The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On A Shaker Hymn)

This is a loose adaptation of the 1848 Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts." The song's melody has been borrowed from on many previous occasions including in Aaron Copland's 1944 ballet score "Appalachian Spring." Also English hymnwriter Sydney Carter adapted the tune for his 1963 song "Lord of the Dance."

Bassist Scott Shriner has described this song as "Weezer's 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'" He has also said that it is "a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme."

Rivers Cuomo practices a form of Buddhist meditation, which is a method of self-transformation through self-observation and introspection. The Weezer frontman told Rolling Stone magazine that this form of "insight meditation" helped him in writing this ambitious track that features 11 segued verses, each in a different style of music. He said: "Once I started meditating, I gradually got more spontaneous and free. I think you can hear it in a song like the 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived.' Several years ago, I don't think I could have taken on a song that's so risky, because I had a fear of trying new things. It's the most ambitious song I've ever attempted. It took me a few weeks of writing. And lyrically, it's a huge departure for me. I have a long history of writing songs from a victim type of place, and in this, I'm bragging."