Fuck Was I

"Fuck Was I"
Single by Jenny Owen Youngs
from the album Batten the Hatches
B-side
  • "Hot in Herre"
Released2007 (2007)
GenreFolk rock
Length3:30
LabelNettwerk
Songwriter(s)Jenny Owen Youngs
Producer(s)Dan Romer
Jenny Owen Youngs singles chronology
"Fuck Was I"
(2007) 		"Things We Don't Need Anymore"
(2007)
Music video
"Fuck Was I" on YouTube

"Fuck Was I" is a song by Jenny Owen Youngs, from her 2005 album Batten the Hatches. Its name refers to the phrase "What the fuck was I thinking?"[1]

Youngs wrote it "between (her) junior and senior years at SUNY Purchase".[2] She is accompanied by Dan Romer (organ) and Patrick Petty (cello).[3]

Reception

Spin called it a "stand-out"[4] — an opinion shared by Autostraddle, who also called it a "stirring anthem for the regretful".[5] MusicOMH considered it "rueful",[6] while LA Weekly described it as an "antilove song" that evinces Youngs' "unexpectedly wicked sense of humor".[1] Pop Matters described it as "attention-grabbing" and "charming at first", but faulted it for being "a little too self-conscious" with some lyrics that are "overwrought", judging that it was "an example of all that is both right and wrong with Batten the Hatches".[3]

Track listings and formats

  1. "Fuck Was I" (uncensored) – 3:32
  2. "Fuck Was I" (Morgan Page remix edit) – 3:49
  3. "Hot in Herre"  – 4:18
  4. "Fuck Was I" (Morgan Page remix) – 6:47

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the Batten the Hatches album liner notes.[8]

  • Jenny Owen Youngs – vocals, writer
  • Dan Romer – producer, engineering, mixing, arrangement, electric piano
  • Andrew Futral – arrangement assistance
  • Andrew Platt – bass
  • Patrick Petty – cello
  • Adam Christgau – drums
  • Hawk – viola, voice
  • Bob Pycior – violin
  • Jay Newland – mastering

References

  1. ^ a b Rock Picks: Iron & Wine, Mika Miko, the Vaselines, Extra Golden, at LA Weekly; published May 6, 2009; retrieved July 11, 2017
  2. ^ Annotated: Jenny Owen Youngs “Fuck Was I”, at Autostraddle; published June 28, 2016; retrieved July 11, 2017
  3. ^ a b Batten the Hatches, reviewed by Michael Metivier, at PopMatters; published July 5, 2007; retrieved July 11, 2017
  4. ^ Spotlight: Jenny Owen Youngs, at Spin; published April 10, 2007; retrieved July 11, 2017
  5. ^ Jenny Owen Youngs Is Super Gay: The Autostraddle Interview, at Autostraddle; published June 12, 2013; retrieved July 11, 2017
  6. ^ Jenny Owen Youngs – Batten The Hatches, by Andy Jex, at MusicOMH; published September 24, 2007; retrieved July 11, 2017
  7. ^ Fuck Was I (European CD single liner notes). Jenny Owen Youngs. Nettwerk. 2007. 5 037703 220324.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Batten the Hatches (CD liner notes). Jenny Owen Youngs. Nettwerk. 2007. 0 6700 30648 2 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)