Dawson became well known as a member of The Moldy Peaches. Since the Moldy Peaches took a break from performing and recording in 2004, Dawson has released a string of lo-fi homemade albums, and toured widely in North America and Europe.
In 2005 the Pharmacy and Matty Pop Chart performed as her backing band on a U.S. tour. In 2006 she collaborated with a number of friends to make a group, Antsy Pants, that recorded and released an album on Plan It X Records.
Dawson's songs are featured in the films The Guatemalan Handshake and Glue, both of which were shown at the Olympia Film Festival in November 2007. There is also some of her music in the cult movie Juno, which is the fastest selling film soundtrack since Saturday Night Fever.
Kimya's "kid's album" Alphabutt was released in 2007, and recording for her new album "Thunder Thighs" is wrapping up as of Fall 2010. The mean time she has spent writing and touring, as well as spending time with her family and singing with the Olympia Free Choir.
My Rollercoaster
Kimya Dawson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
When I look at your face I can tell
That you're not going to be stopping soon or even slowing down
And if we keep up this pace
Pretty soon we'll know the name of every kid
And if home is really where the heart is
Then we're the smartest kids I know
Because wherever we are in this great big world
We'll never be more than a few hours from home
And that's important because I need to travel
I've had this itching in my shoes since I was just a little kid
And before I had a mini van I rode the Greyhound bus
My mom would say, "I hope some day you get paid for being Kimya Dawson"
And now I do and it's not much
But it's enough
I've got my Scrabble game, food on my plate, good friends and family
And now there's you understanding why I do the things I do
Knowing that you do them too makes me really happy
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
From a distance, the world looks blue and green
And the snow capped mountains white
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight
Darkness
Imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell
Do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
I'll be your crying shoulder
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be dun-ah dun-ah dun-ah
I'll be the greatest man of your life
Cause I like going for hikes and riding bikes
And playing video games in the middle of the night
And I'll stay up late and I won't even care
That we're getting up early to go to the state fair
I'm gonna ride the biggest ride, it'll be out of sight
Then I'll share an elephant ear with you if you'd like
Because we are alive so we've gotta live life
To the fullest you spin the bottle and I'll dim the lights
Four, five, six, seven minutes in the closet
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
You go straight to the top you're not scared of getting squashed
You know just when to jump off
You are so brave
And then you run to the right it seems there's no hope in sight
And you drop down to the tube that takes you right to level eight
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Every day's a winding road yeah
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
As long as it keeps going round its unbelievable
The opening lines of the song, "You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday," suggest that the singer is consumed by thoughts of someone they admire. The lyrics go on to describe a connection between the singer and this person, possibly a fellow musician or artist, and the shared experience of being on the road and traveling for their craft. The song examines the importance of having a sense of home and community, even when constantly on the move.
The chorus, "If home is really where the heart is / Then we're the smartest kids I know, / Because wherever we are in this great big world / We'll never be more than a few hours from home," highlights the importance of a supportive network and finding a sense of belonging amidst the chaos of touring life. The lyrics also touch on the idea of a creative calling, as the singer recounts "riding the Greyhound bus" and their mother's hope that they would someday be paid for their art.
Throughout the song, there are nods to other artists and songs, such as "Life is a highway" and Metallica's "One" in the final lines. These references demonstrate the wide range of influences that inspire the singer and add layers of meaning to the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
I thought about you a lot yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
I felt like I was going crazy thinking about you so much
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
What is it that makes me think about you so much?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
Maybe it's because of your great music or it could be something else
When I look at your face I can tell
When I see you, I can tell
That you're not going to be stopping soon or even slowing down
You're not going to stop or slow down anytime soon
And if we keep up this pace
If we continue like this
Pretty soon we'll know the name of every kid
We'll soon know the names of every child
And every grown up booking house shows in their town
And every adult planning house shows in their area
And if home is really where the heart is
If home is where the heart is
Then we're the smartest kids I know
Then we are the smartest people I know
Because wherever we are in this great big world
Because no matter where we are in this world
We'll never be more than a few hours from home
We'll never be too far from home
And that's important because I need to travel
This is important to me because I love to travel
I've had this itching in my shoes since I was just a little kid
I've always had a desire to explore new places
And before I had a mini van I rode the Greyhound bus
Before I had a car, I traveled by bus
My mom would say, "I hope some day you get paid for being Kimya Dawson"
My mom used to say that she hopes one day I make money from my music
And now I do and it's not much
Now I do make money from my music, but it's not a lot
But it's enough
But it's sufficient
I've got my Scrabble game, food on my plate, good friends and family
I have my Scrabble game, food, friends, and family
And now there's you understanding why I do the things I do
And now there's you who understands why I do what I do
Knowing that you do them too makes me really happy
Knowing that you do them too makes me very happy
On the road again
Back on the road traveling again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
I'm excited to travel again
The life I love is making music with my friends
