"Bigger Than My Body" is the first single released by American singer

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

from his second album, ''

Heavier Things ''Heavier Things'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, released on September 9, 2003 by Aware and Columbia Records. It debuted at #1 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 317,000 copies in its first week. Despi ...

'' (2003). As a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, the single contained a cover of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

's "Kid A" and an original song that was not included on ''

'', "Tracing". The intro to the song was generated using an Adrenalinn effects processor developed by

Roger Linn Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip ho ...

Lyrics

composed the song after going to a

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

concert. He wrote it to explain his desire to write both moving and great music, like what he found in artists like Coldplay,

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

. At the same time, he commented on the frustration of not being able to get the music outside of his own body.

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' called the tune "a pulsating midtempo pop/rocker ready to take center stage at mainstream and adult top 40."

Other versions

"Bigger Than My Body" was performed live on tour following the release of ''Heavier Things''. In that tour, Mayer had several concerts recorded, four of which were then sold online on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

as "

As/Is ''As/Is'' is a live album by John Mayer, released October 19, 2004, available for download from iTunes and also available as a double-CD release. The albums were released from live concert performances across the United States from the tour fol ...

". "Bigger Than My Body" appeared on two of these releases, the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

performance at Mountain View and the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

performance at The Woodlands (and runs for 6:17, almost two minutes longer than the album and single version). The concerts were then compiled into a "best of as/is" CD, but "Bigger Than My Body" didn't make the cut. On Mayer's former website, an acoustic version of "Bigger Than My Body" was available to listen to using its music player, but this version has never been made available otherwise. When played on the radio, the bridge was shortened for radio friendliness, like the bridge in "

Your Body Is a Wonderland "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter John Mayer. It was released on June 3, 2002, as the second single from his debut studio album, '' Room for Squares'' (2001). It reached number 18 on the US ...

". Also, some radio stations cut out the end of the song as well.

Track listing

# "Bigger Than My Body" – 4:26 # "Kid A" – 2:52 # "Tracing" – 3:18

Personnel

* John Mayer – vocals, guitar * David LaBruyere – bass *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, Bob ...

– keyboards * Lenny Castro – percussion * Matt Chamberlain – drums * Greg Liesz –

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

Charts

Release history

References

External links

John Mayer plays "Bigger Than My Body" live in New York

"Bigger Than My Body"
lyrics, at Yahoo! Music
"Bigger Than My Body"
music video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Authority control John Mayer songs 2003 singles 2003 songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Jack Joseph Puig Songs written by John Mayer