TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Plain White T's

Go To

Plain White T's (Music)

Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes, you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you, I swear it's true
Hey there, Delilah, don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there, if you get lonely, give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise, I'm by your side
Oh, it's what you do to me
"Hey There Delilah"

Plain White T's is an American Pop Punk band from Lombard, Illinois.

They formed in 1997 and released their first album in 2000. They became notable in 2006 with "Hey There Delilah".


Discography:

  • Come On Over (2000)
  • Stop (2002)
  • All That We Needed (2005)
  • Every Second Counts (2006)
  • Big Bad World (2008)
  • Wonders of the Younger (2010)
  • American Nights (2015)
  • Parallel Universe (2018)
  • Plain White T's (2023)

Plain White Tropes:

  • Album Title Drop: Every Second Counts comes from a line in "Let Me Take You There".
  • Cover Version:
    • They covered "Song 2" by Blur on the first volume of Punk Goes 90's
    • They also covered "Surface Pressure" from Encanto on Disney's Pop Punk cover album, A Whole New Sound.
  • Face on the Cover: Or legs for All That We Needed.
  • "I Hate" Song: "Hate" is about the singer's, um, extreme dislike for his ex:
    Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don't like you
    Now that it's over, I don't even know what I liked about you
    Brought you around and you just brought me down
    Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don't like you
  • Long-Distance Relationship: "Hey There Delilah" is about a girl and a boy in a long distance relationship who talk about their future plans of her finishing school and him becoming a famous guitar player.
  • Lyrical Cold Open: "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)"
  • Lyrical Shoehorn: In "Hey There Delilah", "Even more in love with me you'd fall", clearly phrased in that borderline nonsensical manner to both fit the meter and rhyme with "all".
  • Midword Rhyme: “Rhythm Of Love”:
    When the moon is low
    We can dance in slow mo-
    tion
  • One-Woman Song: "Hey There Delilah".
  • Revenge Ballad: "Revenge".
    Go ahead and get mad
    Never talk to me again
    I don't even care 'cause
    I got my Revenge!
  • Rhyming with Itself: With way in "Hey There Delilah"
    I'd walk to you if I had no other way
    Our friends would all make fun of us
    and we'll just laugh along because we know
    That none of them have felt this way
  • Self-Titled Album: Their ninth album is just called Plain White T's.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Some people have apparently interpreted "Hey There, Delilah" (which was actually about the songwriter's unrequited crush) this way. At least one filksinger even wrote a parody in that vein.
  • Video Full of Film Clips: "Pet Sematary" for Frankenweenie. Might also be a case of Music Videos Always Spoil.
  • Vocal Tag Team: Tim Lopez steps up to the mic for "Rhythm of Love", although Tom Higgenson generally takes lead.

Top