This is a song about finding love and trying to convince yourself and others that this time is different than the rest.
This Time, It’s Personal
Gym Class Heroes released “Cupid’s Chokehold” as part of their “Papercut Chronicles” album. The song is highly personal to co-writer Travie McCoy, which should come as no surprise since the content of the lyrics revolves around his prodigious love life.
He is in no way trying to hide the fact that he’s had no shortage of past relationships. In these lyrics, he even makes self-deprecating remarks to poke fun at the way he falls in love so easily.
Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy fame takes over the vocals for the hook. Many eagle-eared listeners will recognize from Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America.” The line sticks out clearly to those who grew up on that version, and it has since led to a new generation of listeners who though that Gym Class Heroes came up with that hook.
A Happy Accident
Matt McGinley, drummer of Gym Class Heroes, described the song as an accident: “We wrote it in our old bass player’s bedroom one afternoon, and it was really unintentional. We were just going to rehearse for our show. We didn’t sit down and say, ‘Okay, let’s write a song.’ That song just sort of happened.”
He continued, “Our friend Sie One had the Supertramp “Breakfast in America” record. And so he put that on and he would play that line, ‘Take a look at my girlfriend, she’s the only one I got,’ then drop it, and we would try to keep playing. So we sort of wrote our own verses and our own bridge and stuff, and every time the chorus would come around, we would just drop that as the chorus. So that song happened really, really quickly. And then we went and recorded it for under three hundred dollars in probably three or four hours.”
In an interview with Rock Sound, Travie McCoy said, “I had always wanted to venture into sampling, you know what I mean? With the live band and incorporating samples into the mix. So we sampled Super Tramp’s “Breakfast in America,” and we went through hell trying to get it cleared. And then we’re like, fuck it, let’s just get Patrick to re-sing it and make things a lot easier. And not only that, it’ll sound way cooler, you know what I’m saying? And that’s what we did. And Patrick destroyed it, you know what I’m saying? He crushed it and also helped us get out of a lot of legal fees.”
Fighting a God
Most of the lyrics are straightforward and can be taken at face value, but there are a few key references to be unpacked. The titular allusion to Cupid, the god of attraction and desire in classical mythology, is made here:
“And I know it sounds so old / But cupid got me in a chokehold”
Clearly, he’s told this story many times before. He references calling each of his parents in turn, and at this point, he depicts a struggle between himself and the god to express his relationship and feelings for this girl.
“Towel on the mat, my white flag is waving”
With more references to fighting and battling, he proclaims that he’s ready to give in and submit to these desires.
Lyrics
Ba ba da da
Ba ba da da
Ba ba da da
Ba ba da da
Ba ba da da
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
It’s been some time since we last spoke
This is gonna sound like a bad joke
But momma I fell in love again
It’s safe to say I have a new girlfriend
And I know it sounds so old
But cupid got me in a chokehold
And I’m afraid I might give in
Towels on the mat my white flag is wavin’
I mean she even cooks me pancakes
And Alka Seltzer when my tummy aches
If that ain’t love then I don’t know what love is
We even got a secret handshake
And she loves the music that my band makes
I know I’m young but if I had to choose her or the sun
I’d be one nocturnal son of a gun
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
It’s been awhile since we talked last and I’m tryin’ hard not to talk fast
But dad I’m finally thinkin’ I may have found the one
Type of girl that will make you way proud of your son
And I know you heard the last song about the girls that didn’t last long
But I promise this is on a whole new plane
I can tell by the way she says my name (ba ba da da)
I love it when she calls my phone
She even got her very own ringtone
If that ain’t love then I don’t know what love is (ba ba da da)
It’s gonna be a long drive home but I know as soon as I arrive home
And I open the door take off my coat and throw my bag on the floor
She’ll be back into my arms once more for sure
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
She’s got a smile that would make the most senile
Annoying old man bite his tongue
I’m not done
She’s got eyes comparable to sunrise
And it doesn’t stop there
Man I swear
She’s got porcelain skin of course she’s a ten
And now she’s even got her own song
But movin’ on
She’s got the cutest laugh I ever heard
And we can be on the phone for three hours
Not sayin’ one word
And I would still cherish every moment
And when I start to build my future she’s the main component
Call it dumb call it luck call it love or whatever you call it but
Everywhere I go I keep her picture in my wallet like here
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got (ba ba da da)
Not much of a girlfriend
I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Richard Davies / Roger Hodgson
Cupid’s Chokehold / Breakfast in America lyrics © Almo Music Corp., Delicate Music
