They were one of the first bands to release their music for free over the Internet using the MP3 format, at a time when MP3 became a more popular search term than sex. Their music was released under the Free Music Public License, which band member Homer wrote. The gist of the license is that the music may be freely distributed given the recipient gets a copy of the license and credit is given to all contributors to the music.
God Ate My Homework's song lyrics were often about Internet culture, such as "She Was Probably a Guy", a cautionary song about the anonymity of chat rooms, and "Pirate This Song", a sea shanty about music piracy as opposed to sea piracy.
Band members: James "Homer" Ensor (keyboards, vocals, bass), Hobbes (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Earl Grey T (vocals), Dewey (vocals).
God Ate My Homework essentially disbanded in mid-2000, when Hobbes went to MIT for grad school and Earl Grey T got into med school at UCLA, while Homer planned to stay in the Berkeley area.
Insomniac's Nightmare
God Ate My Homework Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it called to me, I had to stop,
Maybe just to grab a demitasse.
But the man behind the counter said
I needed more to clear my head,
And summoned up a steaming bronco blast.
Four shots of espresso made up the drink
Were lost within the cup of devil's foam.
My ears atuned to every sound,
Thoughts in my head spun around
As I struggled to find my way back home.
My life's an insomniac's nightmare.
Maybe it's the caffeine in my brain.
My life's an insomniac's nightmare.
If I don't get some sleep, I'll go insane.
Stumbling back into my room
Bright lights cutting through the gloom
Maybe now, I thought, I'd get some rest.
Wanna lie down, feet can't stop pacing
Gotta relax, heart's still racing
Gotta stop and face that evil test.
Test of my life, I must prevail,
But I'd be lucky if I even fail.
I think the prof's in league with the caffeine.
How bitter was the angst I tasted,
Thinking back on those nights I wasted.
How much Baywatch Nights have I seen?
Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy
Amazing Discoveries,
The Weather Channel, Vibe
Team Knight Rider.
Cop Rock, Iron Chef,
Testing pattern, static,
The Late Late Show with
Tom Snyder
[chorus]
I needed to sleep, it was getting late.
It's outta my hands and into Fate's,
But Fate's not acting too reliably.
I just don't know when to stop,
'cause that stuff's good until I drop.
Maybe I should switch to herbal tea.
Lying awake, my eyelids light,
I watched the Sandman lose this fight.
And then I heard a clock outside strike three.
Well, I don't know for whom it rings,
But it's there pulling at my strings,
And I just wish that I could break free.
[chorus]
I guess I woke up, I couldn't tell
When my mind came back from mocha hell,
But I don't know what happened to the rest o' me.
I'm not sure I ever got to sleep.
I was counting hours instead of sheep.
Now there's just one more before my destiny.
My feet dragged me to the testing place
While my mind was still Lost in Space,
I never would have found it otherwise.
I tried sitting calmly in my desk,
But when they handed out that test,
I could swear my life flashed before my eyes.
Kenya Decaf Swiss Water,
French Vanilla, Irish Creme,
Java, Venezuelan
Los Achiss
Amaretto, Snicker Doodle,
Colombian Bucaramanga,
Coffee mugs that cost
Ten bucks apiece.
I opened the exam with dread
But by some miracle, I found instead
The answers came together piece by piece.
Like vegetarians don't eat... meat!
And what does sugar taste like? Sweet!
And too much fat can make you get obese.
I filled in the answers at a comfortable pace,
Satisfied I had somehow aced
The final for Nutrition Science 10.
So I guess the moral of what came to pass
Is don't stress out if it's an easy class
Still I'm never gonna do that again.
Do that again.
Okay.
[chorus]
The song Insomniac's Nightmare by God Ate My Homework is primarily about one person's struggle with insomnia and the effects of caffeine on their sleep patterns. The song opens with the singer entering a coffee shop with the intention of getting a small cup, but instead they are persuaded by the man behind the counter to try a "steaming bronco blast" that is made up of four shots of espresso. This sets off a cycle of racing thoughts, an inability to relax, and an intense feeling of restlessness that keeps the singer awake all night.
The second verse of the song continues this theme, with the singer trying to get some rest in their own room but still feeling the effects of the caffeine. They describe feeling like they are in a nightmare, unable to sleep and feeling like they are trapped in their own mind. They mention various TV shows as if to suggest that the lack of sleep has caused them to watch a lot of TV, which compounds their insomnia.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "My life's an insomniac's nightmare" twice, highlighting the central message of the song. The singer feels like their entire life is affected by their struggle with insomnia, and may also be suggesting that their obsession with caffeine and inability to sleep is causing other problems in their life as well. In the final verse, the singer goes to take a test feeling drained and exhausted but finds that they are able to focus and do well, perhaps indicating that they've found a way to manage their insomnia and stay alert without caffeine.
Line by Line Meaning
I tried to pass the coffee shop,
I tried to avoid the temptation of coffee and not stop by the coffee shop.
But it called to me, I had to stop,
Despite trying to resist, I ended up stopping by the coffee shop.
Maybe just to grab a demitasse.
I thought of getting just a small cup of coffee.
But the man behind the counter said
However, the man behind the counter suggested otherwise.
I needed more to clear my head,
He recommended that I get more coffee to clear my head.
And summoned up a steaming bronco blast.
So I ended up getting a strong cup of coffee.
Four shots of espresso made up the drink
The drink had four shots of espresso.
All the thoughts I wished I could unthink
The coffee made me unable to control my thoughts.
Were lost within the cup of devil's foam.
My thoughts were lost within the coffee.
My ears atuned to every sound,
I became hyper-aware of every sound.
Thoughts in my head spun around
My thoughts were all over the place.
As I struggled to find my way back home.
I struggled to figure out how to make it back home.
My life's an insomniac's nightmare.
My life is like a nightmare for someone who suffers from insomnia.
Maybe it's the caffeine in my brain.
The coffee might be the reason for my insomnia.
If I don't get some sleep, I'll go insane.
If I can't get some sleep, it will drive me crazy.
Stumbling back into my room
I stumbled back into my room.
Bright lights cutting through the gloom
Bright lights shone through the darkness.
Maybe now, I thought, I'd get some rest.
I hoped that now I would be able to get some rest.
Wanna lie down, feet can't stop pacing
I wanted to lie down, but felt restless and couldn't stop pacing.
Gotta relax, heart's still racing
I needed to relax, but my heart was still racing.
Gotta stop and face that evil test.
I had to face the test that was coming up.
Test of my life, I must prevail,
The upcoming test was incredibly important for me to do well in.
But I'd be lucky if I even fail.
I was feeling so bad that I might even fail the test.
I think the prof's in league with the caffeine.
I joked that my professor was conspiring with the caffeine to make my life difficult.
How bitter was the angst I tasted,
I felt bitter and angsty about the situation.
Thinking back on those nights I wasted.
I thought about the nights I had wasted with insomnia.
How much Baywatch Nights have I seen?
I wondered how much of Baywatch Nights I had watched due to my insomnia.
Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy
I started listing off television shows I had watched out of desperation.
Amazing Discoveries,
Another television show.
The Weather Channel, Vibe
Another two television channels.
Team Knight Rider.
Another television show.
Cop Rock, Iron Chef,
An additional two television shows.
Testing pattern, static,
I even watched testing patterns and static on the television.
The Late Late Show with
I even watched the Late Late Show with
Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder due to my insomnia.
I needed to sleep, it was getting late.
I knew I needed sleep because it was getting late.
It's outta my hands and into Fate's,
I knew there was nothing else I could do and left it up to Fate.
But Fate's not acting too reliably.
Unfortunately, Fate was not working in my favor at the moment.
I just don't know when to stop,
I knew I had a problem as I couldn't stop myself from having more coffee.
