Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I was, I was, I was, I was
Gonna say something that would solve all our problems
But then I got drunk and I forgot what I was talking about
I forgot what I was talking about
Don't you, don't you, don't you know
There's nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody
There's nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody but you
Than to be loved by everybody but you, but you
[Pre-Chorus]
If I can get my shit together, I'm gonna run away and never see
Any of you again, never see any of you again
[Chorus]
I hope the roof flies off and we get blown out into space
I always make such expensive mistakes
I know it's just a number, but you're the 8th wonder
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
[Post-Chorus]
Woah, woah, woah
When they make a darker color
Woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
Woke up on the wrong side of p-p-paradise
And when I say I'm sorry I'm late
I wasn't showing up at all
I really mean I didn't plan on showing up at all
Don't you, don't you, don't you know
I hate all my friends, I miss the days when I pretended
I hate all my friends, I miss the days when I pretended with you
I miss the days when I pretended with you, with you
[Pre-Chorus]
If I can get my shit together, I'm gonna run away and never see
Any of you again, never see any of you again
[Chorus]
I hope the roof flies off and we get blown out into space
I always make such expensive mistakes
I know it's just a number, but you're the eighth wonder
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
[Post-Chorus]
Woah, woah, woah
When they make a darker color
Woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
Woah, woah, woah
When they make a darker color
Woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
If we hadn't done this thing
I think I'd be a medicine man
So I could get high on our own
Supply whenever I can
And I became such a strange shape
Such a strange shape from trying to fit in
I became such a strange shape
Such a strange shape
[Chorus]
I hope the roof flies off and we get blown out into space
I always make such expensive mistakes
I know it's just a number but you're the eighth wonder
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
[Post-Chorus]
Woah, woah, woah
When they make a darker color
Woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
Woah, woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black, I'll stop wearing black
Woah, woah, woah
I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color
About
This song was premiered on tour in Cleveland, Ohio. Fans suspected that it would be the fourth single to be released from M A N I A, but it was later announced that “Hold Me Tight Or Don’t” would be released as the fourth single instead. “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)” was eventually released as the fifth single from the album on Jan. 11, 2018.
The title is a reference to the 2000 film “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks, in which the main character, FedEx employee Chuck Noland, ends up stranded on an island after a plane crash. One of the packages from the plane contains a Wilson volleyball. After leaving a bloody hand print on it, Chuck draws a face and names this volleyball Wilson. It serves as his only companion during his time on the island.
The music video was set to be released on January 12th, one week before the release of the album, but it was later announced via an Instagram post that the release date had been moved forward one day to the 11th. The post also teased the video, featuring Pete Wentz wearing the outfit he had previously worn in The Youngblood Chronicles, a series of 11 music videos for the album Save Rock and Roll which told one cohesive story. The music video itself contains many references to past music videos in the form of products being sold in an infomercial or on a home shopping channel. The number that appeared throughout the music video, “1-833-OUT-BOYS”, lead fans to an audio message spoken by Patrick Stump.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
During a Q&A session prior to the concert in Berlin on January 8th, 2018, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz explained:
“So what we did on the MANIA tour in the United States… we had a platform that went to the back of the arena, and it went up like thirty feet. And we tried to pick a song that maybe- because, you know, these aren’t necessarily the best seats- we tried to pick a song that would kind of rock or move a little bit for the people back there… since we were getting close to them. I remember thinking, like, Well, we’re playing this new song that no one knows, and maybe that will all go wrong.. But then you take the stage up thirty feet and you’re like, Well, I hope I don’t fall off of this and fucking die. So you don’t worry about the song so much.”
Vocalist Patrick Stump added:
“I missed all of the rehearsals for that tour. I had, like, a family emergency thing so I missed all of the rehearsals for that tour. So what ended up happening was literally the first time I played this song in the context of a show, like the whole band playing it together, the first time I had played it, ‘cause I missed the rehearsals for the playing and for the stage… So literally that night, when I’m forty feet in the air, the first night or the first show or whatever, is the first time I’m playing it. It was so terrifying, because all at once I’m like, I hope I remember the words, I hope I don’t fall off and die… It was awesome.”
Fall Out Boy revealed the song’s title in an interview with Kerrang! (which was only published in the magazine and not online).
The premiere of the song was teased on October 19, 2017 in a series of tweets from the accounts of Fall Out Boy and their record label, DCD2, each showing different ‘expensive mistakes’, such as Crystal Pepsi. It was then revealed that “Expensive Mistakes” would be on the setlist for the M A N I A Tour, including the October 20th show in Cleveland, Ohio.
