Army

Ben Folds Five

Well I thought about the army,
Dad said, son you're fuckin high.
And I thought, yeah there's a first for everything,
So I took my old man's advice.
Three sad semesters,
It was only fifteen grand.
Spent in bed I thought about the army,
I dropped out and joined a band instead.

Grew a mustache and a mullet,
Got a job at chic-fil-a.
Citing artistic differences the band broke up in May,
And in June reformed without me, and they got a different name.
I nuked another grandma's apple pie
And hung my head in shame.

Been thinking a lot today.
Been thinking a lot today.

Oh, I think I'll write a screenplay.
Oh, I think I'll take it to LA.
Oh, I think I'll get it done yesterday (aw shit).

In this time of introspection.
On the eve of my election,
I say to my reflection
God, please spare me more rejection.
Cause my peers they criticize me,
And my ex-wives all despise me.
Try to put it all behind me,
But my redneck past is nipping at my heels

I've been thinking a lot today.
I've been thinking a lot today.
I've been thinking a lot today.
I thought about the army


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Army Lyrics as written by Ben Folds

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Army song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment
    this song is seriously great, and it is about never doing the stuff you always said you would do, it reminds me of anothe bff song, "regrets". great son;g in concert, we did backing stuff - the ba ba ba baa stuff
    freddysgirlon May 29, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    this song is about having all these dreams, and never doing anything to get there, i think. it definitely rocks.
    beanplush17on February 10, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    I love this song; he's kind of got a sense of bitter and bittersweet humor about the whole thing. By the way, though, I'm pretty sure the line is "got a job at Chick Filet" - as in the fast food restaurant.
    lindyswingsteron July 13, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this song is a great piece of ben folds material. I was at his concert on 6/12/02 in DC and he totally rocked. He said that this song is a true story about him flunking a drum jury exam at the U. Miami, b/c he broke his hand then went broke b/c he was on scholarship. This song is awsome.
    jfabaza2461on June 14, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Again, to add on to jfabaza's comment- this song is a true story and when i saw ben in chicago two days ago, he said he threw the drumset in a lake (i forget which one he said, sorry) or something after the exam.
    SilverSkyon July 01, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    No, it's Chic-Fil-A. That's the way the restaurant's name is spelled.
    Pinkertonismon August 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    to add to silversky and jfabaza's comments, go to even-deeper.com/benfoldsfive/interpretations/… for ben's own comments about this awesome song
    geeweyon September 10, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    "Citing artistic differences the band broke up in May and in June reformed without me..." Ouch. I love it. Although, I think we can all agree that, in terms of musical success, our Ben won.
    loserdorkon September 28, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I LOVE THIS SONG!!!! I HEART THE PIANO!!!! its so beautiful
    xxpianorockerxxon June 08, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This is a great song
    Emily1014on April 21, 2004   Link

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