The Biggest One: A song for sad sacks and self-reflection

Feeling terrible about yourself? ‘The Biggest One’ by They Might Be Giants might just be your soundtrack.

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‘The Biggest One’ is a perfect song for those times when self-doubt takes center stage. It’s a “sad sack” anthem—They Might Be Giants’ term for songs about characters drenched in depression, hopelessness, or a general hollowing-out of spirit.

A Day in the Life of Self-Loathing

Today was one of those days. Staring in the mirror, loaded with self-doubt, I berated myself for not being enough. The tipping point came during a break at my day job, when I spiraled into writing a post for my other newsletter—a piece entirely devoted to how much of a fraud I feel as a writer.

Paragraph after paragraph, I outlined how I’ve been “deceiving” readers into thinking I’m a real writer, when all I really do is spin out stream-of-consciousness thoughts onto the page. My “trick” is to narrate my writing process in third person, and while people seem to enjoy it, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m faking it. I felt like The Biggest Fraud of a Writer.

Cue ‘The Biggest One’

It hit me mid-spiral: “I’m having another ‘Biggest One’ moment.” After publishing the post, I put on They Might Be Giants’ 11th track from Miscellaneous T. The band has described this song as a portrait of a “sad sack,” and I couldn’t think of a better soundtrack for that moment.

The song resonates with anyone who’s stared at their reflection, feeling like they can’t get anything right. It’s a self-loathing anthem, distilled.

What I Got Wrong About the Song

On my first listen, I didn’t quite connect with ‘The Biggest One.’ For years, I assumed it was about feeling physically “big”—a man in despair because he has too much body on his body. I misinterpreted, weaving them into my own head-cannon. But recently, I learned the truth.

According to liner notes in the Then: The Earlier Years anthology, the song was inspired by John Flansburgh’s experience of having his apartment robbed the very day he moved in. Almost all his belongings were stolen at the hands of this treacherous burglar, and the lyrics reflect blame he places on himself:

Should have changed that stupid lock

Should have thrown away the key

No no, not I. I will survive right down here on my knee ‘cause

I’ve got no one to blame but my fat self.

Learning this backstory recently clicked the puzzle into place for me. While the overall vibe I got wasn’t completely off-base, understanding Flansburgh’s personal experience helps me relate and connect even more.

A Song for (Some of) the Moments

I don’t queue up ‘The Biggest One’ regularly. It’s not a tune I gravitate toward unless my mood demands it. That’s not a knock on the song; I just don’t always have the specific itch that this song wants to scratch.

Ultimately, this song reminds me that I’m not the only person who occasionally rakes themselves over the coals. As someone who identifies as a “creative type” (but refuses to call themselves an artist), it’s comforting to see how self-pity can fuel something productive. It inspires me to move beyond the bathroom mirror stage of self-doubt—and maybe write something worthwhile for someone to read or laugh at.

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