IKEA Lyrics
Long ago in days of yore
It all began with a god named Thor
There were Vikings and boats
And some plans for a furniture store
It's not a bodega, it's not a mall
And they sell things for apartments smaller than mine
As if there were apartments smaller than mine
[Chorus]
Ikea: Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: Selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there
[Verse 2]
So rent a car or take the bus
Lay your cash down and put your trust
In the land where the furniture folds to a much smaller size
Billy the bookcase says hello
And so does a table whose name is Ingo
And the chair is a ladder-back birch but his friends call him Karl
[Chorus]
Ikea: Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: Selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there
Ikea: Plywood, brushed steel
Ikea: Meatballs, tasty
Ikea: Allen wrenches
All of them for free
All of them for me
[Verse 3]
I'm sorry I said Ikea sucks
I just bought a table for 60 bucks
And a chair and a lamp
And a shelf and some candles for you
I was a doubter just like you
Till I saw the American dream come true
In New Jersey, they got a goddamned Swedish parade
[Chorus]
Ikea: Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: Selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there
About
“Ikea” lightly pokes fun at the Swedish furniture store chain.
The songwriter describes his experience of going to the giant Ikea superstore located in Paramus, New Jersey, and his unexpected delight with the shopping experience and the prices.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
The genesis of that was, I was driving home from an IKEA, and I’d just bought an Ingo table.
Jinx: So what was it like to sing it at 6:30 in the morning (at the opening of the Red Hook/Brooklyn IKEA on June 18, 2008)?
I mean… it’s terrible to sing anything at 6:30 in the morning.
Yeah, it was.. it was fine. There were a few people who were paying attention and who seemed to like it. You know, I don’t know. It was such a weird crowd.
Jinx: You were singing it to the line in the parking lot?
Yeah, singing to the line in the parking lot, and some people had been camping out for days to get into the IKEA.
Bry: If they’d opened up the store they could have furnished their tents. I mean, was it just… you show up, sing your song, and then…
I did about four or five songs. And they had a whole string of entertainers that morning.
Jinx: And you were playing outside, rather than over the PA…?
Yeah.
- 4.IKEA
- 7.Over There
- 9.First Of May
- 10.De-Evolving
- 11.I’m A Mason Now
- 12.Overhead