King of the World
| "King of the World" | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||
| Single by Weezer | ||||||||||||||
| Album | Weezer (The White Album) | |||||||||||||
| Released | January 15, 2016 | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | 2015 | |||||||||||||
| Length | 3:24 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Crush Music/Atlantic Records | |||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo/Jarrad Kritzstein | |||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Jake Sinclair | |||||||||||||
| Status | Officially released | |||||||||||||
| Live debut | January 19, 2016 | |||||||||||||
| Stream |  Spotify |
|||||||||||||
 Apple Music |
||||||||||||||
| Weezer singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Weezer (The White Album) track listing | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Alternate cover | ||||||||||||||
 Cover of the international digital single |
||||||||||||||
"King of the World" is the sixth track and third single from The White Album.
Appearances
- Weezer (The White Album) (2016)
- Spotify Sessions (2016)
Overview
"King of the World" is one of a handful of White Album songs to feature songwriting credits from outside Weezer, with songwriter Jarrad Kritzstein receiving credit alongside Rivers Cuomo. White producer Jake Sinclair expressed in an All Things Weezer post, however, that Kritzstein's contributions were minor[1].
The song concerns Cuomo's relationship to his wife, Kyoko Cuomo. It includes truthful references to her life, including her relationship with her husband[2][3][4], her views on life[5][6][7], and her upbringing in and relationship to Japan[8][9].
During Periscope rehearsals of the song[citation needed], Rivers Cuomo would sometimes sing "USA dropped an atom bomb" instead of "Uncle Sam dropped an atom bomb." He later explained that this was the original lyric, and it remained in the song until the mixing stage.
During the song's bridge (around the 2:18 mark) the bassline from "Only in Dreams" can be heard in the background.
Music video
The music video was directed by Scantron and premiered on January 15, 2016.
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
- Patrick Wilson – percussion
- Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Scott Shriner - bass guitar, backing vocals
Lyrics
You walk by the magazines
Sitting on the rack at the CVS
One more sad movie star divorce
Three hundred died in an airplane wreck
And you think of all the people suffering
And you bury that pain
But you can tell me everything
And we'll ride on that wave
If I was King of the World
You'd be my girl
You wouldn't have to shed one single tear
Unless you wanted to
'Cause yeah, I know what it's like
If I was King of the World
Yeah, girl
We could ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos
And stay for the rest of our lives
Dad hit you on the hand
Just for holding your chopsticks wrong
Then your mom locked you in a shed
And Uncle Sam dropped an atom bomb
But you're not alone
You can let it go
And just weep on my breast
And cover me with your tenderness
And that pain will pass
If I was King of the World
You'd be my girl
You wouldn't have to shed one single tear
Unless you wanted to
'Cause yeah, I know what it's like
If I was King of the World
Yeah, girl
We could ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos
And stay for the rest of our lives
We are the small fish
But we swim together
No prozac or valium
We'll face tsunamis together
If I was King of the World
You'd be my girl
You wouldn't have to shed one single tear
Unless you wanted to
'Cause yeah, I know what it's like
If I was King of the World
Yeah, girl
We could ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos
And stay for the rest of our lives
External links
- Genius.com entry for "King of the World"
Known recordings
| Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Cuomo | King of the World | King Of The World 7 voc alts.mp3 | 2015 | ||||
| Rivers Cuomo | King of the World | King Of The World 8 catalina and fish bridge.mp3 | 2015 | ||||
| Rivers Cuomo | King of the World | King Of The World new chord.mp3 | 2015 | ||||
| Rivers Cuomo | King of the World | King Of The World vox comp 3.mp3 | 2015 | ||||
| Rivers Cuomo(?) | King of the World | King Of The World JS1.mp3 | 2015 | ||||
| Weezer | King of the World | Summer/Fall 2015 |
|
3:24 | Weezer (The White Album) | ||
| Weezer | King of the World | April 2016 | Spotify offices, New York, NY | 3:24 | Spotify Sessions |
See also
References
- ↑ "Wannabeezer" Weezerpedia article Retrieved on 01/11/22.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
- ↑ "King of the World" Genius.com entry Retrieved on January 11, 2022.
