Artist: John Mayer Album: Any Given Thursday {2003}

Thank you, it's good to be back in Birmingham
My name is John and I'm gonna play ya some songs that I wrote with my band


I've been gone too long, I'm sorry
I've been gone too long, I hope you don't mind
I've been gone too long, I'm sorry
I've been gone too long, can I still come home

I'm writing you to catch you up on places I've been
And you held this letter, probably got excited
But there's nothing else inside it 

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when
I'm in the mood to lose my way with words 

Yes, today skies were painted colors of a cowboy cliche
And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
Are next to mountains anyway 

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when
I'm in the mood to lose my way, but let me say 

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
It brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
Just no more three by fives

I guess you had to be there
I guess you, guess you, guess you had to be with me 

Oh, today I finally overcame
Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame
Maybe I will tell you all about it when
I'm in the mood to lose my way, but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
It brought me back to life
You'll be with, with me, with me next time I go outside
Just no more three by fives
Just no, no, no, no, no more three by fives to keep this love alive, oh


Thank you very much and welcome

You guys ready to go for a while tonight

I love you too, coordinated ladies

"Welcome to the real world," she said to me condescendingly
Take a seat, take your life, now
Plot it out in black and white
Well, I never lived the dream of the prom kings and the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding up my sleeve

They love to tell you stay inside the lines
But something's better on the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats, grabbing credits and maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents, they're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories - tiny tragedies

They love to tell you stay inside the lines
But something's better on the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above, oh no

I am invincible, you are invincible
We are invincible as long as were alive

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above

I just can't wait till my ten year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for


Yeah, thank you so much
Keep it goin' for your friend and mine David Labruyere
We know him as Day-La

This is a song about not giving up
About eight chances and ninth chances and probably chances in double digits

Back to you
It always comes around back to you
I tried to forget you
I tried to stay away
But it's too late

Over you
I'm never over, over you
There's something about you
It's just the way you move
The way you move me

Yeah, I'm so good at forgetting
And I quit ever game I play
But forgive me, love, I can't turn and walk away, not this way

Back to you
It always comes around back to you
I walk with your shadow
I'm sleeping in my bed
With your silhouette

Yeah, should have smiled in that picture
If it's the last that I'll see of you
It's the least that you could not do

Leave the light on, I'll never give up on you
Leave the light on for me too, oh, for me too, for me too, yeah, yeah

Back to me
I know that it comes back to me
Doesn't it piss you off
Your will is not as strong
As it used to be


Yeah, thank you so much

I never liked this apple much
It always seemed too big to touch
I can't remember how I found
My way before she came around 

I tell everyone I smile just because
I got a city love, I found it in Lydia
And I can't remember life before her name

She keeps a toothbrush at my place
As if I had the extra space
She steals my clothes to wear to work
I know - her hairs are on my shirts

I tell everyone I smile just because
I've got a city love, I found it in Lydia
And I can't remember life before the day

She called up and came to me
Covered in rain and dinnertime shadowing
And as her clothes spun, we spooned
And I knew I was through
When I said, "I love you." 

Friday evening, we been drinking
2 AM, I swear that I just might propose
But we close a tab, split a cab
And call each other up when we get home, yeah
Falling asleep to the sound of sirens 

I've got a city love, oh yeah, and I found it in America
From the battery to the gallery
It's the kind of thing you only see
In scented, glossy magazines 
And I can't remember life before her name


Thank you so much

This is a song called Something's Missing, cos sometimes it just is
Say hello to Stephen Chopek, by the way
Stephen Chopek will be beginning the song, so, uh, yeah, check it out

I�m not alone, I wish I was
Cos than I�d know I was down because
I couldn�t find a friend around
To love me like they do right now
They do right now

Is it from a shopping mall
I searched for sure, but I bought it all
It doesn't have the 
At first I have to drown

Something�s missing and I don�t know how to fix it
Something�s missing and I don�t know what it is
No, I don�t know what it is

When autumn comes it doesn�t ask
It just walks in with a bat to lash
You never know when it starts
Until this fog inside the glass around your summer heart

Something�s missing and I don�t know how to fix it
Something�s missing and I don�t know what it is
No, I don�t know what it is, I don't

I can�t be sure that this state of mine is not of my own design
I wish there was an over the counter test for loneliness
For loneliness like this

