The All-American Rejects – Gives You Hell

"Gives You Hell" as written by Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler....
I wake up every evening
With a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place
And you're still probably working
At a nine to five pace
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Now where's your picket fence love
And where's that shiny car
And did it ever get you far
You never seemed so tense love
I've never seen you fall so hard
Do you know where you are

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself
Where'd it all go wrong?
But the list goes on and on

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell

Now you'll never see
What you've done to me
You can take back your memories
They're no good to me
And here's all your lies
You can't look me in the eyes
With the sad, sad look
That you wear so well

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you hear this song and you sing along but you never tell
Then you're the fool, I'm just as well
Hope it gives you hell

When you hear this song
I hope that it will treat you well

You can sing along
I hope that it puts you through hell


Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes, edited by LaserKiwi

"Gives You Hell" as written by Tyson Ritter Nick Wheeler

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Gives You Hell song meanings
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131 Comments

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  • +8
    My OpinionA lot of people i talk to mention they totally get the song, but have no idea what the music video has to do with it.

    The song is about an ex girlfriend, one he had before he was famous. She probably harped on him about this whole rockstar thing is never gonna happen, you gotta grow up and be a man, i think she dumped his ass for being a slacker.

    Then he became famous, i think the way the video ties into it. Is that the neighbors are two different versions of himself, who he became, and who he might have became if he'd have made a different decision. The song is constantly bringing up themes of inner conflict. "But truth be told i miss you, and truth be told i'm lyin'" and this is where i take a litterary leap.

    I think the lines "When you hear this song and you sing along but you never tell, you're just a fool, I am as well, hope it gives you hell" Makes you think why he drug himself into the recurring fool rhyme. You could argue that he just needed to make it rhyme. But think that at this point in the song and in the video he's admitting he doesn't really hope she's suffering, and he's just a fool as much as she is.

    She made a poor decision but the smart one,trying to get him to come to his senses. And he made a poor decision trying to make it rich, it just happened to work. And to throw it in her face is truely beneath him, because either life he would have chosen would have been a good one.
    Keldonon April 30, 2009   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +5
    General CommentI love it!!! I like the lines "And truth be told, I miss you, and truth be told, I'm lyin'" the most. The situation's pretty obvious. This guy's probably angry at his ex for cheating on him or something. He smiles as if he's better off without her and hopes that she feels miserable when she sees him. Her life is probably crap and the guy's thinking that she deserves it for what she did to him. But i think he still has feelings for her because why else would he care about her being miserable?

    Yeah, awesome song. Can't wait til 11/18
    dannysmymanon October 01, 2008   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +4
    My InterpretationI think it's obviously a direct message to someone who broke his heart at a younger age, probably because she thought he (assuming the song is written from the singers point of view) wasn't going to make it anywhere in life, and left him for someone with a promising future. Now, he hardly has to do anything besides rock out every once in a while, and all in all has an easier life than the uniform, "successful" person with that promising future. The singer wants to rub it in that he's successful, while the heartbreaker lives a mediocre life instead of what she could have had with him. I say it's a direct message because of the line, "When you hear this song, and sing along, but never tell. Hope it gives you hell...etc." I personally picture the "heartbreaker" singing the song with a stressed look on her face with her peers, knowing that the song is directly about her, but everyone around her thinks its just a song, if I said that right haha.

    On a side note, LOVE this song. It's that song every guy wants to sing to that one &*#$% from their teen years. Catchy, and that rock out feeling to it. :D
    SkItZo1041on April 29, 2013   Link
  • +3
    General Comment"And you're still probably workin'
    At a 9 to 5 pace
    I wonder how bad that tastes

    When you see my face
    Hope it gives you hell"

    one thing i kind of get from this song is that maybe this was his girlfriend before he ever became famous, but she didn't believe in him and left him. now she's the one working a boring deskjob while he's a rich rockstar, and when she "sees his face" on mtv or something he hopes she realizes her mistake!
    sXe LEXXIon October 25, 2008   Link
  • +3
    Song MeaningMaybe I'm just an anomaly, but I got an ENTIRELY different meaning from this song than "a girl". In the video we see the singer playing TWO roles, the Rocker, and the Square. This is a VERY important detail.

