It's been dead for years.
I must have been a victim of my peers.
One is for my happiness,
The other for my health.
The last is something bigger than myself.

I ain't the only one, I ain't the only one.
I ain't the only one to say.

I'm talkin' to myself again,
I'll just start a fight.
When nobody can prove me wrong, I'm right.
Anti-hero idol
With a suicide excuse.
A thousand other suckers will try and fill your shoes.

I ain't the only one, I ain't the only one.
I ain't the only one to say.

Little pictures in my head,
Are turnin' inside out again.
This fuckin' up takes practice,
I feel I'm well rehearsed.
Because the past is a bully,
And the futures even worse.
You tell me what you fear,
'Cuz I can feel it like a curse.

I used to be a folk singer, now you're just a joke singer.
Ain't no smokin' dope singer, swingin from a rope singer.

I ain't the only one, I ain't the only one.
I ain't the only one to say.



Lyrics submitted by 3ssence

Only One Lyrics as written by J. Rzeznik G. Tutuska

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Only One song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    ::is in shock::

    No one has commented yet!! Good tune. Quite different from the rest of their stuff. I love the part where it slows down...and there's snapping...and then...

    "Little pictures in my head, are turnin' inside out again. Cause fuckin' up takes practice, I feel I'm well rehearsed. Because the past is a bully, and the futures even worse. You tell me what you fear, 'Cuz I can feel it like a curse. You used to be a folk singer, now you're just a joke singer. Ain't no smokin' dope singer, swingin from a rope singer."

    ..::UnKnownFace::..on July 06, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Awesome song... definetely refreshing to go back and here the rougher side of the Dolls

    woodendogzon April 17, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love the line "if fucking up takes practice, I fear I'm well rehearsed".


    freewebs.com/thejakesite

    Jakeberton December 22, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really love this song but i love most of their music.

    zim77on March 10, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Contrary to popular belief, Rzeznik did NOT write this song about Kurt Cobain (although it would seem to make a lot of sense). It's about another rockstar killing themselves--probably some sap in Buffalo--and John isn't telling.

    Chiggon May 01, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'd never reall thought about it, but it would make sense to be about Kurt Cobain though. I guess there are probably others like him. Scizophrenic "talking to myself again". Deadhead? "its been dead for years". Smoking dope, suicide. Don't get me wrong, Kurt Cobain and others like him, have been great musicians. But he had a bit of a messed up life.

    bobtheflobon June 15, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    They made a video for this song.

    samwaltonon August 07, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    When the album came out, they toured for something like a year and a half. They were more or less done touring for the album when "Name" hit and they had to go out and tour again to support the song. Anyway, on one of their passes through, they had an opening band called the "Smoking Popes." Not sure if John was annoyed with them or not, but he definitely changed the line near the end of the song to "ain't no Smoking Pope singer" that night.

    rktktvion October 17, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    lol the vid for this song is pretty great very wierd:0 but ilove it :D i wish i could see them live :( they never come to australia:(

    xxbrokenimagexxon November 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "Cause fuckin' up takes practice, I feel I'm well rehearsed. Because the past is a bully, and the futures even worse." That is my favorite part of the song.

    Gravity56on December 22, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Album art
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Album art
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Album art
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.