Still a Nerd

If I ran a game store I would play Still a Nerd by Tom Smith.

Still a Nerd is another nerd anthem, like my previous post about Weird Al's White & Nerdy, but this song is softer and gentler. It's closer to the heart of a nerd and does without the juxtaposition of being a hip-hop parody. Musically, Still a Nerd is not an anthem, but lyrically it sure is. Maybe it's better to call it a love letter to nerds but I think it's too unabashed for that label. Still a Nerd is the sort of song that gets into your head as you find a quite spot to read through a D&D module. You could play it while painting minis or while you're at an empty convention table building a Magic deck. It's very much a song cut for playing in a game store.

Still a Nerd is a parody of Jonathon Coulton's Still Alive, which is a song I would play if I ran a video game store. Still Alive was used in the ending credits of the video game Portal. Tom Smith gives credit for his inspiration to Rob Balder – "His Jonathan Coulton parody 'Still Annoyed' made my brain form the phrase 'Still A Nerd'. That's pretty much it." Still a Nerd was released in 2008 on The FuMP.

Still a Nerd on The FuMP

Still a Nerd lyrics

I have six bowties
None of my pants cuffs reach my shoes
And I sort my underwear by thread count

Majored in physics
Minored in getting beaten up
Wore a “kick-me” sign until
I had that jacket dry-cleaned

Lifting weights, I hurt myself with only three curls
And I've never had a conversation with girls
But I built a droid myself using parts from off the shelf
You can see that I'm still a nerd

Not that I'm bragging
George Lucas texts me when he's stuck
I can quote the Matrix films in Klingon

Chess is too simple
I'd rather frag a bunch of n00bz
I'm a god until I have
To be in Meatspace again

'Cause my nasal laughter makes folks think I'm a dope
And someday I ought to get familiar with soap
But my bosses aren't saps, 'cause their network would collapse
If I wasn't still a nerd

Jonathan Coulton
Maybe Weird Al, oh yeah, Tom Lehrer
Someday I should pay them for their albums

Downloading's easy
Downloading comedy is hard
I can crack this DRM
But then I wrote it myself

A fine meal, a sunset or such similar joys
Seem a waste of time when I've got all of my toys
I'm an outcast socially, but I've bought your company
It's just fine that I'm still a nerd

Steven Hawking says I'm still a nerd
There's no reason I should have matured
I can hack your whole life with a word
And you'll never know what just occurred
So be nice to me, I'm still a nerd
Still a nerd
Still a nerd