Jason Thomas Mraz (born June 23, 1977 in Mechanicsville, Virginia) is a Gra… Read Full Bio ↴Jason Thomas Mraz (born June 23, 1977 in Mechanicsville, Virginia) is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter. Mraz’s stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, and hip hop.

Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come in 2002. The tracks "The Remedy" and "You And I Both" became his first big hits the following year. His second album, Mr. A-Z, released in 2005, peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 200 and sold over one hundred thousand copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.
In April 2012 Mraz released his fourth studio album, Love is a Four Letter Word. The album was received with favourable reviews and debuted at number two on both the Billboard 200 and UK Album Charts. The album sold 102,000 copies in it's first week in the US, his best sales week to date.

Mraz’s international breakthrough came with the release of lead single from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. titled “I’m Yours”. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was a huge commercial success in the US with it receiving a triple-Platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over three million. The song was successful internationally and topped the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

Mraz was engaged to singer/songwriter and long-time close friend Tristan Prettyman. On June 7, 2011, Mraz said in an interview with the Daily Beast that he and Prettyman were no longer engaged.

Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods. He owns an avocado farm in Bonsall in Northern San Diego County.

Sold Out
Jason Mraz Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The Jackson Five
Was a favorite of mine at the time
(Don't blame it on the sunshine)
The east-west village
Is best when the jazz is light
(Don't blame it on the moonlight)
I played on the subway lines
Number one and the nine,

(Don't blame it on the good times)
Strawberry Fields already had yielded the sign
That Michael Jackson owned Beatles' rights

Lights out, moved out of the big apple city
Time out, no doubt, you know the drive was pretty obscene
‘Vert to Plan B, back home with family,
Mechanicsville is misery
Except for all o' that Andy's barbeque
That you can chew,
The misses of the fear knows,(?) the brunswick stew

What do you do now that you're back in your room?
And what are all the people gonna think of you ?
Well I knew what I was gonna be at home to do,
For the next three years waiting for my cue
I'd be working on the songs for the whole world to sing
And I been jerkin' you along to take a ride with me
By brushin' up my scat and blues phat jazz chords
Break dance pad on the hard wood floorboard
Slappin' them hands on the child hood headboard
Romance, sure, lord, I'm 20 years forlorn

Born as a cancer child who could wail, man,
Deliverin' the goods because my daddy is a mailman,
Mommy was a banker, her only drank the sanka,
Sista was a taker, so maybe we should thank her
For stealin' the scene that helped me get it started,
I think that all the genes that she absorbed was all retarded
And maybe she's invested in me once or maybe twice
But I guess that's best because it kinda broke the ice

For us old clockin those janitorial nights
I paid the price to rock nights for a life behind the mike
MCs around me my best friends found me
I never liked to be just another out of town G,
Respectfully, see I'd be down on my knees
Spellin' C-A-L-L-A-T-T
Please please with the eva save-a-lot
Because who's the boss is a show I crave a lot
But you gotta take a break from the old school
Gotta set a date with the real you
And ya gotta stay away from all that new school too
'Cause there's a lot that you can say about the just plain truth
Or consequences, they never will fool me
I'm mixing up the sentences in case you want to do me
I got one ready for your ass if you'll excuse me
I'm Jason Mraz and I just plain blame it on the boogie

I'm gonna blame it on the boogie
I'm gonna blame it on the boogie
Boogie boogie

(Toca Rivera introduction)

You're never gonna guess
Where I've been been been
And I have no regrets
That I bet my whole checking account
Because it all amounts to nothing up in the end

Well you can only count on the road again
We'll soon be on the radio dial
And I been payin' close attention to the Willie Nelson style
Like a band of gypsies on the highway while
I'm one man pushin' on the California skyline drive
Up the coast MC brag the most
I'm pickin up my pace and makin' time like space ghost
Raising a toast to the highway patrol with the most
I've got my cruise control on coast from Farmville to Memphis
Graceland and grace fans (?)
Little rock oklahoma city to the heartland of Texas
Don't mess with the Lone Star, man
My defenses can't rest, I can't handle the pan
So it's off to the land of enchantment to camp it
Albuquerque, Roswell, Santa Fe to stamp it
Send a postcard just the way that I planned
And say I'm on spring break because they won't understand
That I'll never be back to the town of my mother
Messing around with the sound that Virginia is for lovers
Lover lover what what lover number one just made the cut
Leavin' on the greyhound bus
Oh baby leavin' on a jet plane
Never knowing when it's gonna be back again

San Diego is where I plan to stay
Until I move to L.A....

