Mike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), is… Read Full Bio ↴Mike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), is chiefly known as the former drummer for the influential rock band The Smoking Popes. He is known to a lesser extent for his stint of several years as drummer in the band Alkaline Trio and for his solo music. Felumlee was the drummer on all of the Popes albums prior to the live album At Metro, released in 2006 in conjunction with a long-awaited reunion of the band. Reportedly, Felumlee discussed with Popes frontman Josh Caterer rejoining the band for its reunion but declined, due to personal relations between himself and the Popes having become a little tense. After the Smoking Popes split in 1999, Felumlee joined Alkaline Trio. He was the drummer on the album "From Here To Infirmary". Fulumlee left Alkaline Trio in 2001 reportedly due to personal friction with Matt Skiba. Felumlee is still involved in the music scene and has released recordings of some of his own music to lukewarm critical reception. He released "64 hours" in late 2001 and recorded a split CD with Alkaline Trio bassist Dan Andriano in 2002. As a drummer, Felumlee was also a founding member of the band Duvall (which over the years has had a rotating cast of members, including notably several other former Smoking Popes members) but his participation in that band was fairly short-lived; he was replaced by the bearded and vaguely Viking-like drummer Rob Kellenberger (previously of the bands Slapstick and Tuesday) not long into the band's existence. Felumlee founded and ran for several years the small, independent record label Double Zero Records, originally conceived as a vehicle to release some then-unreleased Smoking Popes material after the band was dropped from its major label, Capitol, in 1998. The label operated for several years before being closed down. Felumlee graduated in 1993 from Crystal Lake Central High School where he was known to be an indifferent student and -- a fact he took significant pride in -- to be one of the heaviest smokers of the entire student body. Currently, Felumlee is the drummer of the band Squirtgun. Physically a thin individual, Felumlee is often sick due to his non-nutritious diet coupled with excessive consumption of soda and cigarettes.

Felumlee, his wife, former Aria model Meagan Tesch, and his son, Jack, currently live in Algonquin, IL

The Drive Home
Mike Felumlee Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

On the drive home I was thinking I wish you'd left me where you found me
This isn't working and you should know, you should know.
I have always tried to tell you but you always argue
I'm getting burnt out and I wish you'd go, I wish you'd go
It used to be that we were so inseperable
It used to be a feeling oh so right
Let's start making plans
I know that it will never end.

I wanted to die but I'm going to cry this time
I know you're not for me
I would always hide these feelings

I know it's not cool to say these things but when I told you you didn't care,
You never cared

Overall Meaning

The song "The Drive Home" by Mike Felumlee expresses the thoughts and feelings of a person while driving home after a failed relationship. The lyrics suggest that the singer wishes that the relationship never happened, and that he/she would have been better off if the other person had never entered their life. The song talks about the singer's efforts to express their discontent with the relationship, but the other person always argued and never took their concerns seriously. The singer is feeling emotionally drained from the constant fighting and wishes that the other person would leave and never come back.

The lyrics also reflect on how the relationship used to be, and how the couple was once inseparable, but now it's just not working. The singer expresses regret and sadness for the current state of the relationship and the fact that it has come to an end. Despite all the pain, the singer is willing to keep trying to make things work, but deep down, knows that it will never work out. The final verse suggests that the singer has been hiding their true feelings, but when they expressed them to their partner, it was met with indifference.

In conclusion, "The Drive Home" is a raw and emotionally charged song that delves into the complexities of failed relationships. Mike Felumlee's lyrics perfectly capture the feelings of regret, sadness, and the desire to move on.

Line by Line Meaning

On the drive home I was thinking I wish you'd left me where you found me
As I was driving home, I thought to myself that I wished we had never met, that you had never taken me from my peaceful state of mind.

This isn't working and you should know, you should know.
We both know this relationship isn't working out and it's time we stop pretending otherwise.

I have always tried to tell you but you always argue
I've tried to express my concerns to you multiple times, but every time we talk, you refuse to listen and argue with me instead.

I'm getting burnt out and I wish you'd go, I wish you'd go
This situation is draining me, and I wish you would just leave and take your energy-consuming behavior with you.

It used to be that we were so inseperable
We used to be incredibly close and connected to each other.

It used to be a feeling oh so right
Back then, our relationship felt like it was meant to be, an incredibly fulfilling experience.

Let's start making plans
Let's start planning for our future together.

I know that it will never end.
Despite the difficulties we're currently facing, I know in my heart that our relationship will continue on, for better or for worse.

I wanted to die but I'm going to cry this time
Previously, I wished for death rather than having to face these intense emotions, but now I'm dealing with the sadness in a healthier way by allowing myself to cry.

I know you're not for me
I've come to the realization that you and I are not meant to be together in the long run.

I would always hide these feelings
I've kept these feelings of doubt about our relationship hidden from you, for fear of hurting your feelings or starting a fight.

I know it's not cool to say these things but when I told you you didn't care, You never cared
I understand that it may not be socially acceptable to openly express my dissatisfaction with our relationship, but even when I have brought it up in the past, you dismissed my concerns rather than trying to understand where I was coming from.

Contributed by Reagan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS