It is particularly critical of efforts by educators and guidance counselors to encourage students to go to college and to plan for careers in the "real world"; instead expressing that there is "no such thing" as this environment, and that true fulfillment comes from doing what you love.

Unlike many of his classmates, Mayer did not attend college immediately after graduating, opting instead to work at a gas station and saving money to buy a guitar.

However, due to the disparaging nature of the song's lyrics towards the school and its faculty, the administration denied Mayer's request.

Haley Jones, who was the assistant PD of KFOG San Francisco—an early station to play the song, said, "It sounds great on the radio.

The song was Mayer's highest-charting single in the US until 2008, when "Say" bested the peak of "No Such Thing" by one spot, hitting number 12.

To date, the song is Mayer's second best-charting solo single in both countries, after "Your Body Is a Wonderland".