I'm O.K.

I'm O.K.
Written by Dennis DeYoung, James Young
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung

Listen on YouTube (Promo Video)

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Eight, Skate, Seven on the Rotate!

If I could stand
Beside myself
Would I see me or maybe someone else
'Cause it's hard to please
Most everyone
When your spirit's got you on the run, on the run

They say do your best
But don't cause a fuss
Don't make waves be like the rest of us
But I can feel the tide is turning fast
'Cause deep inside I know that I can't last
Another day
Not another day!

'Cause I'm O.K.
I finally found the person I've been searching for
I'm alright
I'm feeling good about myself and that's for sure

'Cause I believed them when they said I must do things their way,
They tried to cast me in their mold
But I just had to say,
That I'm O.K.
I'm O.K. this way yes I'm O.K. Yes I'm OK!

I'm O.K.
I finally found the person I've been searching for (everybody sing now!)
I'm alright
I'm feeling good about myself and that's for sure (whoo!)

I'm O.K.
I finally found the person I've been searching for (yahoo!)
I'm alright
I'm feeling good about myself and that's for sure
I'm O.K.
I'm feeling good about myself and that's for sure
I'm alright
I'm O.K. this way yes I'm OK!

Interpretation

Be yourself, whoever that may be. Don't try to live up to others' expectations.

So what about the often misheard "eight skate seven on the rotate"?  An old expression, "eight and skate" means to work your eight hour shift and then go home (or go out). Head to the casino and place a bet for "seven on the rotate," or lucky 7 on the roulette wheel. Of course, at the craps table, 7 is the loser.

In the quest for finding backmasking on rock and roll songs, Styx was singled out for a supposed backmask on Snowblind in 1981, prompting the anti-censorship theme of the following album, Kilroy Was Here. Critics searched other Styx songs for supposed backmasking, and some claimed to find an example in I'm OK. Supposedly the line "I finally found the person I've been searching for. Everybody sing now!" played backwards sounds like "I'm your servant! We shall stick by the serpent of the Alpha." You be the judge.