In addition to the direct parodies for which he’s best known, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic writes original songs. I’ll admit I’ve never heard a single one of them until today.
Like many of his originals, ‘First World Problems’ is written and performed “in the style of” another artist, in this case The Pixies. I’m not familiar enough with their work to judge how closely he captures them.
I do quite enjoy the lyrics to this track, however. As somebody who used to seek out the cheapest unneeded item I could buy to push my Amazon.com order into free shipping territory, this hits pretty close to home.
My maid is cleaning my bathroom, so I can’t take a shower
When I do, the water starts getting cold after an hour
I couldn’t order off the breakfast menu, cause I slept in till two
Then I filled up on bread, didn’t leave any room for tiramisu
Oh no, there’s a pixel out in the corner of my laptop screen
I don’t have any bills in my wallet small enough for the vending machine
Some idiot just called me up on the phone, what!? Don’t they know how to text? OMG!
I got
[Chorus]
First world, first world problems
(First world problems)
First world, first world problems
(First world problems)
First world, first world problems
[Verse 2]
I bought too many groceries for my refrigerator
Forgot my gardener’s name, I’ll have to ask him later
Tried to fast forward commercials, can’t – I’m watching live T.V
I’m pretty sure the cookies in this airport lounge ain’t gluten free
My barista didn’t even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Can’t remember which car I drove to the mall
My Sonicare won’t recharge, now I gotta brush my teeth like a neanderathal
The thread count on these cotton sheets has got me itching
My house is so big, I can’t get WiFi in the kitchen
Uh, I had to buy something I didn’t even need just so I could qualify for free shipping on Amazon
[Chorus x2]
[Outro]
(Laughing)
Meet Me In Montauk 
This is great.
It’s interesting that, even with original material, he chooses to write in the musical style of other artists. I wonder if that’s because he feels that, as the guy known for parodies, his audience won’t accept him if he actually reveals his unique musical identity. Or is it that, as talented as he is at imitation, he just isn’t very good with entirely original material. Perhaps he is like a comedian who does spot on imitations with great accompanying material, but isn’t as good telling jokes in his own voice.
Funny and clever lyrics 😉