My Play
by AJR

Album: OK Orchestra (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This vulnerable track finds the Metzger brothers recalling growing up with divorced parents. They explore the tension of their mother and father's broken marriage through the eyes of a child that has put on a play for his mom and dad.

    I just really, really, really, really wanna show you my play
    And I don't wanna do it for Dad at Dad's new place
    I worked really, really, really, really hard, lemme show you my play


    The play eventually takes place in the child's mother's basement. Both parents attend, but the little boy is unsure if his mom and dad's smiles are faked. "Guess everything is complicated," he concludes.
  • The AJR trio of Jack, Ryan and Adam Metzger wrote the song from their own family experiences, recalling how they used to long for the more innocent times when both parents were still together. Ryan told Apple Music the trauma of their mom and dad's divorce is reflected in the raucous emotion on the recording. "We're really proud of Jack's scream-singing on this one," he said. "It took one take and it's some of the rawest emotion we've ever put on a track."
  • The animated video reflects the story of the song as a child takes refuge in his imagination in order to deal with his parents' divorce.
  • Jack Metzger and his brothers wanted to write a song about their parents' divorce but were apprehensive about tackling such an emotional and heavy topic.

    "The first thought was, 'OK, obviously we have this experience, this is part of our life, and how is AJR gonna write a song about this?'" he explained to ABC Audio. "Because we have to do it at some point, because we like to be as honest as possible."

    The siblings knew that because so many other artists have written about divorces, people can be desensitized about the topic. However, once they came up with the idea of a child having to perform their play twice in different houses to their separated parents, they felt they had a fresh angle. "Then it became, like, 'OK, wow... this is an important song to put out. This is gonna make people think,'" Jack Metger said.

Comments: 1

  • Anonymous from Sour Hour Play MyAt the end it shows both parent taking half of jacks body they want him both. But che wants them together. ''I'll do anything anything'' it means he would do everything for his parents together.
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