St. Joe on the School Bus

Album: Marcy Playground (1997)
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Songfacts®:

  • In a Songfacts interview with Marcy Playground lead singer/songwriter John Wozniak, he explained that this song is about getting picked on on the school bus. It's not about anyone specific, but John did have some rough times at school. He told us: "I was bullied as a kid, and for a little period there I think I probably started bullying kids because I was bullied, and so I understand it. I don't know if it's bullying, but I got in a lot of fights after a while. Because I didn't like people getting in my face when I was young. Or getting in my friends' faces. And I'm Irish and Polish so I got in a lot of fights. But it started with just getting picked on."
  • Marcy Playground is best-known for their hit "Sex and Candy." "St. Joe on the School Bus" was their next single, and the closest they came to another hit: it topped out at #8 on the US Modern Rock charts.
  • Like many of Marcy Playground's videos, this one is very surreal. It involves a child literally crying wolf and suffering the consequences. Wozniak told us: "That video was done by Hammer and Tongs, the guys that produced and directed The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy movie. These guys are funny. They're British. And they're very funny. I like their sense of humor. And I've seen a few of their videos, and not all of them are funny, but they had this great idea for that video, and I liked it."

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