Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Why I Can’t Draw” by The Smith Street Band
The Smith Street Band’s song ‘Why I Can’t Draw’ offers an introspective look at the costs and frustrations of artistic expression. The narrator recounts a series of failed attempts at re-creating the beauty and complexity of the world around him leading him to abandon his craft. The track immediately sounds like a classic punk anthem – with Richie Strahan’s gruff vocals and instrumentation of crashing drums, power chords – but the lyrics remain delightfully melancholic.
The narrator opens with “I’ve been trying so hard/But my pencil drops on the page”. He laments being unable to channel the inspiration he feels as he attempts to recreate the beauty and complexity he sees (“The trees in the meadows, the waves on the shore/The beauty of everything I can’t draw anymore”). His broken pencil, which used to be a solid ally has become a source of discouragement.
The chorus dives deeper into the emotional and mental frustration, where he admits “Every time I look at my own stupid drawings/That I made, I’m ashamed and I want to put them away”. Here the narrator recognizes both how far he’s come, all the hours he’s poured into it, and yet how he will never be able to reach the heights of artistic expression he’s striving for. The song becomes a self-dialogue of pushing against the unsurmountable and conceding defeat instead of giving it another shot.
The Smith Street Band has effectively encapsulated the emotional complexity of the artist’s journey. While the narrator is broken, the resolve of finishing the song reveals a certain fortitude. He has emerged, maybe not triumphant, but surely not completely capitulated. ‘Why I Can’t Draw’ is a testament of emotion and a reminder to never give up.