Didn't Fix Me

Album: Good Luck With Whatever (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this track from Dawes' seventh studio album, frontman Taylor Goldsmith feels broken and lists all the tools he used to attempt to fix himself, including self-help gurus, volunteer work, books, awards, and love. "But it didn't fix me like I thought it would," he sings. It's a semi-true story that reflects Goldsmith's experience and also speaks to his evolution as a songwriter.

    "Some of it's fabricated. I wasn't nominated for an award. I didn't read a book about a spy in Germany. But the concept was very true to me. I'm probably the happiest guy I know, but we all find ways to suffer. And when anybody gets wind of that, they suggest this easy-fix cure-all based on their own experience," he explained in a 2020 interview with Magnet Magazine. "The way I've behaved as a songwriter isn't too different from the way I've behaved in dinner conversations throughout my life. If you had dinner with me at 24, I might talk about myself a lot - and I'd share a lot of private information that was probably a little indiscreet. When you're younger, it's easier to mistake good songwriting for airing your dirty laundry. Now, I want to look at things from a different perspective."
  • The book about the spy from East Berlin referenced in the third verse is The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, a 1963 Cold War spy novel by British author John le Carre.
  • The album was released in October 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because they couldn't go on tour, the band headed back into the studio and wrote what became their next album, Misadventures Of Doomscroller (2022).

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.