Something�s missing and I don�t know how I'm gonna, gonna fix it
Something�s missing and I don�t know what it is
No, I don�t know what it is
Something�s different and I don�t know what it is
No, I don�t know what it is

Friends - check
Money - check
Well said - check
Opposite sex - check
Guitar - check
Microphone - check
She says she's waiting on me when I come home

And I don�t know what it is
No, I don�t know what it is at all


Thank you very much, that's called Something's Missing

You probably know this already
But you've got a wierd, wild way of pulling music out of people
You know that, don't you

Six numbers, one more to dial
Before I'm before you
I tried to call, been busy all night
Gave up waiting at daylight

Excuse me Mrs. Busybody
Could you pencil me in when you can
Though we both know that the worst part about it
Is I would be free when you wanted me, if you wanted me

I am the man on the side
Hoping you make up your mind
I am the one who will swallow his pride
Life as the man on the side

One of the many, one of the few
To stand back and wait for you

Excuse me Mrs. Busybody
Could you pencil me in when you can
Though we both know that the worst part about it
Is I would be free when you wanted me, if you wanted me
If you wanted me, hey

I am the man on the side
Hoping you'll make up your mind
I am the one who will swallow his pride
Life as the man on the side
Life as the man on the side

I fell in love with a dream that I built of you
Playing the part of the queen
Taking my own advice, I'm giving up tonight
Good luck to you and the king

Excuse me Mrs. Busybody
Could you pencil me in when you can
Though we both know that the worst part about it
Is I would be free if you wanted me, wait, when you wanted me
Oh, when you want it, baby

I am the man on the side
Hoping you'll make up your mind
I am the one who will swallow his pride
Life as the man
You know, life as the man
Living life as the man on the side


Thank you, thank you

Now we're in the part of the show where I just start playin'
And I have no idea what happens, so I hope you enjoy it

Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh
Another lonely day, no one here but me, oh
More loneliness than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair

I'll send an SOS to the world
I send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle

A year has passed since I wrote my note
I should have known it right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life but love can break your heart

I'll send an SOS to the world
I'll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle
Message in a bottle, hey
Message in a bottle, bottle

Walked out this morning, I don't believe what I saw
A hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
It seems I'm not alone at being alone
A hundred million castaways, oh, looking for a home, yeah

I send an SOS to the world
I send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle
Message in a bottle
Message in a bottle


Thank you

This is a song called Love Song For No One
One, two, one, two, three, four


Staying home alone on a Friday
Flat on the floor looking back
On old love or lack thereof
After all the crushes are faded
And all my wishful thinking was wrong
I'm jaded, I hate it

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
I'm so tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here, get here

Been searching all my days just to find you
I'm not sure who I'm looking for
I'll know it when I see you
Until then I'll hide in my bedroom
Just staying up all night just to write
A love song for no one

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
I'm so tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here

I could have met you in a sandbox
I could have passed you on the sidewalk
Could I have missed my chance
And watched you walk away
No, no way

I could have met you in a sandbox

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
I'm so tired of being alone

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
I'm so tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here, no, no
You'll be so good
You'll be so good for me
Oh, you'll be so good


Day-La

Fold me up, take me out
I'm portable
Fold me up, take me out
I'm portable

Well, out here we have anything we want
We have anything we want at all
Well, out here we just bolt it to the floor
Or tape it to the wall

Rollin' with a satellite
Watchin' the Cosby Show on Nick At Nite
We rippin' on, I'm feelin' right
I am a soldier now

Fold me up, fold me up, take me out, take me out
I'm portable
Fold me up, fold me up, take me out, take me out
I'm portable

Out here we're just singin', playin' whatever we feel
And the threat of fallin' out of bed at night is real
When you're travelin' on a box with eighteen wheels, oh

If I can go anywhere at all
If I can go anywhere at all, oh
If I can go anywhere at all
If I can go anywhere, anywhere
And if I can go anywhere at all
And if I can go anywhere at all
I mean, if I can really, really, really go anywhere at all
Won't you tell me why
Won't you tell me why
Why, why, Georgia, why

I am driving up 85 in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
I'm just stuck inside the gloom, yeah
Four more exits to my apartment but I am tempted to keep the car in drive
And leave this shit behind

Cos I wonder sometimes about the outcome
Of a still verdictless life
Am I living it right
Am I living it right
Am I living it right
Why, why, Georgia, why

