Speaking with Songfacts about this song in a 2011 interview, Less Than Jak… Read Full Bio ↴Speaking with Songfacts about this song in a 2011 interview, Less Than Jake lead singer Chris Demakes discussed his experiences on the road that inspired this song. Said Chris: "You'll end up waking up, you'll go into your hotel and realize it's just as disgusting as the last hotel room you were in. Then you'll wander over to a mall. You'll walk the mall six or eight times and realize that you're in your 30s and it's not cool to walk a mall all day, because you're not old enough to walk the mall like the old people do, and you're not young like the kids, so you're in the middle where you're screwed."

History of a Boring Town
Less Than Jake Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Just talked to this girl, used to live, yeah on my street
After all these years you're here and you remember me
She said her old boyfriend
Packed up and headed back east
But she always knew someday he would go
She just got a new job and she doubts it will last
So let's take a drink and never think and here's to the past
She says it's so funny how life burns out so fast

It's just another wasted day

A boring life in a boring town
In the same old crowd
And I used to say that I'd never stay
But I'm rotting here today
With that same old crowd that's always been around
And I always thought I'd be the first to go

That same old crowd that drags me down
Another day in a boring town
That same old crowd that brings me down
A boring life in a boring town

Just talked to this girl, used to live, yeah on my street
After all these years you're here
And it's still just you and me
Sometimes I can't believe after all these years
I just think that I'll never leave here
She said it's so funny how life burns out so fast
So let's take another drink and here's to the past

That same old crowd that drags me down
Another day in a boring town
That same old crowd that brings me down
A boring life in a boring town

And remember when they'd look through you
And they'd look past me
We were the ones they said would always leave
So when you go just think of me
Think of me

A boring life in a boring town
In the same old crowd
And I used to say that I'd never stay
But I'm rotting here today
With that same old crowd that's always been around
And I always thought that
Yeah and I always thought that
Yeah I'd always thought that I'd be
The first to go

A boring life
A boring town
A boring life
A boring town

A boring life
And a boring town

Overall Meaning

Less Than Jake’s song “History of a Boring Town” is a reflective tune that delves into the uneventful lives of two people who feel trapped in their small, mundane town. The song starts with the singer bumping into a girl who used to live on his street. They reminisce about the past and how life has turned out for them. She tells him about her ex-boyfriend who moved back east, and she just got a new job which she doubts will last. They both acknowledge how life can pass you by. They then raise a glass to the past and another to forget the present.

The chorus hammers in the monotony and apathy of a small town. The singer reflects on how he had always looked forward to leaving this empty place, but he finds himself still stuck there. He is rotting away with the same crowd he had hoped to escape from. He emphasizes the frustration and the unfulfillment in his life with the phrase, “another day in a boring town,” suggesting that this is just a repeated cycle of insignificance.

The song ends with the singer expressing how he and the girl were always the ones looking beyond their hometown. The song mourns this early hope that has now faded away, leaving them with nothing but the dullness of the present. It is a song that catches the audience’s attention with its cynical and sarcastic tone, highlighting how people can feel trapped in their own lives and communities.

Line by Line Meaning

Just talked to this girl, used to live, yeah on my street
The singer meets an old acquaintance and reminisces about old times

After all these years you're here and you remember me
The singer is surprised that the acquaintance still remembers them

She said her old boyfriend, Packed up and headed back east, But she always knew someday he would go
The acquaintance discloses that her old boyfriend left some time ago, fulfilling an expected event

She just got a new job and she doubts it will last, So let's take a drink and never think and here's to the past
The acquaintance shares that she has a new job, but is unsure if it will last and urges the artist to drink and reminisce

She says it's so funny how life burns out so fast, It's just another wasted day
The acquaintance reflects on how fast life passes and how the day has been a waste

A boring life in a boring town, In the same old crowd, And I used to say that I'd never stay, But I'm rotting here today, With that same old crowd that's always been around, And I always thought I'd be the first to go
The singer reflects on their monotonous life in a tedious town with stale company, once believing they would have left first

That same old crowd that drags me down, Another day in a boring town, That same old crowd that brings me down, A boring life in a boring town
The singer continues to lament the stagnancy and banality of their life in this town with this group of people

And remember when they'd look through you, And they'd look past me, We were the ones they said would always leave, So when you go just think of me, Think of me
The artist reminisces about being ignored and unrecognized, and how they were once predicted to leave the town, and asks the acquaintance to remember them if they ever leave

A boring life, A boring town, A boring life, A boring town, A boring life, And a boring town
The artist repeats the refrain to emphasize the dullness and ennui of their life and town

Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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