.Flay was born Kristine Meredith Flaherty in Wilmette, Illinois, on June 30, 1985. She attended nearby New Trier High School. When she was seven, her parents divorced and her mother remarried soon after, bringing in a stepbrother and a stepsister. When she was 14 years old, her biological father—a guitarist who loved all musical genres—died of undisclosed causes related to his alcoholism; many of her songs include references to him. Flaherty's stepfather helped raise her and later adopted her. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly". In 2003, she enrolled at Stanford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. According to Flaherty, many people she met during her time at Stanford influenced her musical style.
K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip-hop hits on the radio were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic". After bragging to a friend that she could write similar songs, she wrote "Blingity Blang Blang", which she described as a "low-budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities". After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music. She continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape called Suburban Rap Queen in 2005, which she produced on her laptop, and began performing.
In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled EP, and in 2011 self-released the mixtape I Stopped Caring in '96, which she later remarked was a career turning point. K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two EPs: Eyes Shut in 2012, with songs produced by Liam Howlett from the British band The Prodigy, and What If It Is in 2013. She parted ways with RCA Records in 2013 because of differences of opinion. Upon leaving RCA Records, she left behind more than 60 songs she had written while signed under RCA Records, but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to "an ill-advised marriage".
In late April 2014, K.Flay announced the release of her album Life as a Dog, by offering fans the ability to pre-order via PledgeMusic, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal. She wanted the project to be "DIY [and] self-motivated". It was recorded and produced in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with the final mix produced at San Francisco's Different Fur.
Life as a Dog was released independently on June 10, 2014. The album reached No. 14 on the Billboard Rap Albums chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. K.Flay toured extensively once the album was released, including headlining a tour and joining tours with AWOLNATION, Third Eye Blind, and Dashboard Confessional in 2014. In 2014 and 2015 she toured Germany, France, and other European countries. K.Flay also performed on the Warped Tour in 2014, saying that it "was almost like an exercise in becoming a better performer".
In 2015, K.Flay collaborated with Louis the Child on their song "It's Strange". The single was praised by Taylor Swift, who added "It's Strange" as one of her "Songs That Will Make Life Awesome" list and was featured on the FIFA 16 soundtrack. The song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. On March 25, 2016, K.Flay released her single "FML". Later that year, K.Flay announced she had signed to Interscope Records as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint. Her EP Crush Me was released 10 days later on August 19. The EP's song "Blood in the Cut" appeared on the soundtrack for XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Netflix's original series BoJack Horseman (season 4, episode 6), and in a 2017 NFL promo commercial drive.
K.Flay's album Every Where Is Some Where was released on April 7, 2017. The album's first single, "High Enough", was released in March 2017. She was the opening act for the North American and European legs of Imagine Dragons' Evolve Tour. In September 2017, Flay released the book Crush Me, a compilation of notes received from fans. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, "Blood in the Cut" received a nomination for Best Rock Song, and Every Where Is Some Where was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
On March 1, 2019, K.Flay announced that she was working on her third studio album and released a lyric video for its first single, "Bad Vibes". On March 19, the official music video for "Bad Vibes" was released.[35] On April 29, K.Flay revealed that the new album would be titled Solutions and announced the Solutions Tour. The album was released on July 12, 2019.
In December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, K.Flay released a three-track EP called Don't Judge a Song by Its Cover which saw her covering "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit, "Self Esteem" by The Offspring, and "Brain Stew" by Green Day.
In April 2021, K.Flay announced that a five-track EP called Inside Voices would be released on June 11. The first song from the EP, "Four Letter Words", was released with a music video on April 23. The second song, "TGIF" featuring Tom Morello on guitar, was released with an animated visual on May 21.
