Music Review: Sheryl Crow "My Favorite Mistake"

Sheryl Crow

My Favorite Mistake

Album: The Globe Sessions

Year: 1998

          Sheryl Crow isn’t ready to let go of her cheating boyfriend in the lonely  “My Favorite Mistake."

               A bending guitar opens the single, setting a disillusioned tone. She was making breakfast before going into work. After popping the toast in the toaster, she dials up her boyfriend. She asks him how he is and she lets him she’ll come by his apartment after work. The only responses she gets from are “uh-huh” and “ok.” The indifference stings her.

               Later that night, she lies in their bed, staring at the clock, watching the minutes tick by. She thinks of where he might be. After dinner, he gave her a swift kiss on the cheek and said he had plans with his friends. He had forgotten to her earlier. He walked out, promising to make it up to her later. Now, it’s 6 am and she hears the key turn in the clock. For a brief moment, she wonders why she is still there. (“I woke up and called this morning/The tone of your voice was a warning/That you don't care for me anymore/I made up the bed we sleep in/I looked at the clock when you creep in/It's 6 a.m. and I'm alone.”)

           In the chorus, she has gotten used to his routine. She knows what to expect from him. He’s not the right guy for her. However, she still loves him. (“Did you know when you go/It's the perfect ending/To the bad day I was just beginning/When you go all I know is/You're my favorite mistake.”)

             On Sunday, they go to a party of one of his friends. His friends give her sympathetic looks while he ignores her to another friend. They apologize for him, saying he should treat her better. She brushes it off, telling them it’s just the way it is. While she drinks a beer, she sees a pretty blonde walk in, hugging the friend who hosting the party. Her glance switches to her boyfriend. His eyes lit up and a huge smile is on his face. It’s likely he’s been talking about what a beautiful woman she is to all his friends.She had her suspicions he was cheating. However, it does explain the “just because” flowers she received last week from him,  (“Your friends are sorry for me/They watch you pretend to adore me/But I'm no fool to this game/Now here comes your secret lover/She'd be unlike any other/Until your guilt goes up in flames.”)

                  The chorus is sung again.  

               An extra “you’re my favorite mistake” leads to the bridge. In it, she justifies staying with him by saying she isn’t looking for marriage. She only wants to have fun. All his bad behavior is worth putting for when his puts his face into her shoulder when he laughs at a joke. (“Well maybe nothin' lasts forever/Even when you stay together/I don't need forever after/It's your laughter won't let me go/So I'm holding on this way.”)

             Later on in the bridge, she wonders if he realizes how much she really loves him. She’s questioning what to do next. Leaving him isn’t an option yet. She still wants to give him some more time. Nonetheless, she thinks if he even noticed that he’s hurti at all. (“Did you know, could you tell/You were the only one
That I ever loved/Now everything's so wrong/Did you see me walking by?/Did it ever make you cry.”)

       She repeats “you’re my favorite mistake” four times to end the single.

   Crow’s  adoring, subdued vocals  are lost, caught between her feelings for him and what she has to eventually do. She’s trapped in one spot, unable to get out. She knows what a good person he can be and wants him to grow into that person with her.

  The broken “My Favorite Mistake” yearns, hanging onto to the last shred of hope that it may get better.