The Ledge
 

 Written by L. Buckingham

Countin' on my fingers Countin' on my toes Slippin' through your fingers Watchin' how it grows You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta tell you what it's really all about Do you ever wonder Do you ever hate Six feet under Someone who can wait You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta tell you Oughta tell you what it's really all about, yes You're never gonna make it baby Oohh you're never gonna make it baby Oohh you're never gonna Make it babe Make it babe Make it baby Countin' on my fingers Countin' on my toes Slippin' through the wringer Watchin' how it goes You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta tell you what it's really all about Buy another fixture Tell another lie Paint another picture See who's surprised You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta Someone oughta tell you what it's really all about You're never gonna make it baby Oohh you're never gonna make it baby Oohh you're never gonna Make it babe Make it babe Make it baby You can love me baby but you can't walk out You can love me baby but you can't walk out You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta tell you what it's really all about Someone oughta someone oughta Someone oughta someone oughta Someone oughta someone oughta Someone oughta someone oughta You can love me baby but you can't walk out Someone oughta tell you Oughta tell you what it's really all about

Demo version (a.k.a. "Can't Walk Out of Here") appears on the Tusk Reissue (2004)

 


WEBMISTRESS speculates:

Tusk is full of Lindsey being nasty, and this is the first of many such songs. Lindsey is mocking Stevie. He's saying that "you can love me baby but you can't walk out" - that Stevie may not be in a relationship per se with him, but she can't totally let him go either. Still, he's "slipping through [her] fingers". He asks her, "did you ever hate [...] someone who could wait?" He has always resented her making him wait for her to return to him (see Not That Funny). He says "someone oughta tell" her what it - and I think he means real love - "is all about."

When he says , "You're never gonna make it baby", I don't think he's talking about commercial success. I think he's saying if he stopped loving her, she wouldn't be able to make it. She needs him to pine for her, to be there for her even if she wasn't with him - and maybe he was right (see No Questions Asked)! In the second verse, he continues along the same lines - she's been putting him "through the wringer" and "telling...lie[s]" (see Eyes of the World). She's "paint[ing] picture[s]" that are inaccurate, according to him, but it's not a "surprise" anymore - it's old hat to Lindsey by this time. He's telling her that she should wake up, it's not going to continue this way! It won't last forever, as he says in What Makes You Think You're the One. He is done letting her mess with his head.

Throughout the song, there are overlapping voices and lyrics and echoes, escalating at the end. Why does Lindsey do this? Well, since one of the overlapping lyrics says "You never gonna make it, crazy" instead of "make it, baby", I wonder if the chaotic sound effects were a deliberate attempt to reflect the utter chaos of their relationship in the band. Either that or he was just trying to achieve some trendy "sound"! Truthfully, though, those sound effects sure do make ME crazy!!! Aack! Do you think he said "someone oughta" enough times?! My least favorite song on the album.

 

Tusk | BN Albums