The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were a ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts… Read Full Bio ↴The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were a ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Bosstones is a play on Boston). Their last lineup was Dicky Barrett (vocals), Joe Gittleman (bass), Lawrence Katz (guitar), Ben Carr (dancer, "Bosstone"), Joe Sirois (drums), Timothy "Johnny Vegas" Burton (saxophone), Kevin Leaner (saxophone) and Chris Rhodes (trombone)

Formed in 1985, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones started playing in Boston clubs in the mid-1980s. After a brief period of inactivity due to the schooling commitments of its members, they reformed and released their album Devil's Night Out on Taang! Records. The Bosstones toured relentlessly throughout the 1990s, playing hundreds of shows a year, releasing albums and spinning off the popular rock radio hit "Someday I Suppose". They were eventually signed to Mercury Records. The band appeared in the movie Clueless. In 1997, the success of their single "The Impression That I Get" and its follow up, "The Rascal King" earned them mainstream recognition. In 2000 they put out their critically acclaimed disk Pay Attention. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones released their last album on Side One Dummy Records. They officially went on hiatus in 2003, citing too much time on the road and desire to branch out and do different things. In 2007, the Bosstones announced that they were reforming. They played their 10th Hometown Throwdown in Boston and released a new album, Medium Rare, which consists of rare B-sides, and 3 new songs, including the single, "Don't Worry Desmond Dekker".

The band announced their split in early 2022.

So Many Ways
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's so many ways to do this
Anyone could tell me that
I could, what if,
There's more than one way to skin a cat
My options are unlimited
My choices I can't list
Why don't I, or how about,
The answer must exist

I've never had a problem
In the past I'd have a plan
If it can't be done was offered
Then I'd offer yes it can
I've never had a problem
There's a problem here and now
There's so many ways to do this
Somebody tell me how
So many ways to get this done
So many ways I must pick one
There's so many ways to do this
That much I have gathered
If I, or maybe,
I would like to or I'd rather
Now I need support from somewhere
On my own's out of the question
So many ways I know that now
I'm desperate for suggestions
I've never had a problem
In the past I'd have a plan
If it can't be done was offered
Then I'd offer yes it can
I've never had a problem
There's a problem here and now
There's so many ways to do this
Somebody tell me how
So many ways to get this done
So many ways I must pick one
So many ways I need someone to tell me
What it would take to do this
And it's out there hell it must be
Help me I no longer trust
I've never had a problem
In the past I'd have a plan
If it can't be done was offered
Then I'd offer yes it can
I've never had a problem
There's a problem here and now
There's so many ways to do this
Somebody tell me how

So many ways
I need someone (9x)

Overall Meaning

The song "So Many Ways" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is about having too many options and feeling overwhelmed and desperate for help. The lyrics suggest that the singer has always been able to come up with a plan in the past, but now they are faced with a problem that they can't solve alone. The repetition of the phrase "so many ways" emphasizes the idea that there are endless possibilities, but none of them seem to be the right one.

The line "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is a common expression that means there are multiple methods to achieve the same result. This adds to the feeling of confusion and indecision in the song. The singer is so overwhelmed by the options that they are willing to try anything and are desperate for someone to tell them what to do.

Overall, the song is relatable to anyone who has felt paralyzed by too many choices or unsure of which path to take. It captures the frustration of feeling like you've always been able to handle things on your own, but suddenly being unable to do so.

Line by Line Meaning

There's so many ways to do this
There are numerous methods to accomplish the task at hand

Anyone could tell me that
It's a commonly known fact

I could, what if,
I have various hypothetical ideas

There's more than one way to skin a cat
There are multiple approaches to the same objective

My options are unlimited
I have numerous choices available

My choices I can't list
I can't enumerate all the possibilities

Why don't I, or how about,
Considering different strategies and alternatives

The answer must exist
There is definitely a solution

I've never had a problem
I've always been able to find a solution

In the past I'd have a plan
I used to have strategies in place

If it can't be done was offered
If faced with resistance, I would counter that it can be done