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Quiz about Jeffrey Lewis Lyrics
Quiz about Jeffrey Lewis Lyrics

Jeffrey Lewis Lyrics Trivia Quiz


New York anti-folk singer-songwriter Jeffrey Lewis has been described (by Jarvis Cocker) as "the best lyricist working in the US today". Here's a small sample.

A multiple-choice quiz by ErnestS. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
ErnestS
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
288,289
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
152
Question 1 of 10
1. Can you complete the lyric from the song "Life"?

"Kisses are weird but they can be fun.
Instead of shaking hands it's like..."
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Jeff's song, "The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane", from his similarly titled first album, described exactly why he hates LSD. How does this line finish?

"The first rule of tripping was..."
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Jeff gets philosophical in these lyrics from his song "Seattle". Can you identify the next line?

"Am I an optimist, or am I a pessimist
If I see a half empty half full cup
..."
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. On to Jeff's second album, "It's the One's Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through" and the song "Back When I Was 4". How does the line end?

"Back when I was 12 or so
I swear to god I never felt so low
Everyone but me was..."
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. How does this lyric end?

"Don't let the record label take you out to lunch.
Though the fishes look delicious..."
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. These lyrics are from the catchily titled song, "You Don't Have to Be a Scientist to Do Experiments on Your Own Heart" on the second album. Can you finish the line?

"And my halo's got a hole in it so it don't keep me dry
but it's okay because..."
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Still on the second album, can you complete this line from the song, "Arrow"?

"Monkeys and babies are..."
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What is the next line from the song "Had It All" on Jeff's third album, "City & Eastern Songs"?

"Why am I not free yet
Of all this doubting?
My mind keeps shouting..."
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The incredible "Williamsberg Will Oldham Horror" is about an encounter on a subway train with a guy who probably isn't Will Oldham, prompting Jeff to question whether the artistic life is worth pursuing. Can you finish the lyric?

"The thing is, probably Dylan himself too
Stayed up some nights wishing he was as good as..."
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Complete the title of this song:

"Sal's Pizza Has Sold Out to..."
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Can you complete the lyric from the song "Life"? "Kisses are weird but they can be fun. Instead of shaking hands it's like..."

Answer: shaking tongues

"Life" was a song on "The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane and Other Favourites", Jeff's first big release, on Rough Trade Records in 2001.

Jeff's other career is as a comic book artist and the cover picture of this album is made up of cut up pictures from his comics. During his live performances he sometimes brings out "low-budget videos" for some of his songs which are A3 pads of paper with his paintings illustrating the song. He then turns the pages as he sings.
2. Jeff's song, "The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane", from his similarly titled first album, described exactly why he hates LSD. How does this line finish? "The first rule of tripping was..."

Answer: Don't be with people you don't trust

This was the title track from Jeff's first album.

You'd think anyone who listened to the lyrics of this song would be pretty clear that Jeff isn't a fan of LSD but apparently there's plenty of people who weren't paying attention and assumed that he was an acid-head. For his next album, just to make it perfectly clear, he wrote a song called "We Don't Want No LSD Tonight".
3. Jeff gets philosophical in these lyrics from his song "Seattle". Can you identify the next line? "Am I an optimist, or am I a pessimist If I see a half empty half full cup ..."

Answer: As half full... of nothingness

Hmmm... that's a tough one. "Seattle" is my favourite Jeff Lewis song. It's another from the first album.

Like his fellow New Yorker Woody Allen, Jeff puts a lot of introspective self-analysis into his work and mixes it with wit and insight. Jeff was born in 1975 so he'd have been in his early to mid twenties when he wrote this song about wondering what to do with his life.
4. On to Jeff's second album, "It's the One's Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through" and the song "Back When I Was 4". How does the line end? "Back when I was 12 or so I swear to god I never felt so low Everyone but me was..."

Answer: making out and eating cookies

Aw, poor Jeff. I guess most people can relate to this.

This album was released on Rough Trade in 2003. "Back When I Was 4" starts off as though it's looking back over Jeff's life from his precocious childhood through teenage angst to starting to get some success with his songs and comic books. It doesn't stop at 27 though. It keeps on going through "back when I was 37", "back when I was 63", "back when I was 87", etc.

The lyrics get happier later on and if things do work out like in this song then he'll have a pretty good life around the age of 50 or 60. 128 isn't a bad year either.
5. How does this lyric end? "Don't let the record label take you out to lunch. Though the fishes look delicious..."

Answer: Someone's gotta do the dishes

From the song "Don't Let the Record Label Take You Out to Lunch" on the second album. Jeff has now released four albums on Rough Trade so I guess he does get along with his record label okay. I don't know whether they've ever bought him lunch though.
6. These lyrics are from the catchily titled song, "You Don't Have to Be a Scientist to Do Experiments on Your Own Heart" on the second album. Can you finish the line? "And my halo's got a hole in it so it don't keep me dry but it's okay because..."

Answer: my brain is my heart 's umbrella

Another Jeffrey Lewis song, "Together We Form Jeff" has two versions of Jeff alternating:
Jeff 1: "I like soft songs full of meaning"
Jeff 2: "I just like yelling and screaming"

"You Don't Have to Be a Scientist..." is definitely one of the "soft songs full of meaning" but some other songs on the album are full-on yelling and screaming, particularly the brilliant and educational song "If You Shoot the Head You Kill the Ghoul", which contains useful tips about how to survive a zombie rampage.
7. Still on the second album, can you complete this line from the song, "Arrow"? "Monkeys and babies are..."

Answer: scary

Very true. This line was used as the title of a documentary made about the Jeffrey Lewis Band by Kidam, a small French film company.
8. What is the next line from the song "Had It All" on Jeff's third album, "City & Eastern Songs"? "Why am I not free yet Of all this doubting? My mind keeps shouting..."

Answer: And it never gets a sore throat

"City & Eastern Songs" (as in anti-Country & Western - get it?) was released in 2005. It had much higher production values than previous albums and a couple of the songs even had proper professional videos made for them.

The cover states that the album is actually by Jeffrey and Jack Lewis. Jack is Jeff's little brother and he has featured on his other albums as well - playing guitar and writing some of the songs - but this is the first where he gets equal billing. Jack's songs tend to be more loud and punky and less introspective than Jeff's.
9. The incredible "Williamsberg Will Oldham Horror" is about an encounter on a subway train with a guy who probably isn't Will Oldham, prompting Jeff to question whether the artistic life is worth pursuing. Can you finish the lyric? "The thing is, probably Dylan himself too Stayed up some nights wishing he was as good as..."

Answer: Ginsberg or Camus

The was one of the stand-out tracks on "City & Eastern Songs". If you can, you should check out the video for it on YouTube.

I haven't done any question about lyrics from Jeff's next album on Rough Trade, "12 Crass Songs", released in 2007. This is because, as the title suggests, it is folky versions of 12 songs written by the anarchist punk band Crass rather than being original Jeff Lewis compositions.
10. Complete the title of this song: "Sal's Pizza Has Sold Out to..."

Answer: The Yuppie Scum

This is a protest song in the tradition of Dylan and Guthrie - except with a bit more swearing - about the lower-east-side fast-food institution Sal's putting prices up by 50c a slice.

One of Jeff's earlier compositions and originally released in 2000 on a very limited edition cassette album, this was among his old songs dug out to include on the album "Tapes From the Crypt", available from Olive Juice Music.
Source: Author ErnestS

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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