“My Stupid Mouth” details a date gone horribly wrong, when Mayer said somet… Read Full Bio ↴“My Stupid Mouth” details a date gone horribly wrong, when Mayer said something that his date took offense of and possibly ruined his chances of a relationship with her. He knows he’s in the wrong and is hoping that she can forgive him for this moment.

An acoustic version was first included on John Mayer’s debut EP, Inside Wants Out. It was later re-recorded with a full band for Mayer’s 2001 full-length debut album Room for Squares.

My Stupid Mouth
John Mayer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My stupid mouth
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
To a date over dinner yesterday
And I could see
She was offended
She said "well anyway"
Just dying for a subject change

Oh, another social casualty
Score one more for me
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one soon

We bit our lips
She looked out the window
Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
And I could see clearly
An indelible line was drawn
Between what was good, what just slipped out and what went wrong

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again.
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one

I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I'm never speaking up again
Starting now

One more thing
Why is it my fault?
So maybe I try too hard
But it's all because of this desire
I just want to be liked
I just want to be funny
Looks like the jokes on me
So call me captain backfire

I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I'm never speaking up again
Starting now

Overall Meaning

"My Stupid Mouth" is a song by John Mayer about struggling with the consequences of speaking before thinking. In the first verse, the singer reflects on a date where he said too much and offended his companion. He acknowledges that he is a "social casualty" and that he needs to learn to control his filterless mouth. In the second verse, Mayer describes the awkward silence that followed and how he realized that his offensive comment had caused a rift between them. He concludes that he should have listened to his mother's advice about thinking before speaking.

The chorus repeats the phrase "I'm never speaking up again," suggesting that the singer has learned his lesson and will be more cautious in the future. However, the bridge reveals that Mayer's motivation for speaking up is a desire to be liked and funny. He laments that his efforts to be charming have backfired, causing him more pain than if he had remained mysterious to his date.

Overall, the song is a reflection on the painful consequences of speaking without thinking and the difficulty of balancing authenticity with social performance. It's a relatable experience that many can empathize with, as so many of us have regretted something that we said too hastily.

Line by Line Meaning

My stupid mouth
The words that came out of my mouth were foolish.

Has got me in trouble
I am in trouble due to the things I said.

I said too much again
I spoke excessively once more.

To a date over dinner yesterday
I spoke too much to my date during last night's dinner.

And I could see
I observed.

She was offended
My date got upset at what I said.

She said "well anyway"
My date attempted to divert the conversation elsewhere with those words.

Just dying for a subject change
My date was eager to change the current topic of discussion.

Oh, another social casualty
I find myself as another victim of my words.

Score one more for me
I have once again caused a problem with my words.

How could I forget?
I failed to remember a valuable lesson I learned earlier about thinking before speaking.

Mama said "think before speaking"
My mother advised me to consider my words before uttering them.

No filter in my head
I speak without thinking about the consequences of my words.

Oh, what's a boy to do
I do not know what to do in this situation.

I guess he better find one soon
I need to find a filter for my words sooner rather than later so that I don't hurt others.

We bit our lips
Both of us refrained from speaking.

She looked out the window
My date looked out the window while we both remained silent.

Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
During the period of silence, my date fidgeted with napkins.

I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
To pass time, I played a small game with the salt and pepper shaker.

And I could see clearly
I understood.

An indelible line was drawn
A clear distinction was made between the good things I said and the problematic things I said.

Between what was good, what just slipped out and what went wrong
A line was drawn distinguishing between the good words, words said carelessly, and words that caused problems.

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
The way she sees me has been negatively impacted by the things I said.

Thanks for playing, try again.
My poor choice of words has resulted in loss and disappointment.

I'm never speaking up again
I will never speak carelessly again.

It only hurts me
My poor choice of words only brought harm to myself.

I'd rather be a mystery
It would be better to be mysterious rather than to hurt myself or others with careless words.

Than she desert me
I would rather be alone than to be left by my date due to my poor choice of words.

Starting now
I will begin to make a conscious effort to think before speaking.

One more thing
There's one more thought I need to express.

Why is it my fault?
I'm questioning why I'm always at fault.

So maybe I try too hard
Maybe I'm putting too much effort into being liked rather than focusing on a natural flow of conversation.

But it's all because of this desire
My desire to be liked is the reason I try too hard.

I just want to be liked
All I want is for people to approve of me.