I Give Up

## Lyric video

"**I Give Up**" is a song by American singer-songwriter and producer Caroline Polachek from her studio album *Pang*. This is the fifth track of the album.

The song was written and produced by Polachek, Dan Nigro, Jim-E Stack and Dan Carey.

## Background

A lyric booklet video was released on Caroline's YouTube channel on December 10, 2019.

Caroline talked about the song on Instagram:

> *I Give Up was my first ever collaboration with @dan\_nigro and one of the earliest songs on Pang. Dan played me this rough instrumental loop he’d just made with @jimestack and I freaked out over the sulky chords and broken groove. I’d only just met Dan that day and was feeling shy, so rather than writing new lyrics on the spot, I dug back through old journals and unearthed this fragment from 2012: “𝕀𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 / 𝕕𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕘𝕠 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 / 𝕀 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕡 / 𝕀 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕡 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕠𝕨 / 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕗𝕒𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 ?” 📦 Fast forward a year, even after I’d taken the song to London to re-texturize it with @speedy\_wunder , and I actually cut ‘I Give Up’ from the Pang tracklist even though I loved it because it felt so tonally different. But I put it back on when it became clear it was an essential piece of the story Pang was telling: apathy is a symptom of clearing space for something new, even if we don’t realize at the time. And its not always pretty. 📦 🗝*
>
> Caroline Polachek, [Instagram]

## Official versions

* Album version - 3:06
* Instrumental version - 3:06

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]

When I stop caring, you stop caring

When I care less and you care less than me

When I don't need and I don't believe in

The hollow phrases you still repeat

You and I, we fall apart

Now I know what it means to unravel

It's a new and shallow grief

A pathetic kind of sad relief

[Pre-Chorus]

It didn't use to feel this good to be alone

Doing every damn thing I can to not go home

[Chorus]

I give up

I give up on you now

I give up

How far can you fall

When you're already down?

[Verse 2]

I give you that told-you-so look that makes you crazy

And you give me that list of things about myself to change

And now these days, it's every night, babe

It's not a rough patch, it's not a phase

You and I, we fall apart

Now I know what it means to unravel

It's a new and shallow grief

An apathetic kind of self-defeat

[Pre-Chorus]

It didn't use to feel this good to be alone

Doing every damn thing I can to not go home

[Chorus]

I give up

I give up on you now

I give up

How far can you fall

When you're already down?

I give up

I give up on you now

I give up

How far can you fall

When you're already down?

## Credits

##### Technical

* Written-By, Producer – **Caroline Polachek**, **Dan Nigro**, **Jim-E Stack**
* Producer - **Dan Carey**
* Mastered By – **Mike Bozzi**
* Mixed By – **Geoff Swan**
* Mixed By [Assisted by] – **Nico Battistini**
* Mixed At – **The Nest**
* Mastered At – **Bernie Grundman Mastering**
* Copyright © – **Caroline Polachek LLC**

## References

1. ↑ Instagram:Caroline Polachek

Pang Tour · Videography · Photography

"The Gate"
"Pang"
"New Normal
"Hit Me Where It Hurts"
"**I Give Up**"
"Look At Me Now"
"Insomnia"

"Ocean of Tears"
"Hey Big Eyes"
"Go As a Dream"
"Caroline Shut Up"
"So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings"
"Door"
"Parachute"

Other Tracks
"Breathless"
"Simmer (Remix)"

Caroline Polachek