A young man thrust out of his comfort zone gets a new appreciation for the home of his youth when he notices his parents aging and his responsibilities changing (“Stop This Train”). Mayer determines to emerge from life’s trials stronger for the experience on “Vultures” (“I’ll walk through the fire/Then I’ll come through like I do when the world keeps testing me”). He fights the lure of infidelity (“Gravity”), puts an arm around a grieving friend (“The Heart of Life”) and counts the cost of giving his heart away (“Bold As Love”). “In Repair” finds the singer’s outlook getting rosier following a painful breakup (“I’m walking in the park/And all the birds they dance below me … I’m not together, but I’m getting there”).
“Gravity” and “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” contain mild profanities (“h—,” “b–ch”). The protest songs “Waiting on the World to Change” and “Belief” take a defeatist, simplistic view of the war in Iraq, with the latter stating that ideology is no reason to fight.
“[With a song] you are really doing open heart surgery on people through a stereo system,” Mayer told the Associated Press. His bluesy acoustic rock explores meaningful issues. But before you let him operate on teens, consider his jaded commentary and salty language.
