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  1. Tracks
  2. Fiona Apple
  3. Extraordinary Machine
  4. Extraordinary Machine

TRACK

Fiona Apple

Extraordinary Machine

Release date: 4th October 2005

From Extraordinary Machine
Spotify
More on Fiona Apple

About This Track

Apple's defiant title track presents resilience as a kind of mechanical inevitability. She sings of someone who thrives in discomfort and constant change, contrasting herself against an opponent who cannot tolerate the unfamiliar and therefore remains static. The song's central claim is simple and unapologetic: "I'm an extraordinary machine", a refusal to be diminished by others' expectations or judgments of her fragility. The lyrics move between self-description and direct address, acknowledging how she is perceived as a delicate thing whilst asserting her actual durability. She has been getting by long before anyone else arrived to advise or manage her. The chorus locks onto a kind of fatalism, a certainty that if a better path existed it would reveal itself, and that she will make something of whatever comes. Whether treated with kindness or cruelty, she will persist in her own way.

"Extraordinary Machine" is a track by Fiona Apple, from the album Extraordinary Machine, released 4th October 2005. Full lyrics are available below.

About the Artist

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple

Lyrics

Extraordinary Machine

[Verse 1]

I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes

And

I certainly haven't been spreading myself around

I still only travel by foot and by foot it's a slow climb

But I'm good at being uncomfortable so

I can't stop changing all the time

I noticed that my opponent is always on the go

And

Won't go slow, so 's not to focus, and I notice

He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as

They go fast from whence he came

But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so

He can't stop staying exactly the same

[Chorus]

If there was a better way to go then it would find me

I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Be kind to me, or treat me mean

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

[Verse 2]

I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day

You deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay

I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way and say

I've been getting along for long before you came into the play

I am the baby of the family, it happens

So

Everybody cares and wears the sheeps' clothes

While they chaperone

Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease

Courteous, to try and help

But let me set your mind at ease

[Chorus]

If there was a better way to go then it would find me

I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Be kind to me, or treat me mean

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

[Bridge]

Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side?

It's very kind

But it's to no avail; and I don't want the bail

I promise you, everything will be just fine

[Chorus]

If there was a better way to go then it would find me

I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Be kind to me, or treat me mean

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

If there was a better way to go then it would find me

I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Be kind to me, or treat me mean

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Extraordinary Machine

2005
Listen
Album
Extraordinary Machine
Extraordinary Machine
Fiona Apple
Release year
2005
  1. —Extraordinary Machine
  2. —Better Version of Me
  3. —Waltz (Better Than Fine)
  4. —Red Red Red
  5. —Window
  6. —O' Sailor
  7. —Parting Gift
  8. —Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)
  9. —Not About Love
  10. —Oh Well
  11. —Please Please Please

More from Fiona Apple

Albums & EPs

Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2020
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do (Expanded Edition)
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do (Expanded Edition)
2012
Extraordinary Machine
Extraordinary Machine
2005
When the Pawn...
When the Pawn...
1999
When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He'll Win The Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters The Ring There's No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold You
1999
Tidal
Tidal
1996

Explore

More tracks by Fiona Apple

  1. 7 O’Clock News / Silent Night
  2. (Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You
  3. After You've Gone
  4. Angel
  5. Container
  6. CosmonautsFetch the Bolt Cutters
  7. Court Watchers (Narration & Original Score)
  8. David Rakoff Describe It for Me
  9. Don't Get Rid of It (You'd Look Good In It)
  10. DrumsetFetch the Bolt Cutters

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Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer
Fiona Apple
Producer
Jon Brion
Vocals
Fiona Apple
Bells
Fiona Apple
Marimba
Jon Brion
Mastering Engineer
Brian Gardner
Mixing Engineer
Dave Way
Orchestra Arranger
Jon Brion
Recording Engineer
Tom Biller
READ MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLE
READ MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLEREAD MORE ABOUT FIONA APPLE
Cara Delevingne has released new single 'Need It', co-written with Fiona Apple
News

Cara Delevingne has released new single 'Need It', co-written with Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple co-writes new track ahead of forthcoming debut LP.

26 Jun 2026 • 9:22 am