Counting Crows - Anna Begins Lyrics






My friend assures me,
"It's all or nothing."
I am not worried,
I am not overly concerned

My friend implored me,
"For one time only
Make an exception."
I am not worried

Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried
I am not overly concerned

With the status of my emotions
"Oh", she says, "you're changing."
We're always changing
It does not bother me to say this isn't love

Because if you don't want to talk about it
Then it isn't love
And I guess I'm gonna have to live without
But I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
Or something in between
And I can always change my name
If that's what you mean

My friend assures me,
"It's all or nothing."
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned

You try to tell yourself the things
You try to tell yourself to make yourself forget
To make yourself forget
I am not worried

"If it's love," she said,
"Then we're gonna have to think about the consequences"
But she can't stop shaking
And I can't stop touching her

And this time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away
And Anna begins to change her mind
"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering
For days," she says.
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing

But I'm not gonna break
And I'm not gonna worry about it anymore
I'm not gonna bend.
And I'm not gonna break and
I'm not gonna worry about it anymore
No, no, no, no, no

It seems like I should say,
"As long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy
So maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net
And pin her down on a photograph album
I am not worried
'Cause I've done this sort of thing before

But then I start to think about the consequences
But I don't get no sleep in a quiet room

And this time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away
And Anna begins to change my mind
Every time she sneezes I believe it's love
And, oh, Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

She's talking in her sleep
It's keeping me awake
And Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand
And, oh, Lord, I m not ready for this sort of thing

Her kindness bangs a gong
It's moving me along
And Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away.
She disappears,
And, oh, Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing





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Counting Crows Anna Begins Comments
  1. B.... B....

    I wanted to die until I heard this beautiful album...it saved my life in 94.

  2. S.... T....

    thank you

  3. T.... c....

    I enjoy music , - I am not a believer in the rainbow serpent...

  4. c.... ....

    If this song had some Weezer guitar it would be amazing. As is it’s a great song. I have fond memories of a friend covering this back in college

  5. T.... P....

    This album is my number 2 favorite ever after matchbox 20s you or someone else like you.

  6. J.... D....

    I never ever post.. But how did I ever forget about this song..... #rediscovery is beautiful.....
    "This time when kindness falls like rain.. It washes her away".... absolute perfection ... Adam is such a talented and totally underrated lyricist/poet...
    When everything else goes to shit atleast we have the music 🎶
    Enjoy some perfection people x x

  7. V.... B....

    I don't get no sleep in a quiet room

  8. T.... L....

    Incredible tune my favorite on this album

  9. A.... n....

    My name's anna. I hereby announce this song MINE ! 😅😂I've always adored it ❤😍

  10. A.... n....

    This song means everything to me

  11. M.... V....

    best song ever

  12. G.... M....

    Does anyone know what they sing in the background during the second chorus?

    G.... M....

    Hi Grace. I guess they say...rain falls down.

    G.... M....

    @francesco bisicchia that's been driving me crazy since the 90s... Thanks!

    G.... M....

    @Grace Marie 👍😉

  13. S.... ....

    One of te best song in my life!!! Anyone else?

  14. P.... C....

    My favorite Counting Crows song

  15. B.... B....

    One of my favorite albums ever

  16. B.... B....

    Fucking love it !!!!!!!!!

  17. R.... B....

    When the chorus hits... it hits hard.

  18. S.... I....

    Still here, still loving this song since the 90s.

  19. T.... R....

    Anna says its love

  20. T.... L....

    One of my favorites this and murder one off this album

  21. T.... R....

    What to do with Anna. Since we dont know we will crucify her. Shes not meant for this world anyway...is she?

  22. D.... N....

    Cold chills in 2019

  23. T.... W....

    August and everything after is a beautiful marriage between poetry, instruments, and raw comprehensible emotion. It kills me that music just isn’t the same anymore. Being touched by art is such a special experience. Anna Begins affects me like a family photo album becoming disorganized by the wind. R

    T.... W....

    Taylor Wilson me too.. that’s a beautiful image you painted with your words. well done.

    T.... W....

    One of the best songs on a masterful debut album. The build up of Anna begins is amazingly beautiful! Especially the background vocals at the tail end. (Maria McKee) Never tire of this one!!!

    T.... W....

    The Word And Truth thank you 😊

  24. S.... ....

    Such an incredible song and album.

  25. Y.... W....

    One of my favorite songs ever
    Why am I listening to this song???
    ❤️🇿🇦

    Y.... W....

    Because it’s a lyrical, melodic piece of magical realness. The song/album stands strong.

  26. I.... C....

    An old, magnificent favourite x
    Why am I listening to this song???

    I.... C....

    Bc it hits the heart wether u lik it or not

  27. T.... R....

    One of my favorite songs ever

  28. j.... d....

    This is one of my favorite albums...Great stuff!

  29. O.... A....

    Kindness falls like rain

  30. G.... P....

    I'm named after this song

  31. C.... H....

    What does Anna Davidson Morrison have to say about Hallie?!!

