As the Worm Turns by Faith No More

Album: We Care a Lot (1985)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

A track from the first Faith No More album, "As the Worm Turns" has lyrics by lead singer Chuck Mosley, who was their frontman for their first two albums. Here, he addresses someone who his down in the dumps because he doesn't have a job, offering some encouragement:

Time is on your side, you're young
Don't waste your time today

In his Songfacts interview, Mosley said the song is "social commentary on being responsible for your own situation."
The band is from San Francisco, and this song is a good example of the punk sound coming out of that area at the time. It was more of a hippie sound as opposed to the more hardcore grooves that were coming from Los Angeles.
The title, which doesn't appear in the lyric, is a play on "As the World Turns," the name of a long-running soap opera.

Comments: 1

Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganIt should be noted that this song was recorded in the studio at least twice: Once with Chuck Mosley on vocals that appears on the We Care A Lot album, and one with Mike Patton on vocals that was one of the outtakes for the Angel Dust sessions.

I think the reference to the soap opera can be interpreted to represent how some people make their situation out to be more dramatic than it really is. Though I've also heard that the phrase, "As the worm turns" was also an idiom to mean that someone's luck was about to change from bad to good.

I love the synth riff, it's one that I learned when I was in the beginning stages of playing the keys, it's simple but requires proper fingering technique to execute right and without your fingers cramping up.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Handle With CareThe Traveling Wilburys

"Handle With Care" started as a George Harrison song with guest appearances by Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, but it went so well the five of them decided to form a group - The Traveling Wilburys - and record an entire album.

Psycho KillerTalking Heads

The French part in Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" explains that the killer is going after a girl, like Norman Bates in the movie Psycho.

Ur So GayKaty Perry

Katy Perry says her 2008 song "Ur So Gay" is about "guys who wear the guyliner, steal your jeans, and that whole almost hipster emo scene."

LightsEllie Goulding

Ellie Goulding's hit song "Lights" is about her fear of the dark, which forces the singer to sleep with the lights on.

Born on the BayouCreedence Clearwater Revival

John Fogerty was not born on the bayou - he's from Berkeley, California. He got the idea for the song when CCR was on tour in Louisiana.

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)Katy Perry

When "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" climbed to #1 on the Hot 100, Katy Perry became the first woman to send five songs from one album to the top of the charts. The four previous chart-toppers from her Teenage Dream set were "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework" and "E.T."