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jason Mraz's song Sold Out are a mix of personal experiences, cultural references, and creative wordplay. He starts by mentioning his love of The Jackson Five, particularly at a time when Michael Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles' music. He then references his time in New York City's East-West Village where he enjoyed light jazz, juxtaposed against the energetic disco era (Don't blame it on the sunshine/Don't blame it on the moonlight/Don't blame it on the good times). He also reminisces about playing on the New York City subway, specifically the number one and nine lines.

Mraz then takes us through his journey of moving back to his hometown, Mechanicsville, after leaving the music scene in NYC. The nostalgia he feels for his hometown is troubled by the misery of being back, except for Andy's barbeque that he enjoys during this time. He seems to be reflecting on his own career and what he should do next. He decides to work on his music in his childhood bedroom for three years while waiting for his cue to shine. He brushes up on his scatting, blues phat jazz chords, and even has a break dance pad on his hardwood floorboards. Mraz seems to hint that he is using this time to develop his own sound and his own style, unrecognized by the mainstream.

Mraz's musical journey then takes him back on the road, reminiscing about his hero Willie Nelson's style while referencing a band of gypsies on the highway. He also mentions taking a break from the old school and new school, staying true to his unique style. He then takes us on his travels through the South, including Memphis, Oklahoma, and Texas, where he warns us not to mess with the Lone Star. He seems to be unsure of exactly where he wants to end up, but he plans to stay in San Diego for a while before ultimately heading to Los Angeles.

Overall, Sold Out seems to be about Mraz's journey as a musician, the challenges he faces, and the experiences that have shaped him along the way.

Line by Line Meaning

The Jackson Five Was a favorite of mine at the time (Don't blame it on the sunshine)
I used to really like The Jackson Five, but don't give credit to external factors like the weather for that.

The east-west village Is best when the jazz is light (Don't blame it on the moonlight)
The East-West Village is a great place for light jazz, but don't attribute that to something like the moonlight.

I played on the subway lines Number one and the nine, (Don't blame it on the good times)
I played music on the subway lines, specifically the Number One and Nine trains, but don't give credit to the good times for that.

Strawberry Fields already had yielded the sign That Michael Jackson owned Beatles' rights
Strawberry Fields had already shown that Michael Jackson owned the rights to The Beatles' music.

Lights out, moved out of the big apple city Time out, no doubt, you know the drive was pretty obscene ‘Vert to Plan B, back home with family, Mechanicsville is misery Except for all o' that Andy's barbeque That you can chew, The misses of the fear knows,(?) the brunswick stew
I left New York City and went back home to Mechanicsville, which was pretty miserable except for the great barbeque at Andy's where I enjoyed the Brunswick stew.

What do you do now that you're back in your room? And what are all the people gonna think of you? Well I knew what I was gonna be at home to do, For the next three years waiting for my cue I'd be working on the songs for the whole world to sing And I been jerkin' you along to take a ride with me By brushin' up my scat and blues phat jazz chords Break dance pad on the hard wood floorboard Slappin' them hands on the child hood headboard Romance, sure, lord, I'm 20 years forlorn
Back in my room, I knew what I was going to do - I'd spend the next three years working on music that would be enjoyed by people all over the world. I had been preparing for this by practicing my singing and dancing, and even using my childhood headboard as an instrument. Despite feeling a bit forlorn and romantically challenged, I had a plan - and I hoped people would join me on this ride.

Born as a cancer child who could wail, man, Deliverin' the goods because my daddy is a mailman, Mommy was a banker, her only drank the sanka, Sista was a taker, so maybe we should thank her For stealin' the scene that helped me get it started, I think that all the genes that she absorbed was all retarded And maybe she's invested in me once or maybe twice But I guess that's best because it kinda broke the ice
I was born under the Cancer sign, and thanks to my dad's job as a mailman, I was able to make good music. My mom was a banker who only drank Sanka and my sister was selfish - but perhaps that's what I needed, since it helped me get started in the industry. However, I think my sister got all the weird genes from our parents. Even though my mom only invested in me a couple of times, it was enough to get me started and help break the ice.

For us old clockin those janitorial nights I paid the price to rock nights for a life behind the mike MCs around me my best friends found me I never liked to be just another out of town G, Respectfully, see I'd be down on my knees Spellin' C-A-L-L-A-T-T Please please with the eva save-a-lot Because who's the boss is a show I crave a lot But you gotta take a break from the old school Gotta set a date with the real you And ya gotta stay away from all that new school too 'Cause there's a lot that you can say about the just plain truth Or consequences, they never will fool me I'm mixing up the sentences in case you want to do me I got one ready for your ass if you'll excuse me I'm Jason Mraz and I just plain blame it on the boogie
I used to work as a janitor at night, but I paid the price so I could pursue a career in music. I found some great friends to rap with, but I never wanted to be classified as a generic 'out of town G.' While I try to be respectful, sometimes I need to use my connections to get ahead - for example, I've used AT&T to make calls for my career. I enjoy watching Who's the Boss, but I need to take a break from that old school stuff and make sure I stay true to myself. You can't trust everything you hear, so I mix up my words just in case anyone tries to use them against me. At the end of the day, I just blame everything on the boogie - that's Jason Mraz!

I'm gonna blame it on the boogie I'm gonna blame it on the boogie Boogie boogie
I'm just going to keep blaming everything on the boogie - that's what I do.

(Toca Rivera introduction) You're never gonna guess Where I've been been been And I have no regrets That I bet my whole checking account Because it all amounts to nothing up in the end
Here's Toca Rivera introducing me. You'll never be able to guess where I've been, but it doesn't matter - I have no regrets about betting everything I have on this music career. Even if it all amounts to nothing in the end, I'm glad I took the chance and followed my dreams.

Well you can only count on the road again We'll soon be on the radio dial And I been payin' close attention to the Willie Nelson style Like a band of gypsies on the highway while I'm one man pushin' on the California skyline drive Up the coast MC brag the most I'm pickin up my pace and makin' time like space ghost Raising a toast to the highway patrol with the most I've got my cruise control on coast from Farmville to Memphis Graceland and grace fans (?) Little rock oklahoma city to the heartland of Texas Don't mess with the Lone Star, man My defenses can't rest, I can't handle the pan So it's off to the land of enchantment to camp it Albuquerque, Roswell, Santa Fe to stamp it Send a postcard just the way that I planned And say I'm on spring break because they won't understand That I'll never be back to the town of my mother Messing around with the sound that Virginia is for lovers Lover lover what what lover number one just made the cut Leavin' on the greyhound bus Oh baby leavin' on a jet plane Never knowing when it's gonna be back again San Diego is where I plan to stay Until I move to L.A....
Life is always on the go - we'll be on the radio soon, and I've been studying Willie Nelson's style. It feels like I'm a wandering gypsy on the road, pushing my way through California and up to the coast. I'm moving quickly but keeping my cruise control on coast. I am raising a toast to the highway patrol, and I can't rest because I always have to be on my guard. I'm traveling across the country from Farmville to Memphis, Little Rock to Oklahoma City, and heading to Texas. I have to be careful in the Lone Star state, because I can't handle the heat. I'm even heading to New Mexico to explore and write postcards. I'm never going back to my hometown and its Virginia roots - I'm moving forward to bigger and better things in San Diego and eventually LA.

Contributed by Allison R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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