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“Things Fall Apart” is a story before a song. It’s a deeply intimate glance into an ordinary life between a husband and wife, uprooted by the Inevitable. You could say it’s a look into all of our lives. Because at some point, we all need to face the Inevitable.
That is change.
Change can be good, and it can be bad. Or both.
In this case between husband and wife (Billie and Lily ), it is very much unwelcome.
The Lyrics
“Billie answered the phone
And teardrops covered the floor
His world burned with four words
He woke up at six, went to bed at nine
Burned the bread just to stay alive
He didn’t even hear her come home
Night after night, he dreams about life
But wakes up in bed when he dies
He doesn’t know why but he wants to know why
Things fall apart, his life fell apart, their life fell.
Lily walked through the door
Poured a glass of wine and more
Cause he didn’t hear her come home
In a world that’s black and white
No one can tell she’s not alright
Forced herself to wash away the pain
Day after day, she says she’s okay
But lies to herself when she prays
She doesn’t know why but she wants to know why
Things fall apart, his life fell apart, their life fell.
And wouldn’t you know she’s not scared of growing old
And she wonders why he’s so afraid
Billie used to wipe her tears away
But he’s scared of dying young when they said that’s all he’s got
But she’ll comfort him as long as it takes
Billie wonders why she wants to stay
And he wants to know why, oh she wants to know why
Things fall apart, his life fell apart, their life.”
"Billie answered the phone And teardrops covered the floor His world burned with four words"
Billie has just heard the worst news of his life in four words. They can be whatever you want them to be, but they changed his whole life - might’ve even put a fast approaching end on his existence - and Lily carries that pain too.
Lily carries it, and Billie doesn’t have it in him to notice or appreciate it. He only wonders why she’s still with him in this life that’s fallen apart.
As sad as it is, I like to think that their house is falling apart too. They couldn’t handle the inevitability that haunts the walls. It seeps into everything they touch.
But Lily is still there, comforting Billie through his pain he can’t process.
The Process
I wrote this song many years ago, and throughout those years, I changed the chord progression and melody, but the words have stayed the same since day one. Billie and Lily are so real to me, and are going through something so powerful that it’s hard for me not to put so much effort into this song.
And the bridge came to me only last year, when I was scootering (mopeding) through Door County, Wisconsin, with my family. I made everyone pull over so I could text the words I had just come up with from my grandpa’s phone to mine, because I had left mine at the campsite we were staying at. That right there proved to me how much their story needed to be told.
"And wouldn’t you know she’s not scared of growing old And she wonders why he’s so afraid Billie used to wipe her tears away But he’s scared of dying young when they said that’s all he’s got But she’ll comfort him as long as it takes Billie wonders why she wants to stay."
I love the bridge because it offers some sort of respite from the heavy, gloomy setting of what’s been sang already. It communicates that even when the Inevitable comes, even when change hits you hard without warning or asking, there’s beauty to be noticed.
There’s stubborn support.
Support that you might not want, but need.
Something is coming for Billie and Lily, but in Billie’s lost touch of reality and communication, Lily is there for whatever it takes, however long it takes.
So yes, this song is incredibly sad, but it’s real, and it’s also beautiful.
I think we all need a Lily in our life…
This is what I’ll leave you with:
When the Inevitable hits, who’s that person that will stubbornly support you as long as it takes?
Things Fall Apart