I love making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
And I can't wait to travel with my friends again
From a distance, the world looks blue and green
From far away, the world looks blue and green
And the snow capped mountains white
And the mountains are covered in snow
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream
From far away, the ocean meets the river
And the eagle takes to flight
And the eagle flies through the sky
Darkness
Darkness
Imprisoning me
I feel trapped
All that I see
All I see is darkness
Absolute horror
This is really scary
I cannot live
It feels like I can't live through this
I cannot die
I can't escape this horror by dying
Trapped in myself
Feeling trapped inside myself
Body my holding cell
My body feels like a prison
Do do do do do do do
Singing do-do-do-do-do-do-do
Do do do do do do do
Singing do-do-do-do-do-do-do again
I'll be your crying shoulder
I'll be there for you when you need to cry
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be love's destructive force
I'll be dun-ah dun-ah dun-ah
I'll be something that goes dun-ah dun-ah dun-ah
I'll be the greatest man of your life
I'll be the greatest partner you could ever have
Cause I like going for hikes and riding bikes
Because I enjoy hiking and cycling
And playing video games in the middle of the night
And playing video games late at night
And I'll stay up late and I won't even care
I'll stay up late and not care about being tired
That we're getting up early to go to the state fair
Even though we're getting up early to go to the fair
I'm gonna ride the biggest ride, it'll be out of sight
I'm going to ride the biggest, most thrilling ride
Then I'll share an elephant ear with you if you'd like
And then I'll share an elephant ear with you - if you want
Because we are alive so we've gotta live life
We're alive, so we need to live our lives fully
To the fullest you spin the bottle and I'll dim the lights
Let's live life to the fullest, play spin the bottle, and turn down the lights
Four, five, six, seven minutes in the closet
Let's spend some alone time in the closet for a few minutes
You go straight to the top you're not scared of getting squashed
You aim high and are not afraid to fail
You know just when to jump off
You know when to quit
You are so brave
You are very courageous
And then you run to the right it seems there's no hope in sight
And then you move to the right even though there seems to be no way out
And you drop down to the tube that takes you right to level eight
And then you drop down into a tube that takes you straight to level eight
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Life is a journey, and I'm going to enjoy it
Every day's a winding road yeah
Every day is full of twists and turns
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
My life has the biggest highs and lows
As long as it keeps going round its unbelievable
As long as it keeps moving, my life is unbelievable
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Kimya Dawson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@soupy4099
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
When I look at your face I can tell that you're not going to be stopping soon or even slowing down
And if we keep up this pace pretty soon we'll know the name of every kid and every grown up booking house shows in their town
And if home is really where the heart is
Then we're the smartest kids I know
Because wherever we are in this great big world
We'll never be more than a few hours from home...
And that's important because I need to travel
I've had this itchin in my shoes since I was just a little kid
And before I had a mini van I road the greyhound bus
My mom would say "i hope some day you get paid for being kimya dawson"
And now I do and it's not much
But it's enough
I've got my scrabble game, food on my plate, good friends and family
And now there's you understanding why I do the things I do
Knowing that you do them too makes me really happy
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
From a distance, the world looks blue and green
And the snow capped mountains white
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight
[whispering]
Do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
I'll be your cryin' shoulder
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be do do do do do do
I'll be the greatest man of your life
'cause I like going for hikes and riding bikes
And playing video games in the middle of the night
And I'll stay up late and I won't even care
That we're getting up early to go to the state fair
I'm gonna ride the biggest ride it'll be out of sight
Then I'll share an elephant ear with you if you'd like
Because we are alive so we've gotta live life
To the fullest you spin the bottle and I'll dim the lights
Four five six seven minutes in the closet
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
You go straight to the top you're not scared of getting squashed
You know just when to jump off
You're so brave
And then you run to the right it seems there's no hope in sight
And you drop down to the tube that takes you right to level eight
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Every day's a winding road yeah
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
As long as it keeps goin' round it's unbelievable
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Every day's a winding road yeah
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
As long as it keeps goin' round it's unbelievable
@drewbadger68
Still listening to this in 2022. This song makes me happy 😁
@JaimeCastroMozo
x2
@pochgames6690
+1
@AlecSwiftHikes
I'm here in 23 too.
@rachelzacrep2968
Been coming to this here video for over 10 years now and just so grateful it’s still here. This was my best friend and I’s favorite song and to remember/honor him, I come back here often still to sing it to his spirit. Thank you!
@anditspaganpoetry
I love when people sing without trying to sound super excellent. There's nothing like listening to someone sing with a beautifully trained voice, but hearing another human just sing and emote even when their vocals don't sound technically good is refreshing because most people who can't sing well don't sing at all.
@Shar0ne
Yeah I've always loved singers with "imperfect" voices and I think part of it is because I love to sing, but I have a horrible voice and I can relate.
@anteyefolkzz7755
@Ellis Dee Yes. You are right about that. ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD For sure.........
@jrs0123
I love the way you sing. It's wonderful!
@tryourdelicioussoups9052
276 likes from people who sing imperfectly and love you now, including me. :)