The Cribs: You & I

The Cribs' self-titled album cover

You & I
You & I

We should take the road less travelled
We should take the road less travelled

And we'll die
We'll die

You & I
You & I

You should always feel empowered
We should always feel empowered

And we'll die
We'll die

When you're feelin' low [laughter]
Let the feeling show
We all know what it's like to be left behind

Yeah, yeah yeah, huh-ohh
Yeah yea yeah, huh-aahhhh!

"You & I", from The Cribs.

A few notes about why I love this song so much.

There's an alternating dynamic between the singing flat and more "straight", and singing in a loose, faint and more improvised manner.

The loose lines include the chorus [And we'll die] and the Yeah, yeah, yeah / huh-ohh lines. The straight lines are You should take the road less travelled… / You should always feel empowered… / When you're feelin' low….

This dynamic creates some tension within the song, but it also creates a professional tension. Which way is going to win out and become dominant?

From a rock industry point of view, the straight singing style is more immediately recognizable and accessible. It's also far easier to market.

But… "you should take the road less travelled". The loose lines are a reminder that there's an alternative path. This path resists standard industry advice: don't let your voice become faint, don't let it wander, crack, or fade. And the reminder that "we'll die" is hardly conducive to a top 40 pop hit!

Just having fun.

The other interesting part occurs at these lines:

When you're feelin' low [laughter]
Let your feelings show

The singer over-emotes on "low", dropping his voice; the laughter seems to be another band member responding to his overly-dramatic delivery. It's a great moment that underlines how The Cribs give themselves permission to have fun even when they have a serious message.

The fact that the loose stuff was left in the song, and that the song wasn't cut from the album, shows how the band values "the road less travelled". This is one of those throwaway tracks that a more mainstream band, or their management, would've cut.

The Cribs decided to leave "You & I" on their album. And I'm so very, very glad they did.