From the recording Black Sheep
A slow-burning, country-soul groove gives Ryland Fisher room to vent emotional tension in “It Is What It Is.” With aching vocals and brutally honest lyrics, he captures the bittersweet reality of a relationship stuck in limbo—when love and resignation live side by side. Blending subtle R&B influence with rootsy Americana, Fisher turns romantic disillusionment into a track you can sway to while feeling every word.
Lyrics
We’ve been trying to make this work for way too long
We’ve stolen better back from worse
And turn right back into wrong
When it’s good, there ain’t no coming down
Well, maybe good just ain't enough to keep us together now
Girl, it is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t
We are who we are, and we ain’t gonna change
Maybe we could make it
But this kind of situation don’t get fixed with a kiss
I can’t love you and I can’t leave you
It is what it is
‘Meant to be’ ain’t supposed to be this damn hard
We’re a couple broken hearts just stumbling in the dark
You and me on the edge of falling apart
Honey, God only knows how we let it get this far
But it is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t
We are who we are, and we ain’t gonna change
Maybe we could make it
But this kind of situation don’t get fixed with a kiss
I can’t love you and I can’t leave you
It is what it is
I can't quit, I can't stay
And I'm running low on faith
Girl, tell me what to do
How can I get over you?
When it is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t
We are who we are, but something’s gotta change
Maybe we could make it but this kind of situation
Don’t get fixed with a kiss
I can’t love you and I can’t leave you
It is what it is
I can’t love you and I can’t leave you
It is what it is
I wanna love you and I wanna leave you
It is what it is