    Firstly I was raised EXTREMELY religious. I'll shorten the story a TON and just say that I eventually left the faith. I was raised my entire life to become this perfect little Mormon. To go on a mission, go to college, get a wife, a quaint little job, nice little suburban home, boring, boring, boring (The Square). I even used to look down upon people who lived "out there" (The Rocker) and didn't adhere to the perfect little cookie cutter lifestyle I was on track for.

    When your raised a particular way, when you stray, it will always haunt you to some degree. Even now I'll sometimes think about "What ifs". What if I stayed Mormon, what if I married my HS love, etc... I'll prolly always wonder what life would have been like if I stayed down that path.

    But like they say; "The grass is always greener on the other side". When I was younger, I used to always imagine what it'd be like to just have fun, to party, get drunk, stay up all night and sleep all day... to just have fun and enjoy my own pursuit to happiness. I was always at some level somewhat envious of those that could.

    Its like that scene from the Simpsons Movie where at the end of the world, all the church goers run into the bar while the bar folk rush to the church. Everyone wants what the other side has.

    Also, pay attention to who sings/is shown though each line, the rocker or the square, everything syncs up. Then there is also the Chorus, "Hope it gives you hell", almost as though the two sides are taunting each other and, you guessed it, giving each other hell. When coming from the Square I often even see this as a religious 'hell' for the Rockers lifestyle, and from the rocker, its more a "I hope this tortures you seeing us like this". Also, at the very end, the two sides of himself get to switch over and you see just how happy they are.

    Anyways, its really hard to put all into words especially since I'm about 1/2 way through a Hookah atm... So watch it for yourself, and try and view it through those eyes, its deep.

    Oh, and to counter my entire arguement is the line in the chorus that fits the cheating Ex theory...
    "When you find a man
    That's worth a damn
    And treats you well"
    But that's the great thing about music and music videos, so many people can take so vastly differing impressions and meanings from it. :)

    /cheers
    Ashekon February 14, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General CommentThis song totally reminds me of my ex. He did a lot of lying and hurting me while we were together, but most of it didn't come to light until after we had broken up. Thankfully, I left him for the boy who became my fiance. So all's good. I'm pretty sure every girl/guy wants this regarding an ex. "When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."

    Anyway, I think AAR did really great with this song.
    xx_darling_xxon November 18, 2008   Link
  • +2
    Song MeaningFor me, the picket fence reflects on the idealistic life. When you think of a perfect home, you may think of a well kept lawn, large house, and lovely garden. When I think of a lovely garden, I think of flower beds and a white picket fence around the front of the property.

    I think he is basically saying that she hasn't got that idealistic life now. She hasn't settled down and she isn't living in a secure relationship.
    PhoenixSongon December 13, 2011   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    Song MeaningIt sounds like this is a song to one of his ex's before he got famous...and now everytime she sees his face (especially now in this song) he's hoping that she's regretting having dumped somebody as big as him.
    Anilandon December 10, 2008   Link
  • +1
    Song MeaningOk judging from the video i would say that this song is about his ex girlfriend finishing him for a man with money and a flash car, he's interpreting both sides (lower class and higher class) to people who have been through the same situation including myself, even the seperate beds, The video then shows that his ex isnt truly happy even tho she now has all the things she always wanted with the different lifestyle of living, showing that just because you dont have stacks of money, your own house or your own car, doesnt mean that a person with all tho's things that you cant provide is any better or nicer of a person then you.., hence at the end of the video when she gets back with her ex because she knows she made a mistake and still loves him even tho he has nothing better to offer.

    See money isnt the route to happiness,
    Just being yourself and taking people for who or what they are is..

    Its a great song, it makes me think of just how my ex must being feeling now when she found that out herself.., finishing me for my ambition and my job...
    Me7on January 05, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThe way I see it, Hes talking about an ex girlfriend from before he got bit and famous. She told him he wasn't going to get anywhere, and they should just start planning on their future (hence picket fence). Hw didn't want to, so she broke up with him for someone else who would. Later, she sees him in papers on TV and relizes, she made a mistake. (When you see my face hope it gives you hell) and he knows she didnt want to stick with him so she's still got her desk job (9-5 pace) and then at the end, it makes it even more clear because he talks about her singing along to the song, and she hates it because she knows she was wrong and gave up something good and she wants back to him.

    However, if you interpret it the way the video shows it, it pretty much says he didnt know which way he wanted, weather he wanted to calm home life, or the tour life, and in the end he relizes he can be both people. Thats just the way I see it, and his girlfriend could be the same way. you knpw?
    emmieannon April 09, 2009   Link

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