Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Nolan Randall playing the guitar solo of “Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend from their self-titled 2008 album for XL Recordings.
Words and music by Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Baio, and Chris Thomson
Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?
I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel
So if there's any other way to spell the word
It's fine with me, with me
Why would you speak to me that way?
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain I always tell the truth
Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?
I climbed to Dharamsala too, I did
I met the highest lama
His accent sounded fine to me, to me
Check your handbook, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your boyfriend, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
Check your passport, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your butler, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Why would you tape my conversations?
Show your paintings
At the United Nations
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
*Song Facts*
"Oxford Comma" is the third single by Vampire Weekend, released May 26, 2008, from their debut album, Vampire Weekend.
On January 28, 2008, Michael Hogan of Vanity Fair interviewed Ezra Koenig regarding the title of the song and its relevance to the song's meaning. Koenig said he first encountered the Oxford comma (a comma used before the conjunction at the end of a list) after learning of a Columbia University Facebook group called Students for the Preservation of the Oxford comma. The idea for the song came several months later while Koenig was sitting at a piano in his parents' house. He began "writing the song and the first thing that came out was 'Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?'" So obviously, the song is anti-Oxford Comma.
The song's lyrics contain multiple references to rapper Lil Jon (claiming that "he always tells the truth"). Lil Jon sent Vampire Weekend a case of crunk juice as thanks for the name check, and a friendship formed between Vampire Weekend and Lil Jon that would pan out into Lil Jon's cameo in the music video for "Giving Up the Gun". Also mentioned is the city of Dharamsala, the city in exile home of the 14th Dalai Lama ("the highest lama"), who is the current Dalai Lama.
The video, featuring Joe and directed by comedian Richard Ayoade, premiered June 20, 2008, on FNMTV. The concept behind the video was for it to be filmed in one long take — similar to the band's video for previous single "A-Punk" — with unified visual and musical aspects. The video drew heavily on impressions of the works of American filmmaker Wes Anderson. According to Koenig, "It's nice that now we're at a point where we have more resources and we can talk to the director."
Pitchfork Media writer Mark Richardson praised "Oxford Comma" as "darn catchy," while Andrew Grillo of Click Music described it as having a "woozy organ and a half arsed guitar solo that masterfully straddles the line between inept and charmingly unstudied." He elaborated that the afro-beat influence was less evident and finished his review by saying that the song was an "extremely enjoyable ditty that goes some way to justifying the attention they've received over the past year." In 2010, musician Robert Forster described "Oxford Comma" as the "best song of the last five years".
The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the comma that comes before a grammatical conjunction (generally 'and' or 'or') in a list of three items. For instance "Paris, New York, and London" is written with the Oxford comma, while "Paris, New York and London", identical in meaning, is written without it.
In this number about linguistic imperialism, the New York band appear to be criticizing the 19th century English intellectuals that created and enforced such rules of language as the Oxford comma. As far as Vampire Weekend are concerned content should come before structure.
The lyrics refer to Lil' John, surely the only instance of a song about punctuation to reference the Atlanta crunk maestro. Singer/guitarist and lyricist Ezra Koenig admitted in an interview with Aversion to being a fan of Lil' Jon. The Vampire Weekend frontman said: "I love him. Well, I specifically like "Get Low" a lot. I like the dance where you point your hands to the window and to the wall. I don't dance a lot, but I did have a couple of experiences dancing to it."
#VampireWeekend #OxfordComma #IndieRock
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🎤 plaidonflannelshop.com
Nolan Randall playing the guitar solo of “Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend from their self-titled 2008 album for XL Recordings.
Words and music by Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Baio, and Chris Thomson
Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?
I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel
So if there's any other way to spell the word
It's fine with me, with me
Why would you speak to me that way?
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain I always tell the truth
Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?
I climbed to Dharamsala too, I did
I met the highest lama
His accent sounded fine to me, to me
Check your handbook, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your boyfriend, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
Check your passport, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your butler, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Why would you tape my conversations?
Show your paintings
At the United Nations
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
*Song Facts*
"Oxford Comma" is the third single by Vampire Weekend, released May 26, 2008, from their debut album, Vampire Weekend.
On January 28, 2008, Michael Hogan of Vanity Fair interviewed Ezra Koenig regarding the title of the song and its relevance to the song's meaning. Koenig said he first encountered the Oxford comma (a comma used before the conjunction at the end of a list) after learning of a Columbia University Facebook group called Students for the Preservation of the Oxford comma. The idea for the song came several months later while Koenig was sitting at a piano in his parents' house. He began "writing the song and the first thing that came out was 'Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?'" So obviously, the song is anti-Oxford Comma.
The song's lyrics contain multiple references to rapper Lil Jon (claiming that "he always tells the truth"). Lil Jon sent Vampire Weekend a case of crunk juice as thanks for the name check, and a friendship formed between Vampire Weekend and Lil Jon that would pan out into Lil Jon's cameo in the music video for "Giving Up the Gun". Also mentioned is the city of Dharamsala, the city in exile home of the 14th Dalai Lama ("the highest lama"), who is the current Dalai Lama.
The video, featuring Joe and directed by comedian Richard Ayoade, premiered June 20, 2008, on FNMTV. The concept behind the video was for it to be filmed in one long take — similar to the band's video for previous single "A-Punk" — with unified visual and musical aspects. The video drew heavily on impressions of the works of American filmmaker Wes Anderson. According to Koenig, "It's nice that now we're at a point where we have more resources and we can talk to the director."
Pitchfork Media writer Mark Richardson praised "Oxford Comma" as "darn catchy," while Andrew Grillo of Click Music described it as having a "woozy organ and a half arsed guitar solo that masterfully straddles the line between inept and charmingly unstudied." He elaborated that the afro-beat influence was less evident and finished his review by saying that the song was an "extremely enjoyable ditty that goes some way to justifying the attention they've received over the past year." In 2010, musician Robert Forster described "Oxford Comma" as the "best song of the last five years".
The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the comma that comes before a grammatical conjunction (generally 'and' or 'or') in a list of three items. For instance "Paris, New York, and London" is written with the Oxford comma, while "Paris, New York and London", identical in meaning, is written without it.
In this number about linguistic imperialism, the New York band appear to be criticizing the 19th century English intellectuals that created and enforced such rules of language as the Oxford comma. As far as Vampire Weekend are concerned content should come before structure.
The lyrics refer to Lil' John, surely the only instance of a song about punctuation to reference the Atlanta crunk maestro. Singer/guitarist and lyricist Ezra Koenig admitted in an interview with Aversion to being a fan of Lil' Jon. The Vampire Weekend frontman said: "I love him. Well, I specifically like "Get Low" a lot. I like the dance where you point your hands to the window and to the wall. I don't dance a lot, but I did have a couple of experiences dancing to it."
#VampireWeekend #OxfordComma #IndieRock
