "the truth never set me free," went on to say how the band seemed very anti-Christian at times.
| “ | This was one of the first music demos I got [for brand new eyes] from Josh [Farro, guitar]. He recorded the guitars and put some fake drums to it, and I thought it wasn't going to work. Ha! He even wrote the melody for the tag at the end of the chorus-- you know, the part where I say "more" about a billion times. The original lyric was "Whoa", of course. (We like "whoas" a lot.) The chorus came together in about five minutes, only I had no idea what it was about. It was just a bunch of words that came to me. A month later, when I finally got everything together for the verses, it ended up being about how I feel it takes a lot of risk to live fully. | ” |
—Hayley Williams for Alternative Press. | ||
| “ | One line goes, 'the truth never set me free, so I'll do it myself.' We're in a situation where we're still young and it's hard being the ones who are going out and doing something a little different to other people our age. Some friends are going to college and some are at home who are like, I don't know what I'm doing.' It's a case of where people expect things to fall into their lap. You have to take risks to find out what you want. | ” |
—Williams for NME. | ||
Critical Acclaim[]
Careful had mainly positive critique from various online articles, newspapers, and more.
While writing a review of brand new eyes, Absolute Punk had stated, "the record begins with “Careful,” and this song alone shows Paramore’s progression. Immediately, Hayley Williams’ vocals are top-notch and have definitely improved since the days of Riot. Lyrically, the song doesn’t stray too much from their past material, but it’s quite interesting, nonetheless. The instrumentation is very solid as well, but in the long run, this song isn’t the best. It’s a nice opening track, but not the best song on the record. If anything, this seems to be just a teaser for what’s to come."
BBC UK, discussing a fan comment, had said, "...and the emo lyrics are back too. The finger-pointing, the furious sarcasm, the eff-you-for-wasting-my-precious-feelings rhetoric. What chippy 13-year-old could resist lines like these?" This quote was referencing the first lines of Careful, talking about how a lot of other Paramore songs have similar vibes.
Music Video[]
Paramore Careful OFFICIAL VIDEO
Careful is the band's twelfth music video, releasing months after the official video for The Only Exception.
The music video for Careful starts off with fans cheering out the band's name during a live performance, as this is the only main scene in the video. As the music video progresses, we see various live cuts, behind the scenes footage, the band making lots of appearances, and more. Taken from various videos during 2009-2010, similar music videos include All We Know and Hallelujah. Footage includes performances in 2009 such as the Brisbane Soundwave Tour, Festival Hall in Australia, and other concerts during the fall of 2009. 2010 footage was also included, mainly from Spring shows/tours.
Audio[]
Careful
Lyrics[]
I settled down
A twisted up frown
Disguised as a smile, well
You would've never known
I had it all
But not what I wanted
‘Cause hope for me
Was a place uncharted
And overgrown
You'd make your way in
I resisted just like this
You can't tell me to feel
The truth never set me free
So, I did it myself
You can't be too careful anymore
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer
You've got to reach out a little more
More
More
More, more
Open your eyes,
Like I opened mine
It's only the real world.
A life you will never know
Shifting your weight
To throw off the pain
Well you can ignore it
But, only for so long
You look like I did
You resist me just like this
You can't tell me to heal
And, it hurts remembering
How it felt to shut down
You can't be too careful anymore
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer
You've got to reach out a little more
More
More
More, more
The truth never set me free
The truth never set me free
The truth never set me free
So, I'll do it myself
You can't be too careful anymore
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer
You've got to reach out
Can't be too careful anymore
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer
You've got to reach out
More
More
More
More, more
Charting[]
Careful had been charted due to digital downloads.
| Charts (2009/2010) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 89 |
| Portugal (AFP) | 44 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 108 |
| UK Rock Singles (Official Charts Company) | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 78 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 37 |
Streaming[]
References[]
- http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/txtparamore
- http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=3040811
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chartblog/2010/07/paramore_careful.shtml
- http://acharts.co/song/50978
- http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=17112
Brand New Eyes
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- | "Careful" | "Ignorance" |
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Paramore Chronology
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"I Caught Myself" | "Careful" | "Ignorance" |
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Brand New Eyes |
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| Songs | Careful • Ignorance • Playing God • Brick By Boring Brick • Turn It Off • The Only Exception • Feeling Sorry • Looking Up • Where the Lines Overlap • Misguided Ghosts • All I Wanted |
| Bonus Tracks | Decode • Ignorance (Acoustic Version) • Where the Lines Overlap (Acoustic Version) • Brick By Boring Brick (Acoustic Version) • Turn It Off (Acoustic) |
| Members | Hayley Williams • Josh Farro • Taylor York • Jeremy Davis • Zac Farro |
