The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I spend a lot on all the clothes that I got
Cause all the geeks that I meet they all look cooler than me.
What to do when they're all looking at you,
Cause you're the Freak of the Week, cause you're on the TV
[Chorus:]
Can you make me a promise?
Stop it before we begin.
Will you hold onto my head
If I ever lose it again?
I've got a shrink I swear he's Elvis I think,
He wears the coolest suede shoes when I come in with the blues.
He thinks it's all about culture and art
But the truth of it is that it rips me apart
[Chorus]
Can you make me a promise?
Stop it before we begin.
Will you hold onto my head
If I ever lose it again?
Tell me I sold out...Tell me I sold out go ahead...
Cause all the geeks that I meet they all look cooler than me.
What to do when they're all looking at you,
Cause you're the Freak of the Week, cause you're on the TV
[Chorus:]
Can you make me a promise?
Stop it before we begin.
Will you hold onto my head
If I ever lose it again?
I've got a shrink I swear he's Elvis I think,
He wears the coolest suede shoes when I come in with the blues.
He thinks it's all about culture and art
But the truth of it is that it rips me apart
[Chorus]
Can you make me a promise?
Stop it before we begin.
Will you hold onto my head
If I ever lose it again?
Tell me I sold out...Tell me I sold out go ahead...
Lyrics submitted by jstalilwyrd
Freak of the Week Lyrics as written by Butch Walker
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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what a great song, i wish marvelous 3 would have gone further, this had such great lyrics and the beat was awesome. it will forever be a great song in my mind.
Butch Walker is awesome, this song is great, he played it last night when I saw him in concert. Nicest guy I think I have ever met
This song is about selling out...kinda funny that it is about that. They did sell-out, this song was a top 50 song...hmmm, something to think about
Since when is having a song that a lot of people like is considered 'selling-out'? If anybody who's ever had a song that was in the Top 50 is considered a sell-out for writing music that many people enjoyed, you're putting that label on a lot of artists that don't deserve it. Save the sell-out label for most of your mainstream pop acts, not for the Marvelous 3. It's not as if they altered their musical style to make this song a hit specifically.
Think before you label.
Oh, Butch totally acknowledges both the fact that this song is about selling out and that he did sell out. He jokes about it all the time. Also, BoyBandRejectM3, ya know they used to be a metal band, right? Hehe...
I know the song is about selling out, but I don't think Butch is saying he sold out personally. If having success is selling out, then the world is full of sell-outs. Are you a sell-out if you get a promotion at your job?
And yes, I know they used to be in a metal band. Are you saying because they played one kind of music at one point, they should play that same kind of music forever and not change to a different style that might be more popular because it would be 'selling out'?
NO, that's not what I'm saying. Please don't read so much into everything. All I'm saying is that when you're at a Butch show and he sings "Tell me I sold you" followed by yelling out, "I did!", that pretty much sums it all up to me.
to me, selling out is leaving the garage. because right there, you're doing it to get noticed and a fan base and the money, eventually. i'm not saying it's a bad thing, and the marvelous 3 is a great band, but if you think about it, every band out there has "sold out"
the song is about 'coming to terms with selling out'. That's what Butch Walker said about it.
haha i remember this song