Jordan Raskopoulos, a comedian, Benny Davis, a classically trained musician and Lee Naimo came together to form the group in 2006. Since that time they’ve been wowing audiences across the world with with their mixture of quirky original songs, catchy pop-parodies and hilarious banter.
The video of their “4 Chords Song” has had over 28 million hits on YouTube, and is their most widely recognized song.
Serious
The Axis of Awesome Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thank you, Jordan. I feel it is our responsibility as artists today, to try and deal with some serious issues that plague our world, and so this next song is about a very serious issue indeed. It is something that I've struggled with in my life, it is something that grips our nation -
And that issue, ladies and gentlemen, is animals escaping from zoos. Each year, less than 12 animals escape from zoos across the planet earth and wider surrounding regions. This issue not only affects the small and medium sized animals, but also the large, extra-large and double XL as well.
(What? What? What? Dude. What are you doing? Lee? Come on, man. Lee. Lee. Lee! OI! LEE! Cut it out!)
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
I'm doing what we did in rehearsals.
Yeah, and I told you not to do this on the album.
(sigh) No, I stopped rehearsing at the point when I said, don't do this on the...
Well, I don't understand, what's the point of having a rehearsal if we don't do what we did in rehearsal, on the album?
(sigh) So you can work out what you're gonna do and what you're not! We said we weren't going to do this!
Well, people will probably think we're still rehearsing!
No they don't! Oh, for God's sake!
People won't pay money for a rehearsal!
(arguing)
WE DON'T HAVE HAVE A SONG ABOUT ANIMALS ESCAPING FROM ZOOS!... Thank you.
For fuck's sake.
Ahem... erm, so this song is about a very serious issue.
Very serious!
About a REAL issue, and that is something-
And that issue, ladies and gentlemen, is dark wizards.
Ah, for FUCK'S sake.
Each year, Lord Voldemort kills at least 12 muggles.
Jordan!
And Harry Potter's trying to raise money for Dumbledore's army, so just grab some -
Jordan! J-J-Jordan! What are you doing?
Harry Potter.
Why?
He's the best.
(sighs)But- th- Look, look. The song's about underage drinking.
Oooohhh!
Benny, that's a real issue!
(Yes.)
Yeah, we have a song about that.
Yes, I know.
Let's do that song!
(Yeah!)
Well, what do you think I've been trying to do?!
Five, six, seven, eleven!
The Axis of Awesome's song "Serious" begins with an introduction by Benny Davis, who declares that it's important for artists to address serious issues. He then proceeds to announce the topic of his serious song, which turns out to be animals escaping from zoos. However, as the song starts to take shape, it becomes clear that things are not going exactly as planned. Benny's bandmates interrupt to point out that they had agreed not to include the zoo animal theme in the album, and instead share their disagreement over which serious issue to address. Besides, they feel that talking about Harry Potter and magical creatures is far more serious than talking about escaped animals. Eventually, they settle on a real-world issue: underage drinking, and Benny begins to play the intro chords.
The song is a humorous take on the idea of a serious song, with the band members constantly interrupting each other and disagreeing about the topic. It's a clever commentary on the notion that artists must always be serious and politically correct, and it shows that sometimes humor can be a powerful tool to bring attention to real-world problems. The delivery of the song is also notable for its irony and self-awareness, with the band members poking fun at themselves and their changing ideas about what constitutes a serious topic.
Line by Line Meaning
Ladies and gentlemen, we've had a lot of comedy songs on the album so far. This next song is a serious song. By Benny Davis. Ladies and gentlemen, Benny Davis.
Benny Davis wanted to create a serious song on some serious issues that plague our society, unlike the comedy songs which were present in the album before.
Thank you, Jordan. I feel it is our responsibility as artists today, to try and deal with some serious issues that plague our world, and so this next song is about a very serious issue indeed. It is something that I've struggled with in my life, it is something that grips our nation -
Benny is thankful to Jordan for the opportunity to present this song and says that it is the responsibility of artists to address serious issues like the one in this song that is faced by humans and animals alike.
And that issue, ladies and gentlemen, is animals escaping from zoos. Each year, less than 12 animals escape from zoos across the planet earth and wider surrounding regions. This issue not only affects the small and medium sized animals, but also the large, extra-large and double XL as well.
The issues that Benny will be addressing in this serious song is when animals escape from zoos and how it affects all kinds of animals in the zoo, be it small, medium-sized, large, or even extra-large and double XL.
(What? What? What? Dude. What are you doing? Lee? Come on, man. Lee. Lee. Lee! OI! LEE! Cut it out!)
This line is an interruption in the conversation where Lee is doing something inappropriate and others are asking him to stop it.
What are you doing?
The group is curious about Lee's actions and wants to ask him about it.
I'm doing what we did in rehearsals.
Lee is trying to justify his actions by telling the group that he is following the same pattern they had rehearsed earlier.
Yeah, and I told you not to do this on the album.
Someone in the group had earlier instructed Lee to not perform certain actions during the album recordings.
Well, you said that in rehearsal as well. Are you still rehearsing?
Lee is questioning why the group is not following the same pattern as the rehearsal and if they are still rehearsing for the song.
(sigh) No, I stopped rehearsing at the point when I said, don't do this on the...
The group member who previously instructed Lee to not perform certain actions has stopped rehearsal after that point and is now feeling annoyed.
Well, I don't understand, what's the point of having a rehearsal if we don't do what we did in rehearsal, on the album?
Lee is still confused about why they are not following the rehearsal pattern and why they need to rehearse if they do not follow it in the album recording.
(sigh) So you can work out what you're gonna do and what you're not! We said we weren't going to do this!
Rehearsals help the group to identify what actions they should and should not perform and they had agreed to not perform certain actions in the actual recording of the song.
Well, people will probably think we're still rehearsing!
Lee is worried that the audience might perceive their album recording as a rehearsal because they are still following the rehearsal pattern.
No they don't! Oh, for God's sake!
The other member feels annoyed at Lee's antics and argues that the audience will not think of this as a rehearsal.
People won't pay money for a rehearsal! (arguing)
The group argues that people buy albums to listen to the complete and final songs, not rehearsals.
WE DON'T HAVE HAVE A SONG ABOUT ANIMALS ESCAPING FROM ZOOS!... Thank you. For fuck's sake.
Exasperated, the group member confirms that nobody had planned to perform a song about animals escaping from zoos.
Ahem... erm, so this song is about a very serious issue. Very serious! About a REAL issue, and that is something-
Benny tries to regain control of the situation and states that this song is about a serious and real-life issue as planned.
And that issue, ladies and gentlemen, is dark wizards. Ah, for FUCK'S sake.
Interrupting Benny again, another group member sarcastically announces that the real issue is dark wizards.
Each year, Lord Voldemort kills at least 12 muggles. Jordan! And Harry Potter's trying to raise money for Dumbledore's army, so just grab some - Jordan! J-J-Jordan! What are you doing? Harry Potter. Why? He's the best.
The group member still continues with his Harry Potter fantasies and mentions Lord Voldemort's killing spree. However, Benny and Jordan are trying to move the song back to the topic of underage drinking.
(sighs)But- th- Look, look. The song's about underage drinking.
Benny tries to refocus everyone's attention back to the actual topic of the song.
Oooohhh! Benny, that's a real issue! (Yes.) Yeah, we have a song about that. Yes, I know. Let's do that song! (Yeah!) Well, what do you think I've been trying to do?!
The group finally agrees to perform the song about underage drinking and is enthusiastic about playing it since that was the original plan.
Five, six, seven, eleven!
This is a cue to start playing the song.
Contributed by Nora B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.