Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Varsity in an American indie rock band consisting of Stephanie Smith, Dylan Weschler, Patrick Stanton, Paul Stolz and Jake Stolz. So Sad, So Sad is from their digital single release, alongside the track Cult of Personality. The long lyricless introduction makes way for a set of heartfelt lyrics about a broken heart:
So sad, so sad
I could never make you stay
Too bad, too bad
I could never walk away
So sad, so sad,
I rely upon cliché
To help me explain why I will never be the same
Trying to be a perfect circle
Weak just like I take my drinks
A crumb upon my plate leads to a week of crying streaks
Genius.com
The persona is trapped in an endless circle of wanting to keep their lover with them and at the same time, being completely unable to move on from their past relationship, which is implied to be one fraught with sadness. “I rely upon cliché”, they also use, well, clichés in order to explain the effect the relationship had upon them.
The chorus further exemplifies this complete inability to let go of the past for the sake of the future:
I'll never walk away
I could never walk away
Walk away
I could never walk away
Walk away
I could never walk away
Walk away
I could never make you stay
Tying in the to the part where the persona is “trying to be a perfect circle”, these cyclical, repetitive lyrics of the chorus finally ends with “I could never make you stay”, which not only breaks the circle, but also exemplifies that there is no such thing as a perfect circle in a relationship.
