So many people have asked the question, "What to the lyrics to 'Brick' mean?" There has been a lot of speculation: Is she sick? Is it AIDS? Is his dog dying?
On the record, Ben wasn't much help in the official information from Sony/550. All he says is "It's really self-explanatory." Since the song became so popular, it's been clarified that the song is indeed about a guy taking his girlfriend to the clinic for an abortion, and how he handles the situation.
As to whether it's autobiographical, Ben had originally stated that it was not necessarily the result of personal experience, but acknowledged in an interview with the Raleigh News & Observer in April 1997 (but only published in January 1998) that it's based on his own experiences, but he did not elaborate much past that. Since that article, he has stated (on the syndicated radio show "Loveline") that it was based on his experiences in the 12th grade, and that he had spoken with his girlfriend at the time and she said she didn't mind if Ben talked about it. In the article by David Daley in the February 1998 CMJ New Music Monthly, Ben says "It's the story of my senior year of high school, basically. More so, it's about the fact that it happens and there are emotional byproducts."
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