  32. P.... e....

    My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
    I am not worried
    I am not overly concerned
    My friend implores me, "For one time only,
    Make an exception."
    I am not worried
    Wrap her up in a package of lies
    Send her off to a coconut island
    I am not worried
    I am not overly concerned with the status of my emotions
    "Oh, " she says, "you're changing."
    But we're always changing

    It does not bother me to say this isn't love
    Because if you don't want to talk about it then it isn't love
    And I guess I'm going to have to live with that
    But I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
    Or something in between
    And I can always change my name
    If that's what you mean

    My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
    But I am not really worried
    I am not overly concerned
    You try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself
    To make yourself forget
    I am not worried
    "If it's love, " she said, "then we're going to have to
    think about the consequences."
    She can't stop shaking
    I can't stop touching her and

    This time when kindness falls like rain
    It washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind
    "These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering
    for days, " she says
    And I'm not ready for this sort of thing

    But I'm not going to break
    And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
    I'm not going to bend and I'm not going to break
    And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
    No no no no no,
    It seems like I should say, "As long as this is love"
    But it's not all that easy so maybe I should
    Snap her up in a butterfly net
    Pin her down on a photograph album
    I am not worried
    I've done this sort of thing before
    But then I start to think about the consequences
    Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and

    The time when kindness falls like rain
    It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind
    And every time she sneezes I believe it's love and
    Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

    She's talking in her sleep
    It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn
    And every word is nonsense but I understand and
    Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

    Her kindness bangs a gong
    It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away
    It's chasing me away
    She disappears and
    Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

  33. R.... H....

    Ever time she sneezed I believed it was love ❤️

  34. M.... B....

    This song came out while I was nursing a broken romance I had in San Jose when I lived in Los Angeles. I was a denizen of a dive bar called Sneaky Petes, on Vanowen St, in Reseda back then. Bikers and low lifes like me used to hang out there. The place got a face lift in the nineties to attached yuppies but it didn't work and it's closed now. I was a starving Hollywood journalist at the time, hobnobbing with the rich and famous and living in a Mexican barrio in Canoga Park. Anyway, I used to play this song endlessly on the juke box, while I nursed dry gin martinis. The bikers thought I was a kook... I guess I was. I was such a mess back then. I used to go to Sneaky Petes on Thursday nights, play this song and think of her. The biker's eventually became friends to the point that one night when some bad boy wanted to kick my ass the bar stood up between me and him and dragged him outside, forever banned from the bar. The lead biker rode a trike. He's name was Michael. Really nice guy. Anyway time moved on, I got over her, and found other diseases to infect my soul. Anna Begins... I remember her so well.

  35. S.... S....

    Why am I listening to this song???

    S.... S....

    Your not ready for this sort of thing

    S.... S....

    Cause you probably don't get no sleep in a quiet room

  36. P.... D....

    Um comentário em português

  37. T.... ....

    “She disappears, and oooh Lord, I’m not ready for this sort of thing. “

    It’s that poignant and agonizing instant when you realize you fucked up.

  38. M.... ....

    ❤️🇿🇦

  39. e.... ....

    Adam dated Jennifer Anniston back in the day.... I always wondered if this song was about her

    e.... ....

    This was before they dated

    e.... ....

    Lead singer Adam Duritz wrote this song about denial. It's about when you're in a relationship with someone and you keep denying it's anything but a fling, then you wise up and realize that all along while you were denying it, you were growing closer together.

    There is a real Anna - she's a girl from Australia that Duritz met on vacation in Greece in 1989, and she broke his heart. Duritz was far from famous at the time - he saved up money doing landscaping work to afford the trip. At the end of the trip, he and Anna agreed that there was no way for their relationship to continue, and they went their separate ways. "The characters keep saying 'I'm not ready for this sort of thing' until at the end when they find out what they really aren't ready for is the loss, but then it's too late," Duritz explained.

    Adam says that they remained friends and occasionally spoke on the phone, even after Anna got married (she's got a kid and she still lives in Sydney). She is a big fan of the song.

    Duritz says that while Anna is real, the song is really about him, and in this context she is a character.

    Adam Duritz often uses real - or slightly varied - names in the songs he writes. "Proper names matter to me, and so I use them," he said in our 2013 interview. "I think that comes across to other people, even if it's not the name they're thinking of. People ask me questions like that all the time, like, 'Who's Anna?' She's Anna. You don't know her. She's in Australia. But she's every girl you ever felt that way about, too."

    Link: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/counting-crows/anna-begins

    e.... ....

    This is my favorite song. So nice to see someone love it like I do.. this entire album is pure raw honesty and genius!

    e.... ....

    @The Word And Truth totally agree with you. Greetings from Italy

  40. P.... C....

    An old, magnificent favourite x

  41. J.... W....

    This is one of the most underrated songs...

    J.... W....

    So right. And the lyrics... man, so good

  42. p.... r....

    If you don't wanna talk about it .then it isn't love!!!!!!

  43. M.... E....

    Such a tumult of emotion...... this song feels like love. So far, only Duritz has truly written love, as a song. The man is a genius. Abrazos, Brother.

    M.... E....

    Such an under rated band.

  44. N.... M....

    The first time that i ever felt for sure That i was loved was when someone played this song for me and I herd it for the very first time.... every time she sneezes I believe its love. Moves me to tears everytime.

    N.... M....

    Good to feel that love, Natessia. Happy for you!Almost named my child after this song -- but HE probably would have resented it. :) Still........every time he sneezes........Peace, Friend.

    N.... M....

    @Courtney OmegaDeLancy Songs are art and illusions made by people who play with our dreams and desrires. Yourself is enough t be appreciated. If you love this song I'd be your buddy (I'm old)

    N.... M....

    @Keith Bacon of course i love this song!

    N.... M....

    its very powerful. this song is well written!

  45. t.... ....

    Every word is nonsense, but I understand.

    t.... ....

    Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort thing.

    t.... ....

    I am not overly concerned....I am not worried...

    t.... ....

    I believe this one statement must describe true love.

  46. t.... ....

    Anna Belly