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul, but who knows

Either way I wonder sometimes about the outcome
Of a still verdictless life, oh yeah
Am I living it right
Am I living it right
Am I living it right
Why, why, Georgia, why

Ladies and gentlemen in the B-ham choir

Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down

Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way, way, way, way
I guess it's the price I gonna pay

Still everything happens for a reason
Is no reason not to ask myself
If I am living it right
Am I living it right
Am I living it right
Why, tell me why, why, why, why, why
Why, why, Georgia, why


Yeah, thank you so very much
Say hello to Michael Chaves playin' the keyboards and guitar this evening
Now we're talkin', now we're talkin'

This is a song about girlie parts


We got the afternoon
You got this room for two
One thing I've left to do
Discover me discovering you, oh

One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue

And if you want love
Swimming a deep sea
Take all your big plans
This is bound to be a while

Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder, I'll use my hands
Your body is a wonderland

Something bout the way the hair falls in your face
I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase
You tell me where to go and though I might leave to find it
I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it

You want love, we'll make it
Swimming a deep sea of blankets
Take all your big plans and break 'em
This is bound to be a while

Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder, I'll use my hands
Your body is a wonderland

Damn baby, you frustrate me
I know you're mine all mine all mine
But you look so good it hurts sometimes

Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder, I'll use my hands
Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonderland


Thank you so much
It's nice to play that song where it started, which was right here
And, uh, I should thank WRIX for that
Cos that's where it started, in Birmingham

This song's called My Stupid Mouth


My stupid mouth has got me in trouble
I said too much again to a date over dinner yesterday
And I could see she was offended, she said, "Well anyway."
Just dying for a subject change

Oh, it's another social casualty
Score one more for me
How could I forget
Mama said, "Think before speaking."
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one soon, yeah

Get this - we bit our lips, she looked out the window
Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
And I could see clearly an indelible line was drawn
Between what was good, what just slipped out and what went wrong

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again
How could I forget
Mama said, "Think before speaking."
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one 

I'm never speaking up again, it only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery than she desert me
Oh, I'm never speaking up again starting now, starting now

No, I was not listening
Sorry, missed it, baby, come around again
Yes, my head is swirlin', welcome to my world
It's population one and you can't come

So take it or leave it
That's just who I am
It might hard to believe it
But you know that, you know that you got to understand

One more thing, why is it my fault
So maybe I try too hard, but it's all because of this desire
Just wanna be liked
Looks like the jokes on me now - so call me captain backfire

I'm never speaking up again, it only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery than she desert me
Oh, I'm never speaking up again
I'm never speaking up again
I'm never speaking up again starting now, starting now


Thank you, yeah
Now we're cookin' with gas

These days with the world getting colder
She spends more time sleeping over than I planned
Tonight we're gonna order in
Drinkin wine and watchin' CNN
It's dark, I know, but then again
It's the brightest thing I got

When I'm covered in rain, rain 
When I'm covered in rain, rain, rain, rain

From fireworks to fireplaces
Some are stowed in far away places
And now, and now with people watching other people
People watching us right back, now
And standing by the missing signs
At the CVS, by the checkout line
She puts her quiet hands in mine
Cos she's the brightest thing I got

When I'm covered in rain, rain 
When I'm covered in rain, rain, rain, rain
Oh, I'm covered in rain
Oh, I'm covered in rain
Oh, I'm covered in rain
Oh, now, now, oh, now, now, oh

And come December Lydia left
She mentioned something bout it being for the best
And I can't say I disagree and it's killin' me

And now I'm standin' facing west
Tracing my fingers round a silhouette
I haven't gotten used to yet
But it's the brightest thing I got

When I'm covered all in rain, yeah, in rain, yeah rain, yeah


Thank you, that's a song called Covered In Rain

We got one more song to do for you tonight, I hope that you had a good time
Thank you guys so much, it's been a long summer, it's been a long summer
I'm glad we saved you till last

So, I hope you been alright and I hope you continue to be alright

And these days
And these days I wish I was six again
I wish, I wish, I wish was six again, only my

I've these dreams I'm walking home
Home when it used to be
And everything is as it was
Frozen in front of me 

Here I stand, six feet small
Romanticizing years ago
But it's a bitter sweet feeling hearing
No Such Thing on the radio 

And these days I wish I was six again
Oh, make me a red cape, I wanna be Superman 
Oh, if only my life was more like 1983
All these things would be more like they were at the start of me
Had it made in '83 

