Ruling Me

Album: Hurley (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from Hurley, the eighth studio album by Weezer. Frontman Rivers Cuomo penned the song with Minnesota-based singer-songwriter Dan Wilson, who like Cuomo, attended Harvard. They pair teamed up again on the 2016 Weezer track "California Kids ."
  • Dan Wilson is the lead singer of Semisonic, for whom he wrote the hits "Secret Smile," "Closing Time" and "Chemistry." He also co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks' some of their 2006 album Taking the Long Way, which won the Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. One of the tracks he contributed to was "Not ready To Make Nice," for which Wilson won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year along with the Dixie Chicks.
  • Dan Wilson explained in an interview with American Songwriter how he collaborated with Cuomo on this song: "We wrote some lyrics for the verse, and he generated most of those, and I helped. And then I wrote the lyrics to the chorus, except for the last line, which is the title, which is his, and amazing. We kind of wrote the verse together, and then I said to him that I thought it sounded too innocent, and he said, 'We'll revise the innocence out later.' And then a week later he e-mailed me new lyrics and it was exactly that; the same story, the same song, but everything innocent and sweet was removed and replaced by something really funny and zippy and great, and sort of spicy. That was real collaborative, on the lyrics, and we wrote the music together."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.