The Rules of Life
| "The Rules of Life" | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Demo by Rivers Cuomo | ||
| Album | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | |
| Format | MP3 | |
| Recorded | 2012 | |
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | |
| Status | Released | |
"The Rules of Life" is a song written by Rivers Cuomo in contention for what would eventually become Weezer's ninth album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Dozens of demos of the song were released in 2020 as part of the digital compilation Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years.
Appearances
- Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years (2020)
Background
Sometimes there’s just songs that are really difficult for me to finish a lyric. The one we may start today, ‘The Rules of Life,’ that’s another one. The chorus is great, but I can’t tell you how many verses I’ve written trying to figure out what my perspective is on that chorus. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but there’s just a massive amount of uncertainty sometimes. And sometimes I just don’t get it! Sometimes I have to set a song aside. I know it’s out there somewhere, but it hasn’t come yet, and we can’t do the song now. Sometimes it comes ten years later when I finally figure it out. I have a lot of pride about the records, and I don’t want to put it out if I know it could be better. Somebody else may be more practical and say, ‘This is fine, it’s good enough, it achieves our goal.’ I’m not like that. If I know it can be better, I’d rather put it on hold.
- —Rivers Cuomo, Entertainment Weekly, 2014[1]
- —Rivers Cuomo, Entertainment Weekly, 2014[1]
"The Rules of Life" appeared as part of Ecce Homo, an early draft of Everything Will Be Alright in the End. The song is notable for its large number of lyrical revisions. The song's existence first became known in the mid-2010s, after fans attended listening parties. Some fan re-creations were recorded prior to the song's release.[2][3]
On November 20, versions 8, 38, and 41 of the song were sold on the demo storefront on riverscuomo.com as part of Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years. Later, more than 50 versions were made available as part of the bundle. An Ecce Homo draft included with Alone XI features the following note:
(Age 17): At graduation singing to other boys. Leaving the academy. Not going to college. Disillusionment with the life plan for success as set out by society.
Lyrics
The lyrical variants for "The Rules of Life" are too numerous to list here. For an exhaustive list, see Lyrics: The Rules of Life.
Ecce Homo 11.docx
Go to Carlthorp even if you’re freaky
Practice Czerny till your fingers bleed
Do some service, maybe candy striping
Things like that will round out your SATs
These are the rules of life
And we must comply if we wanna be written up in history
These are the rules of life
And we must abide if we wanna be everything we’re meant to be in life
These are simply the rules of life
Work at Berkshire, slowly move your way up
Federal Express don’t come overnight for free
Find a partner, someone to share your life with
Someone to soothe you when you catch a dread disease
And then they’ll fuck you, fuck you
Yeah, it’s just as simple as that, woah
Show them what you got
You little snot
Give it a go
Known recordings
| Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Cuomo | heavy piano groove in Gb I vi 1.mp3 | 2006—2010 | 0:22 | Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years | Piano instrumental | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:11 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life for vso.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:54 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 2 vso.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:47 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 3.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:52 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | THE RULES OF LIFE 3 FOR RC.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:57 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 4.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 5.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:07 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 6.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:47 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 7.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:12 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 8.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:02 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 9.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:08 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 11.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 12.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 13.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:03 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 14.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:07 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 15.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:03 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 16.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 17.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 18.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 19.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 19 1.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | Duplicate of The Rules of Life 19.mp3 | |
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 21 PRES.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:29 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 22.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:18 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 23.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:16 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 24.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:16 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 25.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 26.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 27.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:56 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 28 to par.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:52 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 29.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 31 s.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 32 1.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 32.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 33.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:59 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life adolf 35.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 36.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 37.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 38.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:50 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 39 2.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:50 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 41.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:01 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 44.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 45.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Rivers Cuomo | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 46.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 48 drop your.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:04 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 49 got my bla.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 51 Get your bl.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 52 carlthorp.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 53 band.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 54 hit the gri.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 55 fix.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 56.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 57 1.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 3:00 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 | ||
| Weezer(?) | The Rules of Life | The Rules of Life 58.mp3 | 2011—2014 | 2:58 | Removed from bundle December 8, 2020 |
See also
References
- ↑ Anderson, Kyle. "In the studio: Weezer talks lyrics, the new album title, Ric Ocasek" Entertainment Weekly. 17 July 2014. https://ew.com/article/2014/07/17/weezer-new-album-title-ric-ocasek/
- ↑ AllThingsWeezer Archives. "Rules of Life - Social Exclusion" YouTube. 20 December 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgzywO95AUs
- ↑ Dom. "Weezer - Rules Of Life ( Full Fan Recreation )" YouTube. 23 March 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUHgJDnpuGA