NOTE: If you’d like to skip my commentary and go straight to the song, go to 14:47. However, I do suggest listening to the whole episode!
Thanks for tuning in to the second episode of “25 Bad Songs,” an Art In All Its Forms podcast series where I (Suraj) write 25 songs — one song a week — and show you how I did it!
Today’s song, “Always In My Head,” tells the story of a troubled father-son relationship. It is very loosely based on Franz Kafka’s letter to his father, which he wrote in November of 1919.
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Full Lyrics:
Verse 1
Hey dad, I know it’s been a minute
I called to tell you one thing
That the apple falls far from the tree
People see you and they don’t recognize me
I used to try to be what you wanted
It didn’t work out, you were always disappointed
I was tired of it all, I was done
Walked right out and then I wasn’t your son
Pre-chorus 1
But even if I move to somewhere far away from you
I still feel sick it
It doesn’t matter what I try
There’s no escaping it
I don’t want to admit that I’d be lost without you
Chorus
Oh Oh Ohh
I wanna be my own man
But I can’t forget all of the shit you said
You’re always in my head
Oh Oh Ohh
I can’t understand
Why I can’t forget all of the shit you said
You’re always in my head
Verse 2
Hey Dad, I know you didn’t think
I’d call to tell you one thing
When you said that I was weak you were wrong
I was trying to be kind and I was so young
I used to be afraid of monsters under my bed
You threw me out into the cold that night
Thought I’d freeze to death
Be the master of your fate, you said
Pre-chorus 2
And even though I try to close my ears I’m always listening
I don’t want to admit that I’d be lost without you
Chorus (x2)
Oh Oh Ohh
I wanna be my own man
But I can’t forget all of the shit you said
You’re always in my head
Oh Oh Ohh
I can’t understand
Why I can’t forget all of the shit you said
You’re always in my head
25 Bad Songs: 2. "Always In My Head"