I AM JOHN MAYER

my name is john

john michael mayer

i am john mayer 

like my grandpa before, who was also john mayer, i am john mayer. and it got sort of complicated at the turn of the century when i wanted to be a musician. and i got on the internet on my indigo blue imac and i went to register johnmayer.com. and to my surprise there was another guy named john mayer. we’re both john mayer. 

i figured this was unfortunate, but it was only a one page website. there was a picture of a french fry in ketchup on a dashboard. so i figured i would listen to the mp3s to see if he was better than me. and my pre-911, 22-year-old assessment was: the songs are pretty good, the lyrics are pretty bad, and the guitar playing is awesome! and i said to myself: "john mayer, it’s on. we’ll see who wins." and we saw who won: john mayer. 

we're both john mayer, but i’m not john mayer. 

you cannot open up a burger joint and call it burger king.

you cannot be a singer songwriter and be john mayer. 

when i was four years old my mom‘s mom, my grandma, took me to see ET and then grandma got dementia and got confused about ET and me. grandma got it switched in her mind that i was the kid from ET and grandma started calling me "elliott." grandma would send me birthday cards that said "dear elliott." grandma would send me et figurines and address them to "elliott." so i figured it was as good of a name as any and so i became john elliott. and so began twenty years of having my name constantly misspelled. one L one T, two Ls one T, two Ts one L, two Ls two Ts is me. but it's not really me 'cause...

my name is john

john michael mayer

i am john mayer 

i lost the battle but i’m still fighting the war 

i’m still fighting the war, i’m still fighting the war 

i lost the battle but i’m still fighting the war

i’m still fighting the war, i’m still fighting the war

and i say to myself: 

"john mayer, it’s on. we’ll see who wins when we see who won."

FUNERAL FRIEND

time blew by, your kids grew high, i got thin, then thick again 

i lost my place, i left my clothes, i am free now, i suppose

either you’ll be at my end or i’ll be at your end, funeral friend 

all i have is not mine, all i know children shine

they replace, we rewind, we erase, they entwine

either you’ll be at my end or i’ll be at your end, funeral friend

THE LAST TIME

oh my heart is up north cause she lingers there 

in that dress with the sleeves under evergreen trees

when she left me last i was quiet as glass

i wish i’d known that it was the last time

oh my heart is up north where we still need a coat

and we’re frozen in time on my grandfather‘s boat

when he still was alive and she stayed for the night

i wish i’d known that it was the last time 

between all the noise we just laid there and breathed

i traced the ridgeline from her cheek to her knees

we were mingled entwined and that fire wound down to the coals

what i got what i stole what i lost getting old now

and a moment like that just one chance doesn’t last 

i know that 

i know that now 

oh my heart is up north twenty years in the past 

how can life disappear, why did she leave so fast 

if i could go back there’s a question i’d ask 

i wish i’d known that it was the last time

i wish i’d known that it was the last time 

OUT HERE

it's okay you can come out now, it's okay we're ready for you now 

we really want to meet you and you have a place to stay out here,out here

it's okay you can come out now, it's okay you gotta see what's happening

so much good is happening and all of it is happening out here, out here

i've been there too, stuck inside of a room, so cozy and so safe 

why would anyone go anywhere at all when they could stay inside 

i'll tell you why, i'll tell you why

out here there are flowers, out here there's the sky

out here there's the ocean, you gotta see it to believe 

out here there are birds and bees and anything you please 

out here, out here 

out here there is ice cream, out here there is cereal 

oh man you won't believe it when you get to eat cereal 

there's so many different flavors and textures you can try 

but it's out here, it’s out here 

out here there is chaos too, out here there is fear

just to be clear: it's not always nice out here

but you can't stay inside forever, you cannot hide forever 

you gotta come out here, out here, out here, out here

MIND MATTERS

you can go to sleep now special boy, you can give yourself another choice

i will help you go there, i will ease your mind matters

i will help you go there, i will ease your mind matters

you can go to sleep now special boy, let yourself rest easy in the joy

i will help you be there, i will ease your mind matters

i will help you be there, i will ease your mind matters

as you grow up you'll need a shoulder to rely on

lean into me, wrap your hand around my finger, let it linger

you can go to sleep now special boy, you can give yourself another choice

i will help you go there, i will ease your mind matters

i will help you go there, i will ease your mind matters

LAYIN’ LOW

it's the 21st century, it's no longer a mystery

human supremacy is gonna be the death of me

and you, and your children, it's ridiculous

why don't we just stay where we are?

i got nowhere i wanna be, i got nowhere i wanna go

i'm layin' low

everyone is movin' too fast, burning dinosaurs

i'm fairly sure that's how it works

it's so absurd, it's ridiculous

why don't we just stay where we are?

i got nowhere i wanna be, i got nowhere i wanna go

i'm layin' low

LOVE IS BIG

my heart is full, fuller than it's ever been before

my heart is full, my heart is full

my head is clear, clearer than it's ever been before

my head is clear, my heart is full

love is big, love is big, love is bigger

than i ever knew 'till i found you

i never knew

i read my screen, meaner than it's ever been before

i read my screen, my heart is full

i see your face, framed inside a temporary door

i see your face, my head is clear

love is big, love is big, love is big, love is big

love is big, love is big, love is bigger

than i ever knew 'till i found you

i never knew

my head is clear, my heart is full, when you are near

when you are near

LIFE IS BUT A DREAM

row row row your boat gently down the stream

merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream

i don't know if i can live with this, but i'm gonna find out. there's nothing else i can do now, but just leave in the morning before they wake up. before i can ruin another day. all the times that i gambled, the times that i stayed, the hands that i made, the hands that i played, the times i walked away, the times i ran away

row row row your boat gently down the stream

merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream

and whatever is next for you, i hope it's the best for you. i trust that i will be without me. and where i will go i don't even know. i'm leaving this county, i'm leaving this state, i'm leaving this country behind. i'm gonna try to get it out of my mind. but it will all come back to me, i know that it will. i know that i'll know when it hits me. alone in some shadow impossible now to imagine, some shadow, some darkness, somehow. i want a good life for both of you. i want a good life for the rest of me too. 

row row row your boat gently down the stream

merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream

HARD TO FIND

it's hard to find a friend, a friend is hard to find

a friend who makes you smile and stays by your side

a friend is hard to find so you are on my mind

i'm all right, i'm only lonely 

where you are today nobody can say

nobody can know where we all go

so where you are today nobody can say

i'm all right, i'm only lonely

the blues are not as blue, the greens are not as true

when i am not with you, the blues are not as blue

the days become a dream, much longer than they seem

i'm all right, i'm only lonely 

everyone must leave, this we all agree

this is how it is and always will be

so i know you did your best, i wish you peace and rest

i'm all right, i'm only lonely 

OVERTAKEN

when it started i was open, i was forceful, i was proud

and the times we tried to make it seem so distant to me now

she was lovely and she loved me, we were young and sorta free

and what happened is so boring, it's what happens naturally

i stayed alive through the flood and through the fire

in a prison of my own desire 'till i saw you see the sky

i stayed alive

it's over and i'm overtaken, it's over and my heart is breaking

it's over and i'm overtaken

i stayed alive through the wonder and the sorrow

with the memories i only borrow for company at night

i stayed alive

it's over and i'm overtaken, it's over and my heart is breaking

it's over and i'm overtaken

keep me hopeful, keep me humble, keep me barely understood

help me grow and forego, let me change and change for good

change for good, change for good, change for good

change for good, change for good, change for good

change for good, change for good, change for good

© ℗ 2025 John Michael Mayer (aka John Elliott), BMI