Inertia

Official album art for The Maybe Man

"**Inertia**" is the fifth track on AJR's fifth studio album, *The Maybe Man*. It was initially heard as a part of the new era teaser for *The Maybe Man*, however, the fact that the song heard in the teaser was "Inertia" was not revealed until the song was released. A music video, directed by Edoardo Ranaboldo, was released on November 30th, 2023.

## Background

The word *inertia* is defined by Oxford as “a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged”.

The concept of this song came from a friend of theirs who works at a bank and hates their job. Their friend, and a few others working at that bank, had wanted to quit for a long time, but had not done so due to inertia. The way that their friend said "inertia" later became part of the song, now sung by Ryan.

Each few verses of the song are an example of inertia from people that they know. For instance, "I've worn the same skinny jeans" came from Ryan. This is due to inertia being an inherently scientific concept and is heavily applicable to everyday life, whether in physics or psychology.

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]
(Inertia)
I've worn the same skinny jeans
Since I was fifteen
It's probably nothing
(Inertia)
My friends say they're quittin' this week
To chase down their dreams
They're probably bluffin' but

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you like it bigger, better
But you do what you can? (Do what you can)
Don't you like a little better
When you don't understand? (Don't understand)
I was gonna save the planet
But today I got plans
I guess this is just what I am

[Chorus]
I'm an object in motion
I've lost all emotion
My two legs are broken
But look at me dance
An object in motion
Don't ask where I'm going
'Cause whеre I am goin' is right where I am
Whеre I am goin' is right where I am

[Verse 2]
(Inertia)
You said you'd break up with her
But she met your family
And dating's the worst, yeah
(Inertia)
Now, you're not in love anymore
But you'll stick it out
For, like, twenty years more, sayin'

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you like it bigger, better
But you do what you can? (Do what you can)
Don't you like a little better
When you don't understand? (Don't understand)
I was gonna save the planet
But today I got plans
I guess this is just what I am

[Chorus]
I'm an object in motion
I've lost all emotion
My two legs are broken
But look at me dance
An object in motion
Don't ask where I'm going
'Cause where I am goin' is right where I am
Where I am goin' is right where I am
Where I am goin' is right where I am

[Verse 3]
(Inertia)
I wanna move out of this town
But everyone knows me
And packin' is tirin'
(Inertia)
I said I would start workin' out
But I'm fuckin' hungry
And screw you, I'm tryin'

[Verse 4]
(Inertia)
I wanna be big like my plans
So why am I so tiny?
And why am I so mad?
It's inertia (Inertia)
Guess this is just what I am
I'm stuck in this life
And I'm stuck in these pants

[Chorus]
I'm an object in motion
I've lost all emotion
My two legs are broken
But look at me dance (Look at me dance)
An object in motion
Don't ask where I'm going
'Cause where I am goin' is right where I am
(Don't you like it bigger, better, but you do what you can?)
Where I am goin' is right where I am (Right where I am)
(Don't you like a little better, but you do what you can?)
Where I am goin' is right where I am

[Outro]
Oh, inertia

## Audio

* Spotify
* YouTube

InertiaInertia
## Videos

AJR - Inertia (Official Video)Inertia (Official Video)AJR - Inertia (Visualizer)Inertia (Visualizer)

## Trivia

* The song almost did not make it into the album, although, it has not been revealed why.
* When the music video for Inertia was uploaded, the lyrics in the video's description contained the words "See AJR Live / Get tickets as low as $43" after the second verse, presumably due to a mistake when the lyrics were copied and pasted into the description. Ryan later posted a story on Instagram joking about this mistake, and it was fixed shortly afterward.