Foolish Games

Album: Pieces of You (1995)
Charted: 2
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song about the frustration of unrequited love was the third single released from Jewel's debut album. There was a real inspiration for the song, a guy Jewel fell for when she was 16. She wrote about him in her journal, developing a relationship she was "dramatically involved in on paper." Her journal entries formed into a poem, and a year later she turned it into a song, one she would often perform at coffee houses and other intimate venues when she was just starting out.
  • The song was included on the 1997 soundtrack for Batman & Robin, starring George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell as the Dynamic Duo. In context of the film, the song parallels Bruce Wayne's relationship with Julie Madison (Elle Macpherson), whom he has to reject in order to protect. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Avalinas - Milford, DE
  • Jewel was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Foolish Games" in 1998, but lost to Sarah McLachlan for "Building a Mystery."
  • This was a hidden bonus track on a re-release of "You Were Meant For Me" and stayed on the charts for a record 65 weeks, the longest chart run of a single at the time.
  • For her 2013 Greatest Hits album, Jewel performed this as a duet with Kelly Clarkson.
  • Jewel performed this with Melissa Etheridge on VH1 Duets in 1995.
  • In a 2010 Funny or Die video, Jewel disguises herself as a businesswoman and performs "Foolish Games" and "You Were Meant For Me" at a karaoke bar, returning later in the evening as herself to sing some more. Many in the stunned crowd didn't realize they were the same person.

Comments: 3

  • Ellen from Washington StateWhy do so many people make the mistake whe they write down the lyrics of putting you're always crazy like that. It is NOT you're, it is you were! You're is not a contraction of you were, it is a contraction of you are.
  • Brian from WashingtonThere is a lyric in the album version that does not appear in the radio edit, immediately preceding the "Excuse me, I think I've mistaken you for someone else..." interjection. The last two lines of the section are usually omitted (From "I hid my soiled hands...", referencing "Things that are clean" in the previous lines.)

    You'd teach me of honest things,
    Things that were daring, things that were clean
    Things that knew what an honest dollar did mean
    I hid my soiled hands behind my back
    Somewhere along the line, I must have gone off track with you

  • Avalinas from Milford, DeThe song details the frustration and agony of knowing that the intensity of one's love is not reciprocated by one's lover. The song parallels Bruce Wayne's relationship with Julie Madison, as well as his friendship/partnership with Dick Grayson/Robin. The melodic line and chord progression of the verses in "Foolish Games" carry echoes of "Diamonds & Rust", recorded by Joan Baez.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

The End Of The Rock Era

The End Of The Rock EraSong Writing

There are no more rock stars - the last one died in 1994.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.