Adams dropped out of high school at age 16 to work in a shoe shop and make music. He formed a band named Whiskeytown in 1994; they disbanded in 1999 having released two full albums, Faithless Street and Strangers Almanac. Adams went on to put out his first solo record, Heartbreaker, in 2000. After a long delay, in 2001 Whiskeytown's third album Pneumonia was finally issued.
In 2002, Ryan contributed backing vocals on Butterfly in Reverse, from the Counting Crows album, Hard Candy; after Adam Duritz (Counting Crows lead singer) appeared on the album Gold.
Ryan is highly prolific, and in 2005 released one double album and two regular albums: Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights and 29, respectively. His album, 29, was produced by friend Ethan Johns (who also produced his first two albums, Heartbreaker and Gold). In between those two releases and his 2005 triple-header, Ryan released Demolition (a collection of out-takes), Love Is Hell and Rock N Roll. Unreleased studio albums include 48 Hours, Exile On Franklin Street and Suicide Handbook.
In addition, Adams worked with Jesse Malin to form the punk-rock group The Finger (under the pseudonyms, "Warren Peace" and "Irving Plaza" respectively), who released two E.P.s which were collected together to form We Are Fuck You, released on One Little Indian Records in 2003.
In 2006 Ryan went on a minor UK-tour and a minor US-tour along the west-coast and has streamed 11+ mini albums on his website, under numerous jokey pseudonyms (DJ Reggie, Werewolph, The Shit, Rhoda Ro, Ghetto Birds).
The following solo record, entitled Easy Tiger, was released on June 26, 2007. The newest and last record with his backing band The Cardinals, Cardinology, was released in October 2008 and followed by extensive touring through the UK, US and Australia.
In January 2009 he announced that he would be going on an indefinite hiatus from music. The Kindness Songfacts reports that the major reason for Adams’ temporary retirement was his struggles with Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that wrecks havoc on hearing and balance. Adams resumed performing in October 2010, and released his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, on October 11, 2011. His now ex-wife, pop singer and actress Mandy Moore, contributed some backing vocals.
Fuck the Universe
Ryan Adams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming over me
Like fire and ice
Confusion
All to the ground
Stone me
Like you own me
The strangest moving patterns
All flow through this city
Strummin'
As she's cumin'
She starts a revolution
But never shows up
So holy
Give me coma
Alkaline
And mainframes
Into a kiss
Cities destroyed
And so pretty
The patterns of illusion
Burn through the ground
And I'm a faker
Faker
I'm a faker
I'm a faker
I'm a faker
Vampire
Coffins to kiss
I'm a faker
I'm a faker
Morning may crawl
Fuck you
And fuck the universe
Ah, etc.
Fuck the universe
Fuck the universe
Fuck the universe
Oh, ah, etc...
The lyrics of Ryan Adams's song Fuck the Universe may seem nonsensical at first, but on closer inspection, there are a few key themes and images that emerge. The song begins with an overwhelming sense of confusion and chaos, likened to fire and ice slowly coming over the singer. As he tries to make sense of what's happening, he is stoned like he is owned by someone else, and he sees strange moving patterns flowing through the city.
As the song builds, the central figure becomes a woman who is both strumming and having an orgasm, as though she is embodying some sort of revolutionary spirit. However, even though she is causing such a stir, she never shows up, leaving her presence as nothing but a fleeting illusion. The singer grasps for something holy or transcendent to make sense of it all, but can only find darkness and technological imagery, like "alkaline and mainframes". He sees cities destroyed but still beautiful, and the patterns of these illusions burn through the ground.
The refrain of "I'm a faker" echoes throughout the second half of the song, lending a sense of self-awareness and uncertainty to the singer's musings. He alternates between claiming to be a vampire in coffins and cursing the universe with the titular phrase. In many ways, the lyrics of this song seem to capture a sense of disorientation and existential doubt in the face of overwhelming chaos and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Slowly
The feeling is creeping up on me gradually.
Coming over me
The feeling is affecting me deeply, taking over my emotions.
Like fire and ice
The feeling is like a mix of two extreme, contradictory emotions that are fighting against each other.
Confusion
The feeling is causing a state of uncertainty, making it difficult to make sense of everything around me.
All to the ground
The feeling is so strong that it's knocking me off my feet, making me lose my grip on reality.
Stone me
The feeling is attacking me relentlessly, making me feel like I'm being punished.
Like you own me
The feeling is asserting its power over me, making me feel like I'm a possession rather than a person.
The strangest moving patterns
The feeling is creating patterns of behavior that are strange and unexpected.
All flow through this city
The feeling is universal, affecting everyone and everything around me.
Strummin'
Like the sound of a guitar being strummed, the feeling is resonating within me.
As she's cumin'
Just like a woman reaching orgasm, the feeling is building up to a climactic moment.
She starts a revolution
The feeling is so powerful that it has the potential to cause major changes just like a revolution.
But never shows up
Despite the feeling being so strong, it never materializes into anything tangible.
So holy
The feeling is sacred and special.
Give me coma
The feeling is so intense that I wish I could escape into a comatose state to avoid it.
Alkaline
The feeling is basic, simple but powerful.
And mainframes
The feeling is technological, like a computer code running through my body and mind.
Into a kiss
The feeling is like a passionate kiss that overwhelms me completely.
Cities destroyed
The feeling is so strong that it could potentially destroy everything around me, just like a city falling to ruins.
And so pretty
Despite the feeling being destructive, it's still beautiful in its own way.
The patterns of illusion
The feeling is creating illusions, making everything seem unreal and distorted.
Burn through the ground
The feeling is so intense that it feels like it could burn a hole through the earth itself.
And I'm a faker
Despite the feeling being so strong, I feel like I'm just pretending to feel it.
Faker
I feel like I'm not genuine, that I'm just putting on a show.
Vampire
I feel like a vampire, sucking life and energy out of everything around me.
Coffins to kiss
Just like a vampire, I'm drawn to things that are associated with death and decay.
Morning may crawl
Even after the feeling subsides, it will still linger and crawl through me like a sluggish morning.
Fuck you
I'm angry at the feeling for causing me so much turmoil and confusion.
And fuck the universe
I'm so fed up with everything around me that I want to lash out at the entire universe.
Ah, etc.
I'm so overwhelmed by my emotions that I don't even have the words to fully express them.
Fuck the universe
Despite everything, I still feel the need to express my frustration and anger towards the universe.
Fuck the universe
Again, I feel the need to curse the universe for everything that's happening to me.
Fuck the universe
Once more, I express my anger and frustration towards everything around me, hoping to find some relief.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RYAN ADAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
burning inya
this no bad quality - it is the way this song and especially his voice should sound... from every source i heard that song it always sounded like this...
Guitar Kid
Fuck you
Dustin Boshart
You should hear it on the new Love is Hell Mo-fi re-release. sound is best yet.
Jared Truscott
Ahhhh, Ryan, such an uplifting artist! <3
abd azim
i played this at least 20 times already back when it was 200 views!!
Chris Phillips
Finally this tracks up on here!
Christian Calson
My baby. I love this track.
Antonio Martínez
That is the standard quality in the EP
loadedready
THX a whole heap for uploading this :-)
Antonio Martínez
It's a studio version