My Name Is Jonas

"My Name Is Jonas" is the first track from Weezer's self-titled debut album.
===Appearances===
* The Kitchen Tape (Demo, 1992)
* Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)
* "Buddy Holly" (UK Retail CD) (Live)
* "Undone - The Sweater Song" (French retail CD/French promo 7" single (Blue Vinyl))
* Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets (Live, 1994)
* "My Name Is Jonas" (Promo CD)
*Official Bootleg series
* Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years (2020)
*Weezer (The Blue Album) (30th Anniversary Deluxe) (2024)
==Overview==
The music for "My Name Is Jonas" was initially composed by Patrick Wilson as part of the 50 Song Project between Wilson and Rivers Cuomo, and demoed to 4-track in late 1991 or early 1992. This demo featured a different melody than the final song.Weezer Recording History - Page 2 Founding Weezer guitarist Jason Cropper came up with what would become the song's fingerpicked intro. "My Name Is Jonas" is the only Weezer song to officially credit Cropper as a songwriter. "I got home from work [at the Italian restaurant]," Cropper recalled in a 2019 interview with Yahoo! Music, "and I remember I was still wearing my cook's outfit. I picked up the guitar and played that first part of what became the intro to ‘My Name Is Jonas,’ and Pat [Wilson] said, ‘Stop. Just do that. Just don't keep going to different chords, just do those three notes, those three chords!’Parker, Lyndsey "Only in dreams: Meet the founding member who became the 'Pete Best' of Weezer" Yahoo! Entertainment. Mirror: Yahoo! Music interview with Jason Cropper - May 9, 2019 https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/only-in-dreams-meet-the-founding-member-who-became-the-pete-best-of-weezer-164724591.html
The lyrics to "My Name Is Jonas," penned by Cuomo, were likely partially inspired by Cuomo's brother, James Kitts. Said Cuomo in a press packet for The Blue Album, "'Jonas' explains how The Plan is reaming us all, especially my brother."Weezer (The Blue Album) press kit The song's lyrics are sometimes purported to reference an incident in which Kitts' insurance claim was denied following an injury sustained while riding as the passenger in a friend's car in September of 1992 while attending Oberlin College in Ohio,Runtagh, Jordan. "Weezer’s Blue Album: 10 Things You Didn’t Know" Rolling Stone. 10 May 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/weezer-blue-album-rivers-cuomo-things-you-didnt-know-822881/Luerssen, John D. Rivers' Edge. ECW Press, 2004. though the writing of "My Name Is Jonas" predates this incident.KITTS, Appellant, v. UTICA NATIONAL INSURANCE GROUP, Appellee; Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth District, Lorain County; 4 October 1995. https://casetext.com/case/kitts-v-utica-natl-ins-group The song's lyrics are also sometimes erroneously reported as having been inspired by the 1993 Lois Lowry novel The Giver, despite the book having been released a year after "My Name Is Jonas" was written.
The song was demoed by Weezer throughout 1992 and 1993. In 1992, the song was recorded as part of Weezer’s second demo tape (dubbed The Kitchen Tape), ending with the line “My name is Weezer”. A demo of the song's bridge, dubbed “Port O’ Jonas,” was demoed by Cuomo in July of 1993 and released in 2020 as part of the digital compilation Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years.
"My Name Is Jonas" was erroneously named by Geffen Records as the third single for The Blue Album before "Say It Ain't So" was officially chosen as a single. Geffen printed a limited run of a "My Name Is Jonas" one-track promotional CD, distributed primarily in Canada."Weezer - My Name Is Jonas" Discogs https://www.discogs.com/release/8938958-Weezer-My-Name-Is-Jonas A live performance of "My Name Is Jonas," recorded at a concert in Rochester on the band's Blue Album tour, was included on a UK retail CD single release of "Buddy Holly," as well as on the compilation Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets (included with the Deluxe Edition of Blue).
"My Name Is Jonas" was featured as a playable track for the rhythm video games Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, Rock Band, and Rocksmith 2014.
==Personnel==
* Rivers Cuomo – lead/rhythm guitars, harmonica, lead vocals
* Brian Bell – backing vocals
* Matt Sharp – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Patrick Wilson – percussion
* Ric Ocasek – producer
==Audio==
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==Lyrics== 
My name is Jonas
I'm carrying the wheel
Thanks for all you've shown us
But this is how we feel
Come sit next to me
Pour yourself some tea
Just like grandma made
When we couldn't find sleep
Things were better then
Once but never again
We've all left the den
Let me tell you 'bout it
The choo-choo train left right on time
A ticket cost only your mind
The driver said "Hey man, we go all the way"
Of course we were willing to pay
My name is Wepeel
I got a box full of your toys
They're fresh out of batteries
But they're still makin' noise, makin' noise
Tell me what to do
Now the tank is dry
Now this wheel is flat
And you know what else?
Guess what I received
In the mail today
Words of deep concern
From my little brother
The building's not goin' as he planned
The foreman has injured his hand
The dozer will not clear a path
The driver swears he learned his math
The workers are going home!
The workers are going home!
The workers are going home!
The workers are going home!
Yeah!
The workers are going home!
The workers are going home!
The workers are going home!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
My name is Jonas
Image:My name is jonas (1).jpg|Handwritten lyrics by Cuomo
Image:My name is jonas2 (1).jpg|Handwritten lyrics by Cuomo
File:Bluejap1995japbooklet6.jpg|Blue Album Japanese cd release, 1995
==Known recordings==
== See also ==
* The 50 Song Project
* List of Weezer songs
==References==
Category: Weezer songs
Category:Songs on Weezer (The Blue Album)
Category:Weezer songs produced by Ric Ocasek
Category:Cuomo-Wilson collaborations
Category:Jason Cropper Weezer writing credits