Thinking bout my brother Ben
I miss him every day
He looks just like his brother John
But on an 18 month delay, he's a-okay, by the way

Here I stand, six feet small
And smiling cos I'm scared as hell
Kind of like my life is like a sequel to a movie
Where the actor's names have changed, oh well 

Well, these days I wish I was six again
Oh, make me a red cape and I wanna be Superman 
Oh, if only my life was more like 1983
All these things would be more like they were at the start of me
If my life was more like 1983
I'd plot a course to the source of the purest little part of me, oh

And most my memories have escaped me
Or confused themselves with dreams
If heaven's all we want it to be
Send your prayers to me care of Bridgeport, C-T and 1983 

You can paint that house a rainbow of colors
Rip out the floorboards, replace the shutters but
That's my plastic in the dirt
Whatever happened to my, whatever happened to my
Whatever happened to my lunchbox
When came the day that it got thrown away
And don't you think I should have had some say in that decision

The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father says, "What you gonna do with your life?"
Oh, daddy dear, you know you're still number one
The girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have, oh no, no, no, no
They just wanna, they just wanna
They just wanna, they just wanna
Just wanna, girls

Let's hear it for the boy
Let's hear it for my baby
Let's hear it for the boy
Oh, let's give the boy a hand

Oh, maybe he's no Romeo
But he's my lovin' one-man show

If only my life, if only my life
If only my life
If my life was more like '83


Thank you so much for comin' out, thank you so much
Give it up for David Labruyere playin' the bass
Stephen Chopek playin' the drums
Michael Chaves playin' the guitar and keyboards
I'm John Mayer, thank you so much for accepting me and these little songs
It means the world to me
Let's grow old together, that might be fun
Thank you, thank you

I just remembered that time at the market
Snuck up behind me and jumped on my shopping cart
And rolled down aisle five
You looked behind you to smile back at me
Crashed into a rack full of magazines
They asked us if we could leave

I can't remember what went wrong last September
Though I'm sure you'd remind me if you had to
Our love was comfortable and so broken in

I sleep with this new girl I'm still getting used to
My friends all approve, say, "She's gonna be good for you."
They throw me high fives
She says the Bible is all that she reads
Prefers that I not use profanity
But your mouth was so dirty

Life of the party and she swears that she's artsy
But you could distinguish Miles from Coltrane
Our love was comfortable and so broken in
She's perfect, so flawless
Or so they say, hey, they say, hey

She thinks I can't see the smile that she's faking
And poses for pictures that aren't being taken
I loved you - grey sweatpants, no makeup, so perfect
Our love was comfortable and so broken in
She's perfect, so flawless and no, no
I'm not impressed, no, I want you back
No, no, no, no, no, want you back
Want you back, back

That you were my first love is just dumb luck
A technicality, you were ahead of me
That you were my first love is just dumb, dumb, stupid luck
A technicality, you will always be ahead of me, oh, oh

Tell me why I have to practice on you
Why I have to practice on you


Thank you, thank you

Yeah, this is where it gets funky

Me and, me, me and Chopek are gonna start this off

When sky blue gets dark enough
To see the colors of the city lights
A trail of ruby red and diamond white
Hits her like a sunrise
She comes and goes and comes and goes like no one can, oh

Tonight she's out to lose herself
And find a high on Peachtree Street
From mixed drinks to techno beats it's always
Heavy into everything
She comes and goes and comes and goes like no one can
She comes and goes and no one knows she's slipping through my hands

She's always buzzing just like neon, neon, neon, neon
Who knows how long, how long, how long
She can go before she burns away
And make her way down

I can't be her angel now
You know it's not my place to hold her down
And it's hard for me to take a stand
No, when I would take her anyway I can, oh
She comes and she goes like no one can
She comes and she goes, she's slipping through my hands

She's always buzzing just like neon, neon, neon, neon
Who knows how long, how long, how long
She can go before she burns

She comes and she goes like no one can
She comes and she goes, she's slipping through my hands

She's always buzzing just like neon, neon, neon, neon, alright
Who knows how long, how long, how long
She can go before she burns away


Thank you so much for coming out once again
David Labruyere, Stephen Chopek, Michael Chaves
I'm John Mayer, thank you, Birmingham, so much for what you've given me
I'll spend a lifetime giving it back, how bout that
Thank you