Ben Folds – Rockin' The Suburbs

Know something about this song or lyrics? Add it to our wiki.
Send "Rockin' The Suburbs" Ringtone to Cell

let me tell ya'll what it's like
being male, middle class and white
it's a bitch, if you don't believe
listen up to my new cd
sham on

i got shit running through my brain
so intense that i can't explain
all alone in my white boy pain
shake your booty while the band complains

i'm rocking the suburbs
just like michael jackson did
i'm rocking the suburbs
except that he was talented
i'm rocking the suburbs
i take the checks and face the facts
that some producer with computers
fixes all my shitty tracks

i'm pissed off but i'm too polite
when people break in the mcdonalds line
mom and dad you made me so uptight
i'm gonna cuss on the mic tonight
i don't know how much i can take
girl give me something i can break

i'm rocking the suburbs
just like quiet riot did
i'm rocking the suburbs
except that they were talented
i'm rocking the suburbs
i take the checks and face the facts
that some producer with computers
fixes all my shitty tracks

in a haze these days
i pull up to the stoplight
i can feel that something's not right
i can feel that someone's blasting me
with hate and bass
sending dirty vibes my way
cause my great great great great grandad
made someone's great great great great grandaddy slaves
it wasn't my idea
it wasn't my idea
it never was my idea
i just drove to the store
for some preparation h

ya'll don't know what it's like
being male, middle class and white
it gets me real pissed off and it makes me wanna say
fuck

just like jon bon jovi did
i'm rocking the suburbs
except that he was talented
i'm rocking the suburbs
i take the checks and face the facts
that some producer with computers
fixes all my shitty tracks these days
i'm rocking the suburbs
you'd better look out because i'm gonna say fuck

Send "Rockin' The Suburbs" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by magicnudiesuit

Track duration: 04:59


Rockin' The Suburbs song meanings
Add your thoughts

67 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:Regarding "sham on" from earlier on this page: I always took it to be a white-boy'ish spoof of Michael Jackson.
    Flag jitsunon May 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it gets me real pissed off and makes me wanna say
    FUCCCCCCCCK!
    Flag karltonon October 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ahaha oh man i just made the connection that this was the retaliation for that interview that korn did years ago. there was an article in some altrock mag called "korn takes on the pussies!" where they bitched about ben and various other musicians that play "softer" music, calling them names and cursing and carrying on. iirc they actually mentioned ben folds by name - e.g. "i can't fucking stand ben folds five" or something of the like.

    when ben responded to the article he was like "so i saw this article 'korn takes on the pussies' and i was like 'wow, that's cool. i mean, that's a brave thing to do.'" i remember laughing inordinately hard at that, which i guess has forever burned the moment into my memory since this happened YEARS ago.

    but yeah, so this song is his response to korn, i guess. THEY WAS BEEFIN'
    Flag impon August 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When you look at the world from a sociological standpoint, you see that (elite) white males (usually not middle-class though), are the ones who benefit from social problems such as racism, sexism, etc. So I felt this song was like Ben confronting this problem, saying he sees what's wrong, but it's not his fault. Yet he's still looked at by minorities as "the man" because he is male middle class and white.
    Flag robwithanron May 04, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:this is the first song i heard from ben folds...i laughed not because it was bad but because i thought it was funny.

    its making fun of most musicians, and how they come from an 'american family' (white, middle class, 2.5 kids, no real problems) but act as if their lives were so horrible.
    Flag crayola__on August 09, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Ha, this song makes me think hes just making fun of those white kids at skool (you know the ones) who act black and like theyre hood when they live in a 2 story 4 bedroom brick home in a subdivison with about 200 homes which all look somewhat similar to eachother. But being from the suburbs I can say it IS hard living out here. Your garage remote accidently opening your neighbors, flood lights being set off by deers, no one obeying the "SLOW children at play" signs as they blast by in their Tahoes and Lexus RX330s, to park them in their driveweighs because their garage is full of shit they dont need at all. *sighs* Its a hard knock life. ANYWAYS, another thing I would like to add is it shouldve been "fixes all my fuckin tracks" insted of "all my shitty tracks" it just flows better.
    Flag Ath20wjon June 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:anyone else notice that this song has a slight "killing in the name of" by rage against the machine vibe??

    nice one ben! =)
    Flag totallytazon May 30, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I saw Ben Folds in concert a few years ago. This is his explanation for the song, straight from his mouth.

    He wrote it after reading an article that interviewed one of the guys from Korn. To summarize the guy said he ates p***y piano rock like Ben Folds.

    So, Ben retaliated with a song that mocked Korn's style of angry, white, middle class, nu-metal. In other words: Korn sucks, their music sucks, and their fake angry attitudes suck.

    ...For those of you who say you don't like the song b/c it isn't in his normal style... that is the point... it's called satire.
    Flag spinalgrailon January 17, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Yeah, I think leakeg got it, totally. I also really don't think he was mocking black rappers at all. He's speaking as the crappy, whiny middle class white guy, who thinks that the black guy in the next car is blasting his rap music because he hates Whiny White Guy, when the black guy probably doesn't even care. The Whiny White Guy is making it all about him, and he gets all angry and defensive and claims that black people need to get over it, basically, which is, sadly, how a lot of white America views race relations. Whiny White Guy's views are really simplistic, ignorant, and self-centered, and I think Ben Folds is mocking that, not the dude in the other car who's just trying to listen to his music.
    Flag random6x7on January 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Simple Plan, korn, etc.

    this amuses me.
    Flag shut up hannah.on October 08, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain