Say It Ain't So

This article is about the song by Weezer. For other uses, see Say It Ain't So (disambiguation).
"Say It Ain't So"
Single by Weezer
from the album Weezer (The Blue Album)
B-side
  • "No One Else" (live acoustic)
  • "Jamie" (live acoustic)
ReleasedMay 15, 1995 (1995-05-15)
StudioElectric Lady (New York City)
Genre
Length4:18
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)Rivers Cuomo
Producer(s)Ric Ocasek
Weezer singles chronology
"Buddy Holly"
(1994) 		"Say It Ain't So"
(1995) 		"El Scorcho"
(1996)
Music video
"Say It Ain't So" on YouTube

"Say It Ain't So" is a song by American rock band Weezer. It was released as the third and final single from the band's self-titled 1994 debut album on May 15, 1995. Written by frontman Rivers Cuomo, the song came to be after he had all the music finished and one line, "Say it ain't so".[4] Cuomo made a connection to an incident in high school where he came home and saw a bottle of beer in the fridge. He believed his mother and father's marriage ended because his father was an alcoholic, and this made him fear the marriage between his mother and step-father would end this way as well.[5]

"Say It Ain't So" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. In 2015, Loudwire ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Weezer songs,[6] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Weezer songs.[7] In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked "Say It Ain't So" number 72 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time."[8] Pitchfork included the song at number 10 on its "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[9]

  1. ^ "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1995". Spin. August 6, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  2. ^ Cuomo, Rivers (20 August 2012). "Weezer 'Say It Ain't So' Sheet Music in C Minor – Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Hal Leonard Music Publishing. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Sigur, Matthew (June 19, 2018). "'Say It Ain't So': Weezer's Scott Shriner on how the band has stayed relevant for nearly 25 years". The Advocate. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Wireless". Archived from the original on July 9, 2006.
  5. ^ Luerssen, John D. (2004). Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-1-55022-619-5.
  6. ^ Cornell, Jeff (March 6, 2015). "10 Best Weezer Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Law, Sam (August 9, 2021). "The 20 greatest Weezer songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. p. 30. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  9. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20-01". Pitchfork. September 3, 2010. p. 2. Retrieved September 27, 2013.