In early 2021, K.Flay began live streaming on Twitch; she uses the platform to interact with fans, host live interviews with other musicians, and create and mix original songs in real-time. She also performed at the 2021 Grey Cup halftime show with Arkells and The Lumineers.'' On November 19, 2021, K.Flay released a second five-track EP entitled Outside Voices. The EP's first single, "Nothing Can Kill Us", was released on October 15, 2021; its accompanying music video was released on November 4. A second single, "Weirdo", was released on November 17, two days before the release of the EP. On February 4, 2022, K.Flay's fourth studio album Inside Voices / Outside Voices, was released. The album combines the Inside Voices and Outside Voices EPs along with two additional tracks, "The Muck", and "Good To Drive"
K.Flay has cited a wide range of musicians such as Royal Blood, Missy Elliott, Garbage, Lauryn Hill, Tame Impala, Jeremih, Metric, M.I.A., OutKast, Liz Phair, Cat Power, and Shlohmo as influences. Her work has covered genres including hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, indie, and pop-rock. She has described her sound as "genre-defying" and draws from lo-fi pop and hip-hop with a strong indie component in her sound.
Four Letter Words
K.Flay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's taking every ounce of power not to text you
Your body frozen in my mind like a statue
Wish I could scratch up all the letters of our tattoo
I'm a believer but I keep learning the hard way
That your love's only gonna make my heart break
My heart was crying, you were flyin' at a party
I'm usually nice
But just for tonight I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say things I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I caught you lying with the Bible in your right hand
Thought you could rule me like I wasn't gonna bite back
I'm sick of manipulative animals spending all of my time
Second guessing my mind, yeah, I'm taking the high road
But I might need to go low
So
I'm usually nice
But just for tonight I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say things I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I was buried alive
But I learned to hold my breath
No, you won't fool me twice
You can't have this back
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
In K.Flay's song "Four Letter Words," the singer is struggling to let go of a past love who has betrayed her. She sings about drinking a liter of tequila, feeling overwhelmed with memories of her former partner, and struggling to avoid sending them a text. She recognizes that the love she once had will only lead to heartbreak, but still struggles to move on. The chorus of the song features the repeated phrase "four-letter words," which is a euphemism for expletives. The singer is expressing her anger, hurt, and frustration with her ex-lover, using profanity to underscore her emotions.
Throughout the song, she reveals that her partner was manipulative and lied to her, ruling her like she wasn't going to fight back. The singer wants to fight and be mean, saying things she's been keeping inside. She feels as though her ex-partner did not deserve her, as though they didn't value the relationship as she did. The end of the song suggests that she has come to terms with the situation and has learned to hold her breath, refusing to be fooled by them again.
Line by Line Meaning
I drank a liter of tequila in my bedroom
I drowned myself in alcohol hoping to forget you
It's taking every ounce of power not to text you
I'm struggling to resist the urge to reach out to you
Your body frozen in my mind like a statue
I can't stop obsessing over you and the memories we shared
Wish I could scratch up all the letters of our tattoo
I wish I could erase any trace of you from my life
I'm a believer but I keep learning the hard way
I'm still holding onto hope for us despite the pain you've caused me
That your love's only gonna make my heart break
I know that loving you will only lead to more pain
My heart was crying, you were flyin' at a party
While I was hurting, you were out enjoying yourself without a care for my feelings
Baby, you play me like Atari at an arcade
You treated me like a disposable game, easily discarded when you were done
I'm usually nice
Normally, I'm kind and forgiving
But just for tonight I wanna be mean
But tonight, I want to let out my anger and frustration at you
I wanna fight
I want to confront you and challenge you on your actions
I wanna say things I've been keeping inside
I want to finally express the thoughts and emotions I've been suppressing
Four-letter words
I want to curse and use vulgar language
I'm cursing
I'm unleashing my anger and frustration at you
Fuck you
I hate you and all that you've done to me
You didn't deserve me
You didn't appreciate me or the love that I gave you
I caught you lying with the Bible in your right hand
I discovered your betrayal, pretending to be a righteous person while deceiving me
Thought you could rule me like I wasn't gonna bite back
