My Mistake

Album: Father of the Bride (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "My Mistake" is a mournful piano ballad that describes a person attempting to cross the United States southern border in order to achieve a better life. The refugee gets caught and describes his "hoping for kindness" as his/her "greatest mistake."
  • Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig describes the immigrant's innocent youthful days in the first verse.

    Unaware of the fall
    Unaware of my fate
    There was peace in the valley
    'Til I made my mistake


    Ezra Koenig's family were Jewish refugees who came to America from Europe (including Romania and Hungary). Here, he might referencing Elvis Presley singing the gospel staple "Peace in the Valley" on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1957. The King dedicated the song to the victims of that year's Hungarian refugee crisis, who had fled their country after the October 1956 invasion by the Soviet Union.
  • Ezra Koenig wrote the song with regular Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) collaborator Ludwig Göransson. He co-produced the track with Father of the Bride executive producer Ariel Rechtshaid and Kendrick Lamar collaborator DJ Dahl. Koenig told Q Magazine:

    "I wrote My Mistake, which is a quiet favorite, with Ludwig who I met years ago through Donald Glover. We worked on a chord progression together then he forgot about it and I worked on it with DJ Dahi and Ariel."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?