Am I Missing Something?

Album: Beyond the Pale (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Jarvis Cocker reflects on the meaning of life.

    This body's a temporary home
    This body wants to take your body home


    The "body is a temporary home" line came from Alan Watts, a mid-20th century British writer known for popularizing Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism for a Western audience. Cocker explained to Q magazine that he discovered Watts on a tour bus driving towards San Francisco in the mid-2000s.

    "The idea opened up to me then," he explained. "You're an energy that's just inhabiting your body and you will go off somewhere else after. If you're brought up in the punk times, my year zero you've got a reflex action to say hippie tripe. But a lot of things since then I hold very dear, like Richard Brannigan, who I dismissed for years as hippy dippy. You just need to get over yourself. And the idea that you've got a universe inside you, now is the perfect time to discover that!"
  • This song was recorded at Narcissus Studios in Neasden, London for Jarv Is' debut studio album Beyond the Pale. Cocker formed the band in late 2017 to perform at Sigur Ros' Norður og Niður festival in Iceland. Encouraged by others to record the music they were coming up with, Cocker set about creating a record with his new bandmates. This is the first track he started to work on.
  • Cocker co-wrote this song with his harpist/pianist Serafina Steer, and with co-producer Jason Buckle, who is best-known for his releases under the name All Seeing I. Former Pulp bass guitarist Steve Mackey programmed the strings.
  • At first Cocker seems to be singing about the 21st century curse of fear of missing out (FOMO), before the listener gradually realizes what's missing might be something more essential. He explained to Uncut magazine: "That's a fundamental question as you get older – you've done a certain number of things in your life and you think, 'OK, what haven't I done? Is there something I should try that I haven't?'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Black Sabbath

Black SabbathFact or Fiction

Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.