Someone's Ex by Jenny Owen Youngs
I wrote this song with my friend Tom Peyton. Tom was one of the very first people I ever did a co-writing session with, and he has credits with everyone from Christina Aguilera to Panic! at the Disco to Camila Cabello; I suppose I’d be remiss to not mention we worked on a Pitbull song together. One of the things I love most about writing with him (besides of course that it’s fun to make music with friends) is his approach, a delicate balance between the philosophical and the emotional.
Love is many things, although in the near-infinite mirror of film, television, literature, and music we tend to mostly see only a few aspects reflected back at us (greatest hits include the overwhelming passion of new romance or the heart-shattering pain of an ending). While this song does touch on the thrill of being in love with someone, its greatest concern is with a challenge of partnership that is of particular interest to me: how to not let my cursed brain fuck things up for myself.
-Jenny Owen Youngs
Tracklist
| 1. | Someone's Ex | 3:51 |
Lyrics
I got a head that never lets things go
Holding on to what I don’t control
Cut my tongue on something dumb I said
You can’t remember what I can’t forget
I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know
You’ve got a way that never gets caught up
A wicked grin that really tears me up
I don’t know why you think my worst ain’t bad
You crack me up and I just can’t stay mad
Won’t let go won’t let go won’t let go
Everybody’s having fun
Hoping that it won’t end
Everybody says goodbye
Thinking they can stay friends
Everybody falls in love
Hoping it’s the last time
Everybody’s someone’s ex
I won’t let you be mine
Said british khaki in the summer sun
I kick myself I called the color wrong
Ticking clock’ll turn my knuckles white
Loosen my grip and pull me out of time
So it goes so it goes so it goes
Everybody’s having fun
Hoping that it won’t end
Everybody says goodbye
Thinking they can stay friends
Everybody falls in love
Hoping it’s the last time
Everybody’s someone’s ex
I won’t let you be mine
Credits
Written by Jenny Owen Youngs and Tom Peyton
© Hipgnosis Notes / Isle of Labrador (ASCAP), Hipgnosis Beats / Gold Room Special Music / Wells Peyton Publishing (BMI). Administered by Hipgnosis Songs Group.
Produced by Josh Kaufman
Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by D. James Goodwin at Isokon in Kingston, NY
Additional engineering by Gillian Pelkonen
Jenny Owen Youngs: Vocals, guitars
Josh Kaufman: Guitars, bass, piano, synthesizers, organs, percussion, drum machines
Matt Barrick: Drums, percussion
License
All rights reserved.
Avalanche, Youngs’ exceptional debut for Yep Roc records, offers up an achingly beautiful exploration of loss, resilience, and growth from an artist who’s experienced more than her fair share of each in recent years. The songs are deceptively serene, layering Youngs’ infectious pop sensibilities atop lush, dreamy arrangements that often belie the swift emotional currents lurking underneath.