He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
What, am I to wake up suddenly and then
Enroll at the local college
Earn me a degree and I could work weekends?
If I've worked real hard
I could mow your back yard
I can go to Europe, travel with my friends
I can blow a thousand Deutsche marks
To get drunk in a pub with some Australians
Buy a giant backpack
Sew a flag on the back
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I never had to spend a summer planting trees
I never worked my way through a forest inch by inch
Doubled over on my hands and knees
I never spent a single day in retail
Telling people what they want to hear
Telling people anything to make a sale
Eating in the food court
With the old and the bored
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
The worlds your oyster shell
So, what's that funny smell?
You eat the bivalve anyway
You're sick with salmonella
You get your PhD
How happy you will be
When you get a job at Wendy's
And are honored with employee of the month
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
Enroll at the local college
Earn me a degree and I could work weekends?
If I've worked real hard
I could mow your back yard
I can go to Europe, travel with my friends
I can blow a thousand Deutsche marks
To get drunk in a pub with some Australians
Buy a giant backpack
Sew a flag on the back
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I never had to spend a summer planting trees
I never worked my way through a forest inch by inch
Doubled over on my hands and knees
I never spent a single day in retail
Telling people what they want to hear
Telling people anything to make a sale
Eating in the food court
With the old and the bored
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
The worlds your oyster shell
So, what's that funny smell?
You eat the bivalve anyway
You're sick with salmonella
You get your PhD
How happy you will be
When you get a job at Wendy's
And are honored with employee of the month
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah, never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I think this song is about how you shouldn't take life so seriously. People work all their lives and never hve anything to show for it. I think BNL is trying to show that it's better to live life to the fullest and not worry about things so much. People that worry about the future end up wasting their lives. I think that's what this song is really all about.
I think it's about people trying to fit into the mold of what they feel they're "supposed" to be. Going to college just because that's what people DO after high school, taking a semester abroad and backpacking through Europe, working in fast food and retail (and if you're Canadian, planting trees, I guess?)...these are all such typical middle-class-youth experiences. And the song says that you don't HAVE to do those things just because everyone else does. And furthermore, they're not a guaranteed ticket to success.
I absolutly LOVE Barenaked Ladies :D They are my all time favorite. Their songs are different and their music just doesn't compare to the words. The combination just makes it cool to listen to, they talk about real stuff in funny perdiciments. They make serious stuff worth while to rethink and laugh about.
maybe..it's about them being so famous that they don't have to do normal things like mowing the lawn or working at Wendy's (I think ed worked there).
in other words "playin my guitar and building castles in the sun and singing FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!!!" YAY
i agree with estella open fire
I think this song is about working your ass off and not getting jack. its saying, im not going to do this anymore, i dont have to go through all this stuff to get to where i want to be.
The "Fun Fun Fun" line, of course, is a Beach Boys reference, which then loops the band back around to "Brian Wilson," heh.
i think it has the apparent meaning of saying that these things aren't the ticket to happiness, but also the sarcastic/ironic meaning (like most bnl) that this person wishes they had done some of these things because while they are not a ticket to happiness, appathy isn't a better solution
It's about someone who doesn't want to do the stuff that other people do. He doesn't want to work in retail, doesn't want to work at Wendy's, doesn't want to go to college or university, because he doesn't believe these things will bring him success.
However, this song is a bit silly. Every study shows that people with a Ph.D will generally get a good job. It's not a sure thing though. I've seen people with Ph.D's working at meat packing plants.
It's also strange, that the singer says "I never want to do that stuff" but he never says what he does want to do.