No Such Thing (John Mayer song)

"No Such Thing"
Single by John Mayer
from the album Room for Squares
Released	Original version: 1999 Re-recording: February 18, 2002
Format	CD single, digital download
Genre	Pop Acoustic
Length	3:51
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	John Mayer, Clay Cook
Producer	John Alagia
John Mayer singles chronology
"No Such Thing" (1999/2002) "Your Body Is a Wonderland" (2002)
Inside Wants Out track listing "Back to You" (1) "No Such Thing" (2) "My Stupid Mouth" (3) Room for Squares track listing "No Such Thing" (1) "Why Georgia" (2) Any Given Thursday track listing "3x5" (1) "No Such Thing" (2) "Back to You" (3) as/is track listing "My Stupid Mouth" (1) "No Such Thing" (2) "Covered in Rain" (3)

"No Such Thing" is the first commercially released single by John Mayer from his first album, 1999's Inside Wants Out. Like many of the songs from Mayer's early musical career, the song was co-written with Clay Cook. The song has been used in episode 15 of the first season of Alias.

Lyrics

This song was written in about a week's time in 1999 in Duluth, Georgia. It was Cook's and Mayer's response to the standard high school practice of guidance counselors telling students to "stay inside the lines" when instead it's better to follow the path you want and not do something you don't like to do just because the odds aren't in favor of it. This song is perhaps the most autobiographical and personal song Mayer has played a part in, mainly due to the fact unlike his classmates he didn't go to college right away, instead working at a gas station to save up money to buy a guitar. He eventually went to school for about 6 months at the Berklee College of Music before dropping out to move to Atlanta to begin his career with Clay Cook. The song is sung from the perspective of a soon to be high school graduate. He is frustrated with the "typical" path of high school, college and career that the adults in his life endorse. He plans to follow his path to reach his dreams. The song's refrain echoes this:

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

He feels his classmates don't understand. At the end of the song, he proclaims, "I just can't wait 'til my ten-year reunion / I'm gonna bust down the double doors / And when I stand on these tables before you / You will know what all this time was for".

Response

Billboard said of the song's vocals, lyrics and melody, "What's not to love?"^[1] Jason Thompson with PopMatters said of the song, "it doesn't move me in any way."^[2] Stylus magazine praised "No Such Thing," calling it "lively."^[3] In the U.S. pop charts, "No Such Thing" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Track listing

All songs are by John Mayer unless otherwise noted.

1. "No Such Thing" - 3:51
2. "My Stupid Mouth" - 3:45
3. "Lenny" (Live at the X Lounge) (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
4. "The Wind Cries Mary" (Live at the X Lounge) (Jimi Hendrix)

Personnel

• John Mayer – vocals, guitar, omnichord, Korg Triton synthesizer
• David LaBruyere – bass
• Nir Zidkyahu – drums
• Brandon Bush – Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano
• John Alagia – percussion, production
• Jack Joseph Puig – mixing

Footnotes

1. ^ C.T.; Taylor, Chuck (2002-05-18), "No Such Thing". Billboard. 114 (20):22
2. ^ Thompson, Jason (2001). "Room for Squares" PopMatters.com Retrieved 2007-11-19
3. ^ Blanford, Roxanne (2003-09-01). "Room For Squares" Stylus Magazine Retrieved November 19, 2007

External link

• "No Such Thing" music video on Youtube