From the recordings Afterthought to Afterglow and Jack of All Trades
"Jack of All Trades" is from a lifetime of being told I was unfocused, scattered, and destined to fail because I couldn't pick one thing and stick to it. I wrote this song for everyone who's ever been made to feel small because their curiosity couldn't be contained in a single box. It's a middle finger to the idea that mastery is the only path to success. For me, the joy has always been in the learning—the thrill of picking up a new skill, the resilience of pivoting when doors close, the quiet pride of being able to fix, build, create, and adapt. This song is my declaration that being a jack of all trades isn't a weakness. It's survival. It's freedom. It's a masterpiece of its own kind.
Lyrics
I see a world of colored wires
A thousand different hidden fires
Each one a skill, a spark, a key
That calls out, beckoning to me
They look at me, a scattered sight
A dozen hobbies, day and night
They see a lack of dedication
A soul without a destination.
They call me jack-of-all-trades, master of none
Like it's a failure when the day is done
They say "unfocused," say "you'll never win"
But they don't know the fire I'm in
It's hustling, surviving, changing the game
It's learning a new skill and whispering its name
This curiosity, this drive to grow
Is a kind of success they will never know.
I'll build a website, then learn new code
I carry a creative load
I pivot when doors slammed shut
No time for self-pity in a rut
This patchwork quilt of what I've learned
Is a resilience that I've earned
Every new thing I understand
Is a new tool held in my hand.
They call me jack-of-all-trades, master of none
Like it's a failure when the day is done
They say "unfocused," say "you'll never win"
But they don't know the fire I'm in
It's hustling, surviving, changing the game
It's learning a new skill and whispering its name
This curiosity, this drive to grow
Is a kind of success they will never know.
A master has one glorious view
From the one peak they ever knew
But I have wandered all the range
Seen a world that's vast and strange
I can connect the dots they'll never see
Because my mind is wild and free.
So call me jack-of-all-trades, master of none!
It's the story of a battle won!
It's hustling, surviving, changing the game!
It's learning a new skill and shouting its name!
This curiosity, this drive to grow!
Is a kind of success that I chose!
I am a learner
I am a fighter
I am a starter
I am a lighter...
A spark that never dies
In a world of specialized skies.
Master of none? I'm a masterpiece... of fun.
And I'm not done.