The Way That He Sings

The Way That He Sings is the third track off 2001 album At Dawn.

Lyrics from CD booklet
Why's it so strange when they say that the world's moving upwards
Why's it surreal when my hand feels it can't roll the dice?
Why's it so great just to wake every day
Alive and by your side
It's a mystery I guess
There's lots of things I can't find
It's not the way that you look
But your move that catches my eye

Why's it so soft when the cannons unload on the others?
Why're we so loud when we say it won't happen to us
Why does my mind blow to bits
Everytime they play that song?
It's just the way that he sings
Not the words that he says or the band
I'm in love with this soul
It's a meaning that I understand


Length of album version: 5:35
Written by: Jim James
Also appears on:
In addition to the lyrics the following is written in the CD booklet:
It's clear to me fuckey

Band quotes

"The Way That He Sings is just about all my favorite singers, really, just the fact of being in love with the way something is, rather than what it appears to be or is presented as. There is nothing more pure and beautiful than the human voice and oftentimes I just drift away listening to Roy [Orbison, Pitchfork assumes] or Neil [Young, Pitchfork assumes] sing a song, and it doesn't matter really what they're saying or they're playing. You know, it's all about the moment. And I feel the same way about love. I kind of mention that little rascal too from time to time; I guess it's inevitable. I mean just loving things for what they mean, not just what they seem to mean. Dig?"
- Jim James
(Pitchfork interview, August 2002)
"All my favorite singers, I could care less what they're singing about. It's that life force you feel from them, and I feel it the same in everything I love. You can get all the content hearing their voice, the quality of it, the age and the pain in it."
- Jim James
(Inquirer interview, September 2003)