Release Date: July 13, 1994
Produced by Sloan and Jim Rondinelli
Recorded by Jim Rondinelli at The Warehouse in Hoboken, NJ
Mixed by Jim Rondinelli and Sloan at Matrix in Manhattan
Assistant Engineering by Dave Battelene, Greg Di Gesu, Todd Childress
Mastered by Bob Ludwig in Portland, Maine
I write you from a far country
North of Africa
It is Algeria
And my city is Oran
I know you'll find this letter strange
That is because I am strange
My first name is Amal
And I'm a girl, I'm a girl, la la la
My first name is Amal
And I'm a girl, I'm a girl, la la la
My first name is Amal and I'm a girl
I am a Norwegian boy
Which have some question
I have only 13 years
And I am crazy of you
Can I have a souvenir?
And if you can, a wick of hair?
Send me documents
And a photo of you alone
Here's my photo, dedicace
One of you would be canon
I worship all your handsome words
To me you seem giant
You're so cool, but you know that
I hope your letters never stop
You are surely special
I like you, I like you, la la la
You are surely special
I like you, I like you, la la la
You are surely special
I like you, I like you, I like you
You are surely special, I like you
What could you both possibly share?
Other than the colour of your hair?
Sean said, "We both play guitar"
Never even have to say a word
That's the best thing that I ever heard
You have left a fingerprint on me
Just dust and then you'll surely see
I've got my reservations
And I hate my generation
If I was born in the 40s, I'd be a teen in the 50s
And maybe I watch too much TV
Maybe, maybe it's my fault
I should take it with a grain of salt
I've got my hesitations
Wait on your generation
S-E-A-N S-A-I-D
P-L-A-Y yeah yeah yeah yeah
S-E-A-N S-A-I-D
P-L-A-Y yeah yeah yeah yeah
Maybe, maybe it's my fault
I should take it with a grain of salt
What could you both possibly share?
Other than the colour of your hair?
Sean said, "We both play guitar"
Never even have to say a word
That's the best thing that I ever heard
I have got my reservations
As I skate by my generation
I once knew a pair
That used to fit very tight
But now a man's standing tall
In the wake of this night
Na na na na na
His eyes are watering in anger
At the thought of her sight
Na na na na na
The scene of adultery
Sets the stage for his plight
On an innocent trip
How can one ruin so much
A belief in a soul, in a beauty
Or in a touch
Ba ba bada ba
It's like a three-legged dog
In search of a crutch
Ba ba bada ba
Dissecting in past
All the motives of such
She once loved this person in a trial
Out of sight
Disposing of the present situation
It felt right
Ba ba bada ba
Two winters and summers
Passed over like a sound
Ba ba bada ba
And now the two of them are lost
In a screaming battleground
With support all around him
Like a fence or a drink
He realizes in sadness
That now he must begin to think
Ba ba bada ba
To filter his energy
Upon losses and fame
Ba ba bada ba
She'll think of the restful, the peaceful
Or the gain
His sister's a friend
She's like a relative to both
Obliged to her brother
Under silhouetted oath
Ba ba bada ba
But she's there for the two
With her bias undone
Ba ba bada ba
And she'll help see it through
Under moonlight or sun
But today they've still yet
To look each other in the eye
And in a second he manages to dip
To the other side
Ba ba bada ba
Up to the people of the sky
Ba ba bada ba
And now he'll never die
It all seemed to happen so fast
Will you ever believe the way he passed away
I saw his widow speak on her fortune
She was feelin' pretty apathetic
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
If I drink concentrated OJ
Can I think Consolidated's okay?
It's not the band I hate, it's their fans
Three cans of water perverts me
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
And after he died
By rights she'd have cried
I gave mine away
I gave mine away
I saw a widow's peak on her forehead
It was full of lines and sinkers
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
While I'm at this funeral
You're in New York
I've been dividing my grieving
You're sleeping with a mutual friend
I dreamed that I kissed your mouth
And you thought about me
Over Christmas
Oh, you might know who I am
But I know who you are
Your heart is in your art
And mine's in New York
I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve
You're sleeping with a mutual friend
And I want to be with you again
And again
And again
I've thought about you a lot lately
So flash me your metal smile
I'm thinking about you
You're thinking about
New York
Though to you your friend was hurt
To him I owe him money
Will you pay back the thirty dollars
That he thinks I owe him?
But I don't owe him anything
If you had a funeral
I'd be there with bells on
La la la la la...
If I had a funeral
Would you even care?
Would you wear your silver dress?
Would you actually wear lipstick?
Would you lie upon my grave?
And be there with bells on
So you could ring me from this life?
From this life
From this life
So you could ring me from this life
Somehow it grew
Cut me in two
To tell you the truth
I don't know what I'm doing
So this is it
From where you sit
I should be going
Put it back
Into the same place
Where you found it
When you came in
Put me back
Into the same shape
How you found me
Before you broke me
Somehow I knew
You'd tell me soon
To tell you the truth
I thought you'd tell me sooner
Frozen where I stand
Take you by the hand
Your grip just loosens
Put it back
Into the same place
Where you found it
When you came in
Put me back
Into the same shape
How you found me
Before you broke me
This hasn't happened
For the first time
And I know it won't be
For the last time
Somehow I knew
You'd tell me soon
To tell you the truth
I thought you'd tell me sooner
Frozen where I stand
Take you by the hand
Your grip just loosens
I think I've lost my sense of humour
'Cause I can't seem to get a laugh
I keep forgetting all the punch lines
And I can't make them up that fast
Remember the time
When you told me not to worry
I'm worried now
Remember the time
When you told me not to worry
I'm worried now
I think I'm losing all my patience
And I know I'm too quick to judge
I don't give up all that easily, usually
But I'm too relieved to hold a grudge
Remember the time
When you told me not to worry
I'm worried now
Remember the time
When you told me not to worry
I'm worried now
You told me not to care
You told me not to care
So I don't care
Any time
That you told me
Told me not to worry
I'm worried now
And any time
That you told me
Told me not to worry
I'm worried now, worried now
Remember the time
When you told me not to worry
I'm worried now
And any time
That you told me
Told me not to worry
I'm worried now
Shame, shame
Because you couldn't say your girlfriend's name
For sure
I'll say it next time for sure
She has got the saddest handle that I know
No one even holds a candle, who would blow
Out her flame, I'm overcome with shame
Shame, shame
Because you didn't read all of 'Dames, Dames'
You knew
You knew the damage it would do
She is just the brightest candle that I know
I hope her owner has a handle on