“Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” by John Mayer
“Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” contrasts a romantic ideology against the hard reality of coming up short in the field of love.
In the modern world we can say, we’re socialized to believe that once a romance ends, then ideologically speaking that’s supposed to be it. We’re supposed to be able to move on with our lives, fully empowered to find true love elsewhere.
But that has not proven true for the vocalist at hand. Rather, he is still in his feelings over a relationship with the addressee that ended a considerable amount of time ago. And we can gather some clues as to what drove the two of them apart via his should’ve/could’ve commentary in analyzing said romance.
And in that sense, to be honest he is putting most of the blame on her.
Is the Addressee really to blame?
Apparently the addressee had lost interest sometime along the way. But instead of just ‘coming clean’ and letting him know that everything wasn’t gravy, she instead proceeded to mistreat him.
And the implication is that he responded by likewise adopting a bad attitude, all of which drove them apart in a way that may be irreconcilable. Indeed even to this day he is “angry” with her and, as stated earlier, unable to fully recuperate from an emotional standpoint. And by the vocalist alluding to them having a couple of babies together, it does read that this was a really deep relationship, i.e. a marriage.
So you know, people would say that after all these years he shouldn’t still be feeling this way, as if they are still together somehow. This is a conclusion that he has come to also. But most simply put, the fact that he is still reeling would indicate that he misses her. That is why John spends a good portion of the narrative noting that if she had behaved differently in the past, then things may have turned out differently.
And that is not to say, all lyrics considered, that the romantic aspect of the relationship would have been salvaged. But at least it wouldn’t be as it is now, with the two of them, to his dismay, growing ever further apart as time progresses.
John’s “Sob Rock” Album
Columbia Records issued this track on 16 July 2021 as part of John Mayer’s eighth studio album, “Sob Rock”. As of the writing of this post, five singles have been released from said project. However “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” is not amongst them.
But it is apparently one of Mayer’s personal favorites, considering that he proceeded to perform it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon concurrent with the album’s release.
Below are the official singles that “Sob Rock” produced:
- “Shot in the Dark”
- “Last Train Home”
- “Carry Me Away”
- “I Guess I Just Feel Like”
- “New Light”
Credits for “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does”
This song was written by John Mayer, an American singer who won quite a few Grammy Awards back during the aughts. And he also produced the track, accomplishing the latter alongside Don Was.
