Tell Me Why

The lyrics suggest a speaker urging someone to face a painful feeling rather than keep escaping from it. Repeated commands to run away and turn away create a restless, trapped mood. The repeated question “Tell me why” sounds like a search for an explanation, while “Cry, boy, cry” shifts the focus toward expressing sadness. The emotional movement is from avoidance and questioning toward a private acknowledgment of pain, though no clear resolution is offered.

The contrast between crying “to them” and crying “just to your soul” is the central image. It may mean that the person hides their feelings from other people, even while suffering inwardly. “Run away” and “turn away” can be understood literally, but they also suggest avoiding a difficult truth or emotion. The repeated phrases make these ideas feel insistent, as if the speaker is trying to break through someone’s silence.

The lyrics leave the reason for the pain—and the relationship between the speaker and the person addressed—unclear. “Boy” might be a direct address, a familiar way of speaking, or a way to portray someone as vulnerable; the text does not settle this. The command to cry could be compassionate encouragement to release emotion, or it could sound impatient. Either way, the song presents inner sadness as real even when it is not shown to others.