This Is Such a Pity
| "This Is Such A Pity" | |||||
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| Single by Weezer | |||||
| Album | Make Believe | ||||
| Released | May 10, 2005 | ||||
| Format | CD, Vinyl (album only) | ||||
| Recorded | Summer 2004 | ||||
| Length | 3:24 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
| RC# | 719 | ||||
| COR# | 369 | ||||
| Producer(s) | Weezer, Rick Rubin, Chad Bamford | ||||
| Status | officially released | ||||
| Stream |  Spotify |
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 Apple Music |
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| Rivers Cuomo song chronology | |||||
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| Weezer singles chronology | |||||
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| Make Believe track listing | |||||
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"This Is Such a Pity" is the fourth single and third track from Make Believe.
Contents
Appearances
- Make Believe (2005)
- "This Is Such a Pity" promo CD (radio mix) (2005)
Overview
"This Is Such a Pity" shares an entry in the Catalog O' Riffs with the song "She Who Is Militant", originally demoed in 2002 during early sessions for the band's planned fifth album. "She Who Is Militant" shares few similarities with "This Is Such a Pity" other than a similar chord progression, though the song underwent multiple iterations unheard by fans, described as "early versions" of "Pity" in the Weezer Recording History, titled "Tell Me What You Did", "What Is Going On", and "Happy On Your Own". These iterations were demoed at S.I.R. Studios in 2004 during pre-production on Make Believe. "This Is Such a Pity" was included on Rivers Cuomo's "A-List" during pre-production in July of 2004.
Band Commentary
- Scott: That song was tough, and it was the first song we tried to track at Grandmaster, I think, it was like the first night, and we probably retracked the basic drums for that, like four or five different times and it was almost going to get thrown out. But somehow, at the last minute, it came together, and it sounds absolutely magical to me. And that’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
- Pat: Yeah, it sounds awesome. Wicked melody.
- Rivers: Yeah, that might be my favorite song on the record. I really like the solo Brian came up with too.
- Brian: Ironically [laughs], I don’t play any of the guitars on it—but most all the guitars on it in the studio—and I don’t play of them live, which I think it kind of funny. It’s really fun to watch Bobby and Rivers play that song every night. It feels like—
- Rivers: You’re the composer and we’re the performers
- Brian: Yeah, yeah! It’s neat, it’s really cool. I love the notes that Rivers added to the solo. I feel that that song could be—that Weezer might—things that Weezer can do and go in the future, as far as texture, and the use of clean guitars. I don’t think there’s any distorted guitars on that song.
- Rivers: All the keyboard sounds are from a $75 Casio.
- Brian: We even tried using expensive Moogs and things, to try to, like, “this can’t be good enough, a $75 Casio?” and the tones just didn’t blend. And we ended up using the Casio.
- Scott: It’s got a really cool, super consistent, like, kind of level from start to finish, which I think is really neat.
There are several subtly different versions of "This Is Such a Pity" across various releases. The first mix, included on initial pressings of the album, contains less reverb than later versions, and includes a drum fill near the end of the song (around 3:03) that was removed from subsequent versions. The second version, initially released on iTunes and some pressings of Make Believe, notably lacks emphasis on the word "that" in the final verse. The final, "Radio Mix" of the song features more reverb on the vocals.
A partial clip of Rivers Cuomo's demo of the song was appended to the end of part 5 of the video series Let's Write a Sawng [1], the collaborative project in which Cuomo and fans created the song "Turning Up the Radio".
Multiple songs of Nordic origin have been accused of plagiarizing "This Is Such a Pity", including the song "Du Kommer Aldrig Mer Vara Ensam" by Swedish musician Lasse Lindh, as well as "Turhaa" by Finnish Anna Eriksson.
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
- Patrick Wilson – percussion
- Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, synth, backing vocals
- Scott Shriner – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Rick Rubin - producer
- Josh Abraham - mixing
- Chad Bamford - additional production
Audio
Demos
Lyrics
How is your heart, little darling?
I didn't mean to get so mad
Let me just hold you closely
How did things get so bad?
I know how to pick on you
You pushed me over the edge
We caused so much agony
We can't seem to move ahead
This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity
(This is a pity)
What kind of future will we have?
Will we ever find peace?
Everybody thinks we're crazy
They're about to call the police
I don't wanna be a chump
You think I'm a fascist pig
Right now everything is black
I don't think we'll ever give
We should give
All our love
(Destroys us)
