Lately, Jason Kimmel has been on my TikTok for you page with his new song, “The Actor”. The song references the 2005-2014 show, How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). If you are an avid re-watcher of the show like I am, then I am sure you also tried to analyze the lyrics for all of the references. The coolest part to me of the TikTok promotion of the song was when Josh Radnor, Ted Mosby’s actor, sang and played the guitar with Jason Kimmel. Here’s my list of the references I caught in the song!
*spoilers ahead*
Verse 1 “I used to have more confidence in college”
This could be a bit of a stretch; however, I believe this is a reference to Ted Mosby becoming a college professor. Mosby also tries and succeeds in dating one of his college students.
Verse 1 “Now I’m a stager to Sara with no H”
I believe this is a reference to the episode “The Bracket” (Season 3, Episode 14) where she is a named on the blackboard as one of Barney’s many past women.
Chorus” “And she told me I remind her of Ted Mosby/I said, “Honestly I’m Flattered”/She said, “Don’t be”/I said, “Really no I’m flattered. Ted’s annoying but I like Josh Radnor””
Ted Mosby is the narrating character of HIMYM; the premise of the show is him explaining to his two children the story of how he met their mother (Tracy) in full detail. Honestly, after watching the ending it felt like the “key point” of the show was never to simply tell the story of how he met Tracy but to simply kind of persuade his children into seeing that he and Aunt Robin had been in love for years and getting their approval to ask her on a date in the present day (when he is telling the story to them). Ted can be annoying in different ways; one big example I remember is when he was upset by Stella not wanting his ex-girlfriend, Robin, at their wedding.
Verse 2″ “I’m lonely on Long Island”
There are two things that could be referenced in this line. The first is that Marshall and Lily moved to Long Island into Lily’s grandparents’ home, which left them a bit “lonely” and separated from the friend group. The second one is that Ted was lonely at the Farhampton Inn (a fictional place that was on Long Island) for Barney and Robin’s wedding because he did not have a date for it.
Verse 2″ “And I look for love online”
There are two references that I can think of, the first being the episode with “blah blah” (Carol), who met Ted while playing World of Warcraft. She told the friend group that they met at a cooking class, and Ted said it was simply “online dating”. The second reference is when Barney baited Ted with an online dating profile of Ted’s “perfect woman”.
2nd Chorus: “‘Is it cause I keep talking?'” & “She said, ‘Mostly’/”Not to say that I’m not flattered, after all I really like Josh Radnor”
The reference to “is it because I keep talking?” is because Ted Mosby is known for talking. His children sit and listen to him talk for years about how he met their mother, and in several scene,s he puts people to sleep whilst he talks.
Bridge: “And although I’m known to share my deepest secrets right away,”
This is a big reference to “How I Met Everyone Else” (season 3, episode 5), Ted shared his biggest secret with a random girl he had just met to try and have her date him, although his best friends and long-term ex-girlfriend did not know about this information.
Bridge: “I said, Jinx.'”
This reference is straightforward: in “The Final Page” (season 8, episode 11), Barney becomes jinxed and cannot talk until someone says his name again.
3rd Chorus: “I said, ‘Honestly, I’ll take Ted over Barney’ & “She said, ‘Barney’s problematic but I’ve always loved Neil Patrick Harris.'”
Barney is problematic for many reasons; even when he is in a committed relationship (either with Quinn or Robin), he still checks out other women; he has an entire playbook on how to seduce women; his bed is a machine that makes the women leave; and at one point he admits that he “might have sold a woman” (season 3, episode 14/”The Bracket”).