The Man Who Broke His Own Heart

Album: Black Is The New Black (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • A rocker from the ninth Everclear album, this song is about a guy who has ended a difficult relationship and can see it from the other side of the fence:

    I know deep down you really want to punish me for the way I used to be
    I don't blame you for being angry, I treated you bad
    You wasted time trying too hard, fell for the man who broke his own heart


    Alexakis wrote the song in 2004 when he was dealing with a divorce from his second wife, Stephanie Greig. "I felt like making reparations, but reparations on my terms," he told us. "I was just exploring that a little bit from a personal point of view, but it's not autobiographical - there's a lot of things I've taken from other relationships I've seen."
  • Everclear tried to record this song for their 2006 album Welcome to the Drama Club, which used more acoustic instruments than the band's previous albums. They couldn't get a suitable recording, but it went over well when they played it live - fans dubbed it the "Almost Instant Karma" song.

    When it came time to record the Black Is The New Black album, Art Alexakis revived the song, putting it to a rock arrangement that suited the track. By this time, Everclear was a five-piece band, with Davey French on guitar, Freddy Herrera on bass, Josh Crawley on keyboards and Sean Winchester on drums.

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