You Talk Too Much

You Talk Too Much

You talk too much
You worry me to death
You talk too much
You even worry my pet

You just talk
Talk too much

You talk about people
That you don't know
You talk about people
Wherever you go

You just talk
Talk too much

You talk about people
That you've never seen
You talk about people
You can make me scream

You just talk
you talk too much

You talk about people
That you've never seen
You talk about people
You can make me scream

( Joe Jones, 1960)

As usual, I was tuning in to the webcam and chat on the Great Dane Service Dog Project this afternoon, and listened in to the online moaning ( I can’t think of any other name for it) of one of the women who is new to the site and who went down there to the farm to volunteer today.  She had her feelings hurt in a large way by the owner of the farm, who is known to be , shall I say, a blunt and even rude speaker.

 

Anyway… it boils down to the part where the would-be volunteer was asked to go to one of the outbuildings to do some chores; on her way out , she overheard the owner say to her other regular helpers ( who had been very nice to this volunteer). It was on the order of  “How did you stand that woman in here with you these hours?  I’m glad I just arrived. She drives me crazy: she never stops talking!  Blah! Blah! Blah!”

I do not think the owner intended for the volunteer to hear that, but she did, and she left in tears.

She had the whole chat room buzzing through the afternoon, debating about rudeness, ingratitude( on the part of the owner), entitlement, oversensitivity ( on the part of the volunteer).

This episode got me thinking about  bluntness and rudeness; but also about people who really do talk too much.   How do you tell someone in an unhurtful way that he/she talks too much?   I can’t think of a way.  I generally avoid such people because even though they are generally wonderful souls, they get on my nerves.  It’s that unconsciousness of one’s effect on others.  I have been guilty of this plenty of times, but in recent years, I have become aware of it in myself, and generally keep pretty quiet. 

As one wit has observed, “It’s a terrible death to be talked to death.”