'Sick And Tired' by Gavin Adcock – Lyrics & Meaning

In between the star’s trademark rowdy and raucous anthems, Gavin Adcock’s new studio album, Own Worst Enemy, is full of incredibly vulnerable and exposing songs, numbers that reveal a different side to the irreverent artist-on-the-rise.

‘Sick and Tired’, a song that explores feelings deeper than mere aches and exhaustion, is one track that divulges the true depths of Gavin Adcock.

Of Own Worst Enemy, which arrived on Aug. 15, the artist has shared, "Over the last 4 years I’ve spent my life writing, traveling, and trying to find time to breathe. It doesn’t always add up on paper like it would seem, but through the happiness, hard times and self destruction I’ve found the best part of my job is letting out music for my fans. I can’t thank y’all enough for sticking with me for this long. I’m the furthest thing from perfect and I don’t ever plan to be."

Here, we get a chance to meet just who Adcock is when the party ends and everyone has gone home.

Born from the echo of sharpened steel, ‘Sick and Tired’ is a bleak country oeuvre, eventually darkened by the addition of pulsing bass and a detached rhythm. At moments, the sound is disjointed and jumbled, lending to the despondency within the lyrics and further adding to the overall hopelessness of the track.

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired
My patience just expired,
Couldn't feel any closer
To life being over"

‘Sick and Tired’ finds the artist in turmoil, stuck in the cyclical feeling of disappointment and despondency. He can’t seem to shake the sense that life as he knows it is coming to an end.

While listeners never know the cause of such anguish, it is clear that Adcock is going through it.

"And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder
As I grow another day older
Will I grow another day colder
Will I flash a smile for a while
Life ain't nothing but a clock moving steady
And I ain't really sure I'm ready
It ain't up to me
But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired"

He seems to be just trying to make it through the day, plastering on a smile and attempting to keep his head held high. In the chorus, he sings, "And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder / As I grow another day older.” However, he’s fed up with his constant, ever-present depressive state, eventually singing, “But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

"I read the book but I didn't learn
Saw the map but I missed the turn
I've had some things that sure turn real bad
And I've had a moment for another day
And I bow my head and I start praying
Just ask for sympathy, but happiness ain't meant for me"

He’s done all the right things, sought help and guidance, but still, he can’t escape these feelings. He eventually surmises that perhaps he wasn’t meant to be happy.

It’s a difficult song and subject to swallow, with many of us likely having felt a similar way at some point in our lives. It is, however, one of Adcock's most honest works. The song, while bleak, is a sobering reminder that we're never alone even when our thoughts and feelings grow dark.

"And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder
As I grow another day older
Will I grow another day colder
Will I flash a smile for a while,
Life ain't nothing but a clock moving steady
And I ain't really sure I'm ready
It ain't up to me
But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired"

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired
My patience just expired,
Couldn't feel any closer
Life being over

And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder
As I grow another day older
Will I grow another day colder
Will I flash a smile for a while
Life ain't nothing but a clock moving steady
And I ain't really sure I'm ready
It ain't up to me
But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired

I read the book but I didn't learn
Saw the map but I missed the turn
I've had some things that sure turn real bad
And I've had a moment for another day
And I bow my head and I start praying
Just ask for sympathy, but happiness ain't meant for me

And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder
As I grow another day older
Will I grow another day colder
Will I flash a smile for a while
Life ain't nothing but a clock moving steady
And I ain't really sure I'm ready
It ain't up to me
But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired

Every thought's running through my head
About some things I never said
To folks that have moved on
And I say it ain't long

And I'm just trying to keep a head on my shoulder
As I grow another day older
Will I grow another day colder
Will I flash a smile for a while,
Life ain't nothing but a clock moving steady
And I ain't really sure I'm ready
It ain't up to me
But I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired

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For more on Gavin Adcock, see below: