Jerk

Story Behind The Song

I lost a friend, who said that after I moved to New York I became a jerk. I maintain that if I'm a jerk, I've been one my whole life, but stewing on that moniker eventually led me to write this song, with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. My friend Autumn helped a great deal, hanging out with me through the writing and helping me through taking it down a notch with the bridge and third verse. "You're not a jerk, you know," she said, "People just think you are. You should speak to that."

Song Description

A driven track that pays homage to Elvis Costello's "King Horse" with a skittish drum pattern, this is a self-effacing tune, in which the writer sets his flaws to a beat, then asks the listener to give him clemency, because things aren't always the way they seem.

Song Length 3:30 Genre Folk - Rock, Pop - Rock
Tempo Medium Fast (131 - 150) Lead Vocal Male Vocal
Mood Tense, Poignant Subject Judgement, Will
Similar Artists Elvis Costello, Barenaked Ladies Language English
Era 2000 and later

Lyrics

i am a jerk
oh, i say things that jerks say
and i do things that jerks do
i play games that only jerks play
it's just the jerk's way
i start out like this on monday
and if you catch me on sunday
i'm mellowing out and getting ready for the next weekly wave

you can't change me now
35 years of vim and vigor
you can't change me now
16 spent calming itchy triggers
you can't change me now
well, my hair got gone as my head got bigger

i am a jerk
yeah, i want things my own way
it's been like that since my first birthday
my first cake was a twinkie
my first word was lame, i'm a jerk
i'm ungrateful and selfish
loving me must be hellish
if every inch that you give me a yard comes away

you can't change me now
35 years of piss and spittle
you can't change me now
six years of beatdowns for playing fiddle
you can't change me now
well my heart got hard as my bones got brittle

still i kiss every baby
i make time for every dog
i give advice when they ask me
link my friends on my blog
i give my seat to old ladies
and take the outside of the sidewalk
yeah, i kiss every baby
i make time for every dog

i am a jerk
but lots of you seem to like me
and my family keeps trying
even though i was born spitting mad vitriol i'm a jerk
i never asked for the title
but some among us who are spiteful
may whisper that i'm not a creature that you wanna know

you can't change me now
35 years of pock-faced jingles
you can't change me now
all this, and ladies, the boy's still single
you can't change me now....
credits
from Here Goes Nothing, released 16 April 2011
written by Paul Tabachneck and Autumn Ayers © 2011 Fleshyourcoldhousein Music (ASCAP)

Lyrics Paul Tabachneck/Autumn Ayers Music Paul Tabachneck
Producer Mark Marshall Publisher 2011 Fleshyourcoldhousein Music
Performance Paul Tabachneck: Vocals, Guitars, Handclaps | Mark Marshall: Bass, Drums, Handclaps Label 2011 SFS Records

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