'Hey Julie' by The Fountains of Wayne - Lyric Analysis

 

Analysis of the lyrics of ‘Hey Julie’ by The Fountains of Wayne

Working all day for a mean little man

With a clip-on tie and a rub-on tan

-            Provides imagery of an undesirable boss where some listeners may be able to identify with the singer     and hate their own boss

-             Makes the whole song more relatable

 

He's got me runnin around the office

Like a dog around a track

-            Reinforces the image of an office worker who feels like this kind of job is really not what they want      in life, as they are being worked too hard for their liking

 

But when I get back home you're always there to rub my back

-           The reassurance of having that somebody to look forward to being with drives the protagonist (office      worker) to struggle in their work as long as it means they get to see Julie

 

Hey Julie look what they're doing to me

Tryin to trip me up

Tryin to wear me down

Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it

And I'd never make it through without you around

No I'd never make it through without you around

-             Once again, this chorus (and all subsequent) reinforces the idea that the protagonist hates his job and     Julie is the only thing that he looks forward to when coming home

 

Hours on the phone making pointless calls

I got a desk full of paper that means nothing at all

Sometimes I catch myself staring into space

Countin' down the hours til I get to see your face

-             The repeated motif of pointlessness and meaningless tasks further demonstrates how much the               protagonist despises his job, to the point where he finds that its all worthless, meaningless tasks that       he doesn’t even enjoy anyway

 

Hey Julie look what they're doing to me

Tryin to trip me up

Tryin to wear me down

Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it

And I'd never make it through without you around

No I'd never make it through without you around

 

 

 

 

How did it come to be

That you and I must be

Far away from each other every day

 

Why must I spend my time

Fillin' up my mind

With facts and figures that never add up anyway

They never add up anyway

-             These lines reveal that the protagonist is beginning to realise that this job may not be what he wants        to do all day every day

-             This is because he has realised that nothing there makes sense or is actually worth his time

-             In combination with previous lines, the listener can realise that as the song progresses, the                       protagonist begins to realise (with the listener) that this job in this office is a complete waste of his         time, as he questions why he needs to be there if nothing adds up anyway

 

Workin all day for a mean little guy

With a bad toupee and a soup-stain tie

He's got me runnin around the office

Like a gerbil on a wheel

-             Again, the protagonist talks about how much he doesn’t like his boss

-             Perhaps he is showing how his boss makes him feel inferior, due to the “gerbil on a wheel” metaphor

 

He can tell me what to do

But he can't tell me what to feel

-             However, this line proves that he has finally had enough of this job as a whole, and now feels like he     can break the cycle of going to work every day just to be unhappy all day

 

Hey Julie look what they're doing to me

Tryin' to trip me up

Tryin' to wear me down

Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it

And I'd never make it through without you around

No I'd never make it through without you around

No I'd never make it through without you around

-             Repetition of “I’d never make it through without you around” as a final line shows the undying               gratitude the protagonist has for Julie being there for him after work every day