You thought you could manipulate and control me without me standing up for myself
I'm sick of manipulative animals spending all of my time
I'm done wasting my time on deceitful and controlling people like you
Second guessing my mind, yeah, I'm taking the high road
I'm tired of doubting myself and letting you control my thoughts, but I'm choosing to rise above it
But I might need to go low
However, I might need to stoop to your level to finally get my revenge on you
I was buried alive
I felt trapped and suffocated in my relationship with you
But I learned to hold my breath
But I learned to endure through the hardships and struggles you put me through
No, you won't fool me twice
I won't let you deceive me and cause me pain again
You can't have this back
You won't have a second chance to break my heart and hurt me again
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kristine Flaherty, Noah Beresin, Tom Schleiter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jonam Rodriguez
LYRICS
I drank a liter of tequila in my bedroom
It's taking every ounce of power not to text you
Your body frozen in my mind like a statue
Wish I could scratch up all the letters of our tattoo
I'm a believer but I keep learning the hard way
That your love's only gonna make my heart break
My heart was crying, you were flying at a party
Baby, you play me like Atari at an arcade
I'm usually nice
But just for the night I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say thing I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I caught you lying with the bible in your right hand
Thought you could rule me like I wasn't gonna bite back
I'm sick of manipulative animals spending all of my time
Second guessing my mind, yeah I'm taking the high road
But I might need to go low
So
I'm usually nice
But just for the night I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say thing I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I was buried alive
But I learned to hold my breath
No, you won't fool me twice
You can't have this back
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
n00se
I drank a liter of tequila in my bedroom
It's takin' every ounce of power not to text you
Your body frozen in my mind like a statue
Wish I could scratch off all the letters of our tattoo
I'm a believer, but I keep learnin' the hard way
That ya love's only gonna make my heart break
While I was crying, you were flying at a party
Baby, you play me, like Atari at an arcade
I'm usually nice, but just for tonight
I wanna be mean, I wanna fight
I wanna say things I've been keepin' inside
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't deserve me
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't dеserve me
I caught you lying with thе Bible in your right hand
Thought you could rule me like I wasn't gonna bite back
I'm sick of manipulative venomous spending all of my time
Second-guessing my mind, keep on taking the high road
But I'm ready to go low, so
I'm usually nice, but just for tonight
I wanna be mean, I wanna fight
I wanna say things I've been keepin' inside
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't deserve me
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't deserve me
I was buried alive
But I learned to hold my breath
No, you won't fool me twice
You can't have this back
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't deserve me
Four letter words, I'm cursing
Fuck you, you didn't deserve me
K.Flay
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!!!! 🧡
starshot
Holy shit your music is amazing, such a unique style
Lamprey L
Thank you for making this!🖤
Chobe Mobe
Make clip slow march
E D ! T 0 R
Half of these views are mine!
Many regards from Germany. Been a fan since 2014
dirty birds inc
Happy to have been here to see you evolve in the music industry .
Scraps
She chose violence and rage and I’m here for it 😎
Jonam Rodriguez
LYRICS
I drank a liter of tequila in my bedroom
It's taking every ounce of power not to text you
Your body frozen in my mind like a statue
Wish I could scratch up all the letters of our tattoo
I'm a believer but I keep learning the hard way
That your love's only gonna make my heart break
My heart was crying, you were flying at a party
Baby, you play me like Atari at an arcade
I'm usually nice
But just for the night I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say thing I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I caught you lying with the bible in your right hand
Thought you could rule me like I wasn't gonna bite back
I'm sick of manipulative animals spending all of my time
Second guessing my mind, yeah I'm taking the high road
But I might need to go low
So
I'm usually nice
But just for the night I wanna be mean
I wanna fight
I wanna say thing I've been keeping inside
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
I was buried alive
But I learned to hold my breath
No, you won't fool me twice
You can't have this back
Four-letter words
I'm cursing
Fuck you
You didn't deserve me
venomallYEET
he is the messiah
Beck Styles
its crazy when someone writes a song that is every word what happened to you