Weller's eleventh studio album, Sonik Kicks, was released on 19 March 2012. The Green Songfacts reports that it was recorded in Weller’s own Black Barn Studios in Ripley, Surrey, with co-producer Simon Dine and engineer Charles Rees.
Born John William Weller in Stanley Road, Woking, he was also a central figure in the Mod revival. As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod-revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience — by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the UK, where he had previously been worshipped as a demi-god. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums which were both critically-acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad-rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans that had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.
Out On The Weekend
Paul Weller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And buy a pick-up
Move down to L.A.
Find a place to call my own
And try to fix up.
Start a brand new day.
The woman I'm thinking of,
But I'm so down today
She's so fine, she's in my mind.
I hear her callin'.
See the lonely boy,
Out on the weekend
Trying to make it pay.
Can't relate to joy,
He tries to speak and
Can't begin to say.
She got pictures on the wall,
They make me look up
From her big brass bed.
Now I'm running down the road
Trying to stay up
Somewhere in her head.
The woman I'm thinking of,
She loved me all up
But I'm so down today
She's so fine she's in my mind.
I hear her callin'.
See the lonely boy,
Out on the weekend
Trying to make it pay.
Can't relate to joy,
He tries to speak and
Can't begin to say.
The lyrics urge for a change and feature a sense of displacement and longing for a fresh start. The singer expresses his desire to leave his old life behind and move to L.A., where he would purchase a pick-up and start a new lease on life, attempting to rebuild his life from scratch. The singer appears to be going through a rough patch, missing someone he loves dearly, and feeling withdrawn and disheartened. He recalls with fondness how she used to love him, and her memories make him feel alive. But the singer cannot shake off his feelings of sadness and loneliness, portrayed through the metaphor of a lonely boy, who is out on the weekend, trying to make a living, but who's unable to embrace happiness.
The lyrics paint a picture of a person who feels disconnected from the world and cannot relate to the joy that surrounds him. He's trying to communicate, however, he's incapable of sharing his emotions. He looks up to the pictures of the woman he loves on the wall, while lying in her big brass bed, feeling lost and hopeless. The singer takes off, running down the road, trying to keep up with the woman of his thoughts in her head, where he feels the only rationale for his existence lies. The chorus repeats the phrase of the lonely boy trying to make it pay and his inability to relate to joy, saying he's unable to express his emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Think I'll pack it in
I am contemplating quitting my current situation
And buy a pick-up
I will purchase a pickup truck for transportation
Move down to L.A.
I will relocate to Los Angeles
Find a place to call my own
I will look for a residence to occupy
And try to fix up.
I will attempt to renovate my new residence
Start a brand new day.
I will begin a new chapter in my life
The woman I'm thinking of,
I have a particular female in mind
She loved me all up
This woman showed me an abundance of love and affection
But I'm so down today
However, I am currently feeling quite low
She's so fine, she's in my mind.
Despite my current state, thoughts and memories of her are occupying my mind
I hear her callin'.
It seems like I am receiving some form of communication from her
See the lonely boy,
I observe a solitary male
Out on the weekend
He is spending his weekend in solitude
Trying to make it pay.
He is attempting to keep himself busy and earn money
Can't relate to joy,
He is unable to comprehend happiness
He tries to speak and
He makes an effort to express himself verbally
Can't begin to say.
But he fails to find the right words
She got pictures on the wall,
The woman I was previously thinking about has images hung on her walls
They make me look up
I am compelled to take notice of them
From her big brass bed.
These images are present in her large, brass bed
Now I'm running down the road
I am currently running down a road
Trying to stay up
I am struggling to maintain my emotional state
Somewhere in her head.
Meanwhile, thoughts of her continue to occupy my mind
The woman I'm thinking of,
Once again, I am thinking about the same woman
She loved me all up
She showered me with love and affection
But I'm so down today
However, I am currently experiencing negative emotions
She's so fine she's in my mind.
Her beauty and presence continue to occupy my thoughts
I hear her callin'.
It seems like I am receiving some form of communication from her
See the lonely boy,
Once again, I observe the solitary male
Out on the weekend
He is still spending his weekend in solitude
Trying to make it pay.
He is still endeavoring to keep himself occupied and earn money
Can't relate to joy,
The concept of joy is still foreign to him
He tries to speak and
He is still struggling to express himself verbally
Can't begin to say.
He still cannot find the right words
Contributed by Grayson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.