Flu Game Lyrics
I guess to you now, I'm just a face in the crowd
Oh, God, kindly please, would you kill me now?
Late at night in my room, lie awake, think of you
And all your little dooms
[Chorus]
Last night I dreamt I still knew you
You
I carved out a place in this world for two
But it's empty without you
[Refrain]
I got all this love I've got to keep to myself
All this effort to make it look effortless
All this love I've got to keep to myself
All this effort to make it look effortless
[Verse 2]
Confront all the pain like a gift under the tree
Oh, please, I can't be who you need me to be
I grind in the sunshine, grind in the rain
So real that I feel fakе
[Chorus]
Last night I dreamt I still knew you
You
I carved out a placе in this world for two
But it's empty without you
I got all this love I've got to keep to myself
All this effort to make it look effortless
Got all this love I've got to keep to myself
All this effort to make it look effortless
[Bridge]
One day, every candle's gotta run out of wax
One day, no one will remember me when they look back
I can't stop, can't stop 'til we catch all your ears, though
Somewhere between Mike Tyson and Van Gogh, oh, oh
[Chorus]
You
You
I carved out a place in this world for two
But it's empty without you
[Outro]
I got all this love I've got to keep to myself
All this effort to make it look effortless
Got all this love I've got to keep to myself, myself, oh
All this effort to make it look effortless (All this effort to make it look effortless)
All this effort to make it look effortless (All this effort to make it look effortless), oh, oh, oh
All this effort to make it look effortless (All this effort to make it look effortless), yeah, hoo
About
“Flu Game” is a testament to perseverance in the face of hardship. The song describes feelings of insignificance and loneliness caused by the departure of another person, possibly following a breakup, and the effort it takes to keep going.
This message of motivation is reinforced by the title of the song through an NBA reference. On June 11, 1997, Michael Jordan famously played a game of basketball while ill with food poisoning, which became referred to as his “flu game”.
I didn’t wanna give up, no matter how sick or tired I was.
His team, the Chicago Bulls, won the match 90-88 against Utah Jazz. The game has been described as “one of the most iconic sports contests in history” and a showcase of Jordan’s “mental and physical toughness”.
With this iconic sporting moment in mind, Wentz urges the listener to use struggles as motivation for improvement. This idea is also seen throughout the album on other tracks including “Love From The Other Side”, “Heartbreak Feels So Good,” and “Hold Me Like A Grudge”:
The kind of pain you feel to get good in the end
It was an uphill battle
But they didn’t know, but they didn’t know
We were gonna use the roads as a ramp to take offI am a diamond on the inside, just add the pressure
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
“Flu Game” is a notorious Michael Jordan game where he played while he was under the weather. He was, as some might say, effortless. This song is all over the place to me, it reminds me of, I think coming off of “Dance, Dance” and “Sixteen Candles”, we wanted to refresh the palate completely, and we put out this song called “Arms Race”, which just seemed insane at the time, and this is reflective of that. It’s a chaotic song, but still somehow Patrick sews it all together with the melodies and the way he uses the phrasing of the lyrics, and I think [Andy Hurley’s] drums are great on this song.
This was a really, really fun song to record. It’s got a kind of Lou Reed-ish beat.
- 4.Fake Out
- 5.Heaven, Iowa
- 9.Flu Game