'cause that stuff's good until I drop.
I couldn't resist the coffee no matter the consequences.
Maybe I should switch to herbal tea.
I considered switching to something less potent like herbal tea.
Lying awake, my eyelids light,
I was struggling to fall asleep even though my eyelids felt light.
I watched the Sandman lose this fight.
I felt like I was wrestling with the Sandman and losing.
And then I heard a clock outside strike three.
I heard the clock strike three in the morning.
Well, I don't know for whom it rings,
I wasn't sure who the bell was tolling for.
But it's there pulling at my strings,
The sound of the clock had a strong effect on me.
And I just wish that I could break free.
I wished I could escape the insomnia that held me.
I guess I woke up, I couldn't tell
I suppose I fell asleep but didn't realize when it happened.
When my mind came back from mocha hell,
When I felt clarity from the coffee-induced haze.
But I don't know what happened to the rest o' me.
But I still didn't feel like myself.
I'm not sure I ever got to sleep.
I wasn't sure if I had truly fallen asleep.
I was counting hours instead of sheep.
Instead of counting sheep to fall asleep, I was counting the hours left until I had to wake up.
Now there's just one more before my destiny.
I knew there was only one night left of this insomnia before my fate was sealed.
My feet dragged me to the testing place
I reluctantly made my way to the exam location.
While my mind was still Lost in Space,
My mind was still preoccupied and unfocused.
I never would have found it otherwise.
I wouldn't have found the testing place if I hadn't forced myself to go.
I tried sitting calmly in my desk,
I made an effort to stay calm and composed at my desk.
But when they handed out that test,
However, when the test was handed out, I started to feel stressed.
I could swear my life flashed before my eyes.
I felt like my life was over when I saw the exam.
Kenya Decaf Swiss Water,
I started listing different types of coffee to myself.
French Vanilla, Irish Creme,
Additional types of coffee.
Java, Venezuelan,
More types of coffee.
Los Achiss
Another type of coffee.
Amaretto, Snicker Doodle,
Additional types of coffee.
Colombian Bucaramanga,
Another coffee type.
Coffee mugs that cost
Listing expensive coffee mugs for some reason.
Ten bucks apiece.
Each of them cost $10.
I opened the exam with dread
I was loathing the idea of taking the exam.
But by some miracle, I found instead
However, to my surprise, I managed to find the answers.
The answers came together piece by piece.
The answers slowly but surely became clear to me.
Like vegetarians don't eat... meat!
The answers were surprisingly simple.
And what does sugar taste like? Sweet!
Another simple answer.
And too much fat can make you get obese.
Another answer that I easily figured out.
I filled in the answers at a comfortable pace,
I filled in the answers without rushing.
Satisfied I had somehow aced
I was content that I had aced the exam.
The final for Nutrition Science 10.
This exam was for the Nutrition Science 10 course.
So I guess the moral of what came to pass
The takeaway from this experience is that
Is don't stress out if it's an easy class
I shouldn't stress out about an easy course.
Still I'm never gonna do that again.
I vowed never to put myself in this situation again.
Do that again.
Just to emphasize my point.
My life's an insomniac's nightmare.
Overall, my life is like a nightmare for someone who suffers from insomnia.
If I don't get some sleep, I'll go insane.
It's vital that I get some sleep so that I don't lose my sanity.
Chorus
The chorus repeats the idea that my life is an insomniac's nightmare and that I need sleep.
Contributed by Bailey F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Joel Beach
Thanks for sharing, I love this song. first time I heard it was twenty years ago. the website link for them is not up though!
Tim Bitten
If only someone would upload their masterpiece, “Please”! It taught me a lot about cheese and toasters.
Rock Paper Scissors Everyday
Do you put the cheese in the toaster?
Clarinetboy82
For those who want to find all of GAMH's songs, you can find them here:
https://archive.org/details/iuma-god_ate_my_homework