St. Vincent: John Mayer’s “Daughters” Worst Song Written

St. Vincent he doesn’t appreciate “Daughters” Of John Mayerthe 2003 song; she stated this in a recent interview with Kerrang! when asked what she thought was the “worst song ever written”.

“It’s so horrendously sexist, but it pretends to be a love song, but it’s really, really backward and sexist,” she said of the song. “It’s deeply misogynistic but it pretends to be sweet.”

Mayer’s intention is that the entire song is essentially a warning to fathers that if they misbehave with their daughters, they will create further problems for the men the girls end up dating.

He uses his own failed relationship as evidence, lamenting in the first verse that his partner is “just like a maze / where all the walls are constantly changing.” Later, in the bridge, Mayer sings, “On behalf of every man / Who cares for every girl / You’re the God and the burden of her world / So fathers be good to your daughters…”

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, with some disconcerting lines about gender and relationships set in the warm, acoustic arrangement of “Daughters,” which won Song of the Year at the 2005 Grammys.

St. Vincent’s remarks on “Daughters” are in Kerrang!’s list of “10 Songs That Changed My Life,” in which she highlighted songs by Sonic Youth, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Steely Dan and others that have had an impact on her.

His disdain for “Daughters” isn’t the only stance he’s expressed recently: Back in April, he called covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” “the worst thing in the world.”

St. Vincent’s most recent album was this year’s “All Born Screaming,” and he’s gearing up for his North American tour this week.