Tame Impala - My Old Ways Lyrics (2025) | Song Meaning

My Old Ways Lyrics


[Verse 1]
So, here I am once again, feeling all blue
I must be out of excuses, knew I would
Feels like it came out of nowhere this time
Wish I had someone else to blame

[Pre-Chorus]
I tell myself I'm only human
I know I, I said never again
Temptation, feels like it never ends
I'm sliding, powerless as I descend

[Chorus]
Back into my old ways again (Ways again)
Back into my old ways again
Back into my old ways again (Ways again)

[Verse 2]
Thought I would never go back, but just this once
A little present for holding out so long
I could not bear the thought of it two days ago
Don't think I would forgive myself

[Pre-Chorus]
I tell mysеlf I'm only human
I know I, I said never again
Temptation, feels likе it never ends
I'm sliding, only notice it now and then

[Chorus]
Back into my old ways again (Ways again, ways again)
Back into my old ways again (Ways again, ways again)
Back into my old ways again

[Bridge]
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Ego's strumming, show be stopping
Here goes nothing
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Slowly swapping down to stopping
Barely coping
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Ego's strumming, show be stopping
Here goes nothing
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Slowly swapping down to stopping
Barely coping
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Ego's strumming, show be stopping
Here goes nothing (Back to my old ways again)
I know what's coming, it's so shocking
Always f*cking up with something
Slowly swapping down to stopping
Barely coping, I (Back to my old ways again)

[Instrumental Break]

[Pre-Chorus]
I tell myself I'm only human
I know I, I said never again
Temptation, feels like it never ends
I'm sliding, powerless as I descend

[Chorus]
Back into my old ways again
Back into my old ways again (Ways again, ways again)
Back into my old ways again
Back into my old ways again
Back into my old ways again (Ways again)
Back into my old ways again
_______________ End ________________

My Old Ways Song Meaning (Tame Impala)

Kevin Parker’s Confessional Return

Kevin Parker opens Deadbeat with “My Old Ways,” a confessional admission that instantly frames the album as a reckoning with patterns, relapse, and self-forgiveness. From the first verse, he places the listener in a moment of vulnerability: there’s “feeling all blue,” no excuses left, and a suddenness to his relapse that he never quite saw coming. The lyrics resist dramatic metaphors — this is not a cosmic fall but a human one.

The Emotional Loop

That tension intensifies in the pre-chorus: “I tell myself I’m only human … I said never again,” a familiar internal dialogue when we break promises to ourselves. The repetition of “temptation … sliding … powerless” captures the sense of momentum as a habit reasserts itself, despite best intentions.

The chorus—“Back into my old ways again”—plays like a mantra, part confession, part surrender. It’s not triumphant; it’s cyclical, almost hypnotic. The song forces us to linger in that loop, to feel how hard it is to escape one’s own routines.

The Raw Bridge

In the bridge, Parker breaks past restraint: profanity and gnarlier rhythms reveal emotional rawness. Lyrically, he acknowledges that he knows exactly what’s coming — the self-undoing — yet still can’t prevent it. In production, the track leans into raw textures: synths with a thicker, analog warmth and a beat with a bit of drag, reflecting that fatigue and friction.

Artistic Intention

What’s striking is how “My Old Ways” serves not just as a song, but as an emotional thesis for Deadbeat. In interviews and promotional materials, Parker describes his goal for this record as letting imperfections show, stripping back overproduction, and confronting cycles of burnout and self-criticism head on. He recorded parts of Deadbeat in coastside Airbnbs and resembled a blank slate approach, recapturing the modes that inspired his earlier work.

Deeper Meaning

Though there’s no public account that “My Old Ways” refers to a specific real-life event, it fits into Parker’s known periodic themes of relapse, resistance, and self-judgment across his discography. And within Deadbeat, it functions as the emotional fulcrum: the starting point, the admission, the stumble — from which the rest of the album’s narrative of reckoning can unfold. Readers or listeners may see in it their own cycles: love lost, habits hard to break, the tension between wanting change and falling back.
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FAQ Section
Who sung the song "My Old Ways" by Tame Impala?
The song "My Old Ways" was sung by Tame Impala.
Who wrote the song "My Old Ways" by Tame Impala?
Kevin Parker.
Who produced the song "My Old Ways" by Tame Impala?
Kevin Parker.

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Song Details

Artist: Tame Impala
Album: Deadbeat
Genre: Pop
Language: English
Released: October 17, 2025