In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 single "Your Body Is a Wonderland" from the album Room for Squares.
In February 2005, he was awarded the Song of the Year Grammy for his song Daughters, which he composed while in the shower, from the album Heavier Things. In winning the award, he beat out such contenders as Alicia Keys, and Kanye West. He dedicated this award to his grandmother, Annie Hoffman, who died in May 2004. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for which Elvis Costello, Prince and Seal were also nominated. In 2007, John won 2 Grammys, one for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for the song "Waiting On The World To Change," and also Best Pop Vocal Album for his album Continuum.
To date, Mayer has toured with many groups, including Maroon 5, Guster, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Teitur, Ben Folds, and Sheryl Crow.
In 2004, Mayer worked with hip hop artist and producer Kanye West, appearing both on Go and Kanye West's Bittersweet (released in the summer of 2007 as an iTunes pre-order bonus track to the album Graduation) and received praise from rap heavyweights like Jay-Z and Nelly. When asked about his ubiquitous presence in the hip hop community, he said, "It's not music out there right now. That's why, to me, hip-hop is where rock used to be."
It was around this time that he began hinting at a change in his musical interests, announcing that he was "closing up shop on acoustic sensitivity." In 2005, he began a string of collaborations with various blues artists, including Buddy Guy, BB King, Eric Clapton and jazz artist John Scofield. He also toured with the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, which included a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
Although Mayer has maintained a reputation for being a sensitive singer-songwriter, he is also an accomplished guitarist influenced by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Freddie King and B.B. King. In this regard, he has released an album with his band The John Mayer Trio Try!, which features a blues-rock style reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix.
In September 2006, Mayer released his third studio album, Continuum. The album, written and produced exclusively by Mayer (with the help of Steve Jordan from the John Mayer Trio) is a culmination of Mayer's growth as an artist and continues with the blues-rock style that he began to flirt with on Try!.
Also notable is John Mayer's various adaptations in style. He always maintained a blues tone, he introduced a rockier edge. However, in Continuum, he adopts a calmer genre, returning to his previous styles.
On November 17, 2009, Mayer's fourth studio album, Battle Studies, was released and debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. The album consists of 11 tracks with a total time of 45 minutes. The first single from the album, "Who Says", was released on September 24, 2009 in advance of album, and was followed on October 19 by the single "Heartbreak Warfare" and the single "Half of My Heart" released on June 21, 2010. Despite the album's commercial success, critics were mixed with their praise; while some reviews were glowing, calling it his "most adventurous", others called the album "safe" and noted that "Mayer the singer-songwriter and Mayer the man about town sometimes seem disconnected, like they don't even belong in the same body.
Following his recovery from vocal surgery, Mayer returned to the studio. On June 18, 2013, Mayer announced from his Facebook page that his sixth album, Paradise Valley, would be released on August 13, 2013. On the same day, he released a lyric video for the new album's first single, "Paper Doll", on his YouTube page. The release date was later changed to August 20, 2013. "Who You Love" featuring Katy Perry followed as the album's third single and a music video was released on December 17, 2013 for the song. The album, which also includes a collaboration with Frank Ocean, was met with positive reviews from music critics. Mayer embarked on a tour, his first in three years, in support of Born and Raised and Paradise Valley. The American leg of the tour ran from July to December 2013 with Interscope recording artist Phillip Phillips serving as support act. The tour will visit Australia in April 2014.
Back To You
John Mayer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It always comes around
Back to you
I tried to forget you
I tried to stay away
But its too late
Over you
Over you
Something about you
Its just the way you move
The way you move me
I'm so good at forgetting
And I quit ever game I play
But forgive me, love
I cant turn and walk away
Back to you
It always comes around
Back to you
I walk with your shadow
I'm sleeping in my bed
With your silhouette
Should have smiled in that picture
If its the last that Ill see of you
Its the least that you
Could not do
Leave the light on
I'll never give up on you
Leave the light on
For me too
Back to me
I know that it comes
Back to me
Doesn't it scare you
Your will is not as strong
As it used to be
The opening lines of the song set the theme of the song in motion. The song is about a relationship where the singer keeps returning to their lover no matter how much they try to move on. The lyrics "I tried to forget you, I tried to stay away, but it's too late" indicate that the singer has made an effort to move on from the person they're singing about, but it's proved futile because they always end up returning.
The second verse takes a different tone from the first, where the singer admits that they can never get over their lover. The lyrics "I'm never over, over you" suggest that they've tried to move on, but the person has such a significant hold on them that they could never truly let go. The way the lover moves is something that the singer can't resist, which is why the lyrics "It's just the way you move, the way you move me" are so poignant.
The chorus makes it clear that the singer keeps returning to their lover even though they've tried to move past the relationship. The lyrics "Back to you, it always comes around" is a reminder that no matter how hard they try to move on, they'll always return to this person. The final verse makes it clear that the person still has a hold on the singer's willpower. The lyrics "Doesn't it scare you, your will is not as strong as it used to be" suggest that the person has lost control over their ability to resist their lover, and it scares them.
Line by Line Meaning
Back to you
No matter what happens, it always comes back to you
Back to you
Even though I've tried to move on, I always end up back with you
I tried to forget you
I've done everything in my power to forget you
I tried to stay away
I've tried to stay away from you in hopes that I could forget about you
But its too late
Despite my efforts, I can't forget you and it's too late to change that
Over you
I may try to move on, but I'm never really over you
Over you
You still have a hold on me and I can't shake it off
Something about you
There's just something about you that I can't resist
Its just the way you move
Your movements have a certain power over me
The way you move me
Your movements have a strong emotional impact on me
I'm so good at forgetting
I have a talent for forgetting things, but not when it comes to you
And I quit ever game I play
I give up on everything I do, except for you
But forgive me, love
I'm sorry, but I can't help the way I feel
I cant turn and walk away
I'm unable to just walk away from you and forget about everything
I walk with your shadow
Your memory is always with me, no matter where I go
I'm sleeping in my bed
Even when I'm alone in bed, your image is still there with me
With your silhouette
Your shadow is burned into my mind
Should have smiled in that picture
I regret not showing how much you meant to me in that moment
If its the last that Ill see of you
If I only have one more chance to see you
Its the least that you
It would mean a lot to me if you
Could not do
Smile in that picture with me
Leave the light on
Please don't give up on us, keep a light on for me
I'll never give up on you
I'll always be there for you, no matter what
For me too
I'll also keep a light on for you, no matter what happens
Back to me
The situation will inevitably come back to me again
I know that it comes
I am aware that this will happen
Doesn't it scare you
Aren't you at least a little bit frightened
Your will is not as strong
You're not as resolute as you once were
As it used to be
You have doubts and uncertainty now
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN CLAYTON MAYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind