Why Me

Why Me
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung

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I guess we used to be the lucky ones
Good fortune smiled on everyone

Stop
A voice said you best beware

Stop
Bad luck is everywhere

And sure enough the voice was right
My luck changed overnight

Stop
Please tell me what went wrong

Stop
I can't take these ups and downs

Hard times come, hard times go
And in between you hope and pray
The scars don't show

'Cause life is strange and so unsure
The days you hardly make it through
You swear that there's a curse on you

'Cause nothing seems to fit
And things won't go your way
You know you've had enough
You've got the right to say
Why me, why me

Rubelator

Stop
Here comes anxiety

Stop
Won't you please let me be, I need relief

Hard times come, hard times go
In between you hope and pray
The scars don't show

'Cause life is strange and so unsure
The days you hardly make it through
You're sure that there is a curse on you

If nothing seems to fit
And things won't go your way
You know you've had enough
You can't take another day

Where to go and what to do
You've got those bills to pay
You're really not alone you know
'Cause everybody says,
Why me

Why me
"Why me? That's what I want to know. You know what I mean? Huh. I don't know."

Interpretation

When things go wrong for people, they usually ask themselves "why me?" when instead they should just see that these things happen to everybody--it's part of life.

A rubelator is probably referring to a Rube Goldberg machine, which is an overly complex contraption for completing a simple and mundane task, embodying the feeling that life is overly complex and frustrating when it ought to be more simple and routine.

Here it is in Dennis' own words, from a 1980 interview in Songwriter magazine:

I think some of the best lines I have written are in that song. I love the line "When hard times come and hard times go and in between you hope and pray the scars don't show." To me that is life. And it's the same for the rich guy and the poor guy. It has nothing to do with money, nothing to do with fame. In other words, if you are walking down the street and have a million dollars and a ladder falls on your head, you're dead just like the poor guy.