Kradam, The Rock Opera: Act II, Scene 4
Act II, Scene 4
Kris and Adam spent nearly eight months living together in the Idol Bubble. They were together 24/7. It's harder, though, to maintain their relationship once they're back in the real world.
Ain't No Sunshine The first time Kris sang ANS on AI, he probably thought it was just a good song choice for him. The second time he sang it on AI, he knew that he would soon be separated from Adam.
Since his album's release, I can only find four times when he's performed the song. The first time was the night before New Year's Eve. The other three times were while he was overseas. I think, therefore, that the song now represents for him those times when he is far away from Adam.
It's actually been nearly three months since he's sung ASN. I suspect that he may be getting tired of the song. However, he has sung "The Scientist" a couple of times, and it's also a song about being far apart from your lover. I am wondering whether he has replaced ANS with TS, but I'll leave ANS here for now.
A Loaded Smile and Before We Come Undone BWCU is a fairly easy song to understand, I think. Adam says of ALS, "There's one way of looking it as two halves of a relationship. One person is like 'I love this person; it's a dream come true; I couldn't be happier; how romantic; I've never been something like this before' and the other person doesn't really feel anything but just goes through the motions and knowing it isn't right for them. Another way of looking at it is the inner struggle of one person going through a relationship. You can be fickle, and at one moment being so deeply in love, and then the next moment you feel completely empty and nothing's working. It's complicated, and I think the more you listen to it the more ways you can read into it."
I personally think that BFWU and ALS are, once again, two parts of the same conversation. Kris and Adam are both under so much stress at this point. They are trying to produce their albums. TPTB want them to stay quiet about their relationship, so they can't do things that normal couples do together, like running errands or going out to dinner. It sounds here like they are taking their stress out on each other. Adam is starting to wonder if their relationship is going to last, but Kris asserts that he's not giving up on them; they've already been through too much together.
You could break this silence with
Words we wish we'd never said
But I can hear it like a scream
If I say I'm sorry
It's just me telling a lie
What's become of you and me?
Are we still inside this night
Or am I going crazy?
When you're in my arms
I feel emptier inside
I never felt so satisfied
I'm just trying to understand
Who I was, who I am
But you are changing just the same
So can you tell me who's to blame
And yeah I know my life has changed but
Could we put our weapons down
Just to figure this out?
A loaded smile
An empty glass
And one last dance
If you say that it's too late
Those are words my heart can't take
And this night is out to kill
And if we let it, it will
Could we both forgive somehow
Cause I'm not letting you down
I do still want to baby
It's a certain kind of complicated
Walking hand in hand
You are all I ever want
And when you're not around yeah
Don't even notice that you're gone
We are barely hanging on
Honestly I don't know if we'll survive
Now Pride is out the door
Cause I know we can make it before (make it before)
Make it before the sun breaks another day
Makes me want you baby
Can't you feel it
There's no turning back you know
We can't keep going round and round
And round and round
Everything falls into place but
I think I need a little more time
I'll wait 'til you say I'm the only one
Before we come, before we come undone
Time for Miracles "Time for miracles," Adam says, "is an inspirational tune just talking about holding onto hope in the face of loss and adversity." The lines that especially stand out for me are You know that maybe it’s time for miracles/Coz I ain’t givin’ up on love/No I ain’t givin up on us.
This song was, of course, written for the movie 2012, but I think it may still be meaningful for Kris and Adam. For one, I don't think Adam would include it on his own album if it didn't mean something to him. After all, neither he nor Kris included "No Boundaries" on their albums. Also, Kris talked about TFM in an old interview, "He let me listen to that one early on. So he knows how I feel about that one."
Continue to Act II, Scene 5