A Certain Shade Of Green - Acoustic Version

This song is about procrastination, addressing a person who will take any excuse to delay, like waiting for a certain shade of green. "What are you waiting for?" Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd asks, encouraging us to get off our duffs and take action.

The line, "Are you gonna stand around till 2012 A.D.?" refers to a common interpretation of the Mayan calendar that says the world will end on December 21, 2012. Brandon Boyd didn't really believe that, but it was on his mind because his mother was researching it for a book called Maya Memory: The Glory That Was Palenque.

"A Certain Shade Of Green" was the first single from Incubus' second album, S.C.I.E.N.C.E. They signed with Epic Records in 1997 and spent two months touring with labelmates Korn that year before going in to record the album. They played the song at these shows and it got a great response, so they knew it was a winner. The song wasn't a hit, but it gave the band a rousing live number that won them lots of fans while they toured in 1998 - they played both Ozzfest and the Warped Tour that year. When they recorded their next album, Make Yourself, in 1999, they had more confidence and more skills. That album broke them out with the songs "Pardon Me" and "Drive."