Gives You Hell

Album

When the World Comes Down

Label

DGC

Genre

Power Pop

Composer(s)

Nick Wheeler;Tyson Ritter

Entered Chart

Nov 29, 2008

Peak Date

Mar 7, 2009

Released

September 30, 2008

Recorded

2007 Studio Skywalker Ranch Studios – California, United States

Catalog #

Doghouse Digital

The first single from The All-American Rejects third album, frontman Tyson Ritter said in a track-by-track interview before the album was released that the song was about a single person, but he later explained to MTV News: "It's kind of this tongue-in-cheek way of looking at someone you hate, whether it's your mom, for some reason, or it's your teacher at school, or it's your boss at work. It's just someone who makes you struggle, and it's giving them the finger." Ritter and Rejects guitarist Nick Wheeler write all of their songs, and when they wrote this one, they each had a steady girlfriend, so the lyrics were not personal. The song became a huge hit, but Tyson went into a downward spiral - both he and Nick lost their girlfriends and it was a while before they were productive again. Talking about getting it together to write for their next album, Kids In The Street, Wheeler told us: "Ty was still coming down off the whole 'Gives You Hell' ride, and we both moved to Los Angeles. He got mixed in with the bad crowd and kind of thought he was on top of the world - thought he was bulletproof and all that." Their song "Beekeeper's Daughter" finds Ritter reflecting on this time when he was a jackass but didn't care. This song made #1 on the US Pop charts, and was their biggest hit on the Hot 100, but the band wasn't so sure about it when they recorded it. Nick Wheeler told us: "We recorded it with (producer) Eric Valentine. The whole time, we were like, What is this? Like, Is this us? Why am I having these mixed feelings about this song? It turned out to be our first #1 song, so I'm glad we ended up putting it on the record." Ritter explained the song's promo to MTV News: "The video basically pits one neighbor against another terrible neighbor, who lives on a completely opposite schedule. He's not on the grid - he's not on, like the song says, 'a 9-to-5 pace.' And this guy's living the cookie-cutter life, with his white picket fence, and his wife who brings him lemonade when he's washing the car. So it's kind of like the clash of those worlds; only at the end, there's kind of a twist, where the two worlds kind of flip-flop." Nick Wheeler of All-American Rejects explained to Ultimate-Guitar.com what happens guitar-wise on this tune: "You hear an acoustic guitar, like this wacky E6 chord fading in the beginning and that's all you hear. Yeah, that's all you hear until the second verse. Then a little acoustic guitar comes in – actually the acoustic guitar carries the whole thing until that last chorus. That's when like the big monster comes in. It's just the acoustic guitar in the chorus and you hear that little lead line right before the 3rd verse. It's little moments like that. If every part on the record is thought out and holds its place in the song, then you don't need more than just those special parts. It's not about taking a big guitar and layering the crap out of it. It's not about that. Every part, from the vocals to the guitar parts to the drum fills, really hold their place in the song." Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler wrote this song during a road trip that the band took to Vancouver in Canada. Ritter and Wheeler typically write on trips where they can seclude themselves. This was named the #1 Most Played Song of 2009 on Billboard's Top 40 Chart. "We are thrilled that we have been played relentlessly over the past year, hopefully people aren't too sick of us by now," said Ritter. "But truly, we have the best fans in the world. It's because of them that this band is where we are. They are the ones who kept our song on the charts and on the radio for so long and we thank them." The song was the band's first to break into the Top Five on Billboard's Hot 100 and stayed in the Billboard Top 10 for over 13 weeks. It was also a success internationally and became the All-American Rejects best selling single worldwide. The track peaked in the Top Five in Canada and Australia and in the Top Twenty in several other countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany and New Zealand. The group vocals on this song were recorded at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch studios in California, where apparently alcohol is allowed. Nick Wheeler says that they wanted it to sound like "a bunch of drunk a--holes," so the band and crew had a few beers and yelled the part into a microphone for a few takes. This was surprisingly the first song with "hell" in its title to the reach the Top 10 of the Hot 100. It was preceded by four heavenly-named #1 singles: 1979 Bee Gees, "Too Much Heaven." 1985 Bryan Adams, "Heaven." 1987 Belinda Carlisle, "Heaven Is A Place On Earth." 2005 Carrie Underwood, "Inside Your Heaven."

I wake up every evenin'
With a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place
And you're still probably workin'
At a nine to five pace
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell

Now, where's your picket fence, love?
And where's that shiny car?
And did it ever get you far?
You never seemed so tense, love
I've never seen you fall so hard
Do you know where you are?

And truth be told, I miss you (I miss you)
And truth be told, I'm lyin'

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Tomorrow you'll be thinkin' to yourself
Yeah, where'd it all go wrong?
But the list goes on and on

And truth be told, I miss you (I miss you)
And truth be told, I'm lyin'

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell

Now, you'll never see what you've done to me
You can take back your memories, they're no good to me
And here's all your lies, you can look me in the eyes
With the sad, sad look that you wear so well

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell (hope it gives you hell)
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell (hope it gives you hell)
When you hear this song and you sing along, but you never tell (but you never tell)
Then you're the fool, I'm just as well, hope it gives you hell (hope it gives you hell)
When you hear this song, I hope that it will give you hell (hope it gives you hell)
You can sing along, I hope that it puts you through hell