This Island
Wheatus Lyrics

I met the King of England once
I had a moment of success and fame, but my current social circle doesn't believe me

But the guys at the deli back home
My peers from before my moment of success are the ones who don't believe me

They don't believe me
My peers from before my moment of success are skeptical of my success

I ride my bike all around
I wander around my hometown aimlessly

Round my hometown
My aimless wandering is limited to my hometown

Where nobody knows me
The people of my hometown don't really know me, despite my moment of success

And they say that the problem is mine and I should take
My peers suggest that my failure to connect with them is my own fault

Take a more positive line on the situation
They suggest that I should have a more positive attitude towards reconnecting with them

When solutions are staring me right in the face
My peers claim that the solution to my problem is obvious

Yet we've run out of time
Despite their advice, I feel like I've lost my chance to reconnect with my hometown

But if I do what you'd say everything would be fine
Although I don't really believe their advice will work, I acknowledge that if I followed it, I might be successful

Well no thanks, I'd rather sit here and die on this island
I'd rather accept a miserable fate on my own terms than follow advice that I don't believe will work

Cash it in and stick to the end
I'll endure my fate until the end

Can't you see than I need this to end
I'm desperate for the situation to change, but not enough to take their advice

I had a dream about a song
I had a creative vision

It was so strong
The vision was powerful

It made all the rights wrong
It challenged conventional thinking and made me question what I thought was right

But when I went to write it all down
I tried to capture the vision in concrete form

Capture the sound
I tried to make the music that represented my vision

You won't believe what I found
The result was disappointing and not representative of my vision

Yeah it all came out bad, mad and sad when I played it
The music I made didn't sound like my creative vision

It sounded like, more like a fad that had lasted
The music I made sounded like something that was popular but past its prime

A little too long that it had and I realised
I had spent too much time chasing after an unattainable idea

That this was as good as it got
I accepted that my creative pursuits had reached a dead end

There's no snowmen in hell 'cause it's too fuckin' hot
The way things are going is so sad that it's like snowmen would melt in hell

So no thanks, I'd rather sit here and die on this island
Like with my hometown situation, I'd rather accept a miserable fate on my own terms than keep chasing after something unattainable

Yeah I thought that I knew who I was
I thought I had a strong sense of identity

What did I know?
But in reality, I didn't really know myself

Nothing, or all the above did I mention
I didn't have any kind of strong self-conception, nor did I have a robust sense of my identity

Those hip new ideas that I got from you last week
I was influenced by the opinions of others

They sucked all the life out of life in a heartbeat
Their opinions drained me of motivation, inspiration, and drive

And ripped mine right out of my chest
They eroded my sense of self and passion

Right through
Completely

But you already knew that was true
You, the listener, might have already known how consuming other people's opinions can be

Since you tried it the first time, in 1989
This isn't a new phenomenon for anyone

When you were the one in my shoes
The listener of this song might have gone through a similar experience

And some asshole like you told you what you should do
The somebody who gave bad advice to me regarding my hometown situation might have been someone similar to you

When you do what you do
When you offer your opinions and guidance, which might not be helpful to the person you're trying to help

And you had to do it how he wanted you to
You might have been forced into doing what the person wanted you to do

Have you learned how to live with regret
Have you, the person who gave bad advice, accepted the fact that your advice might not have been helpful?

Yeah I can't get these things in my head
I can't forget the experience and the advice that didn't help me

'cause if I turned out like you I would wish I was dead
If I gave bad advice to someone and they had a miserable experience like me, I'd feel terrible and wish I could undo the damage I caused

No thanks, I'd rather sit here and die on this island
Given all of the above, I'd rather accept a miserable fate in isolation than continue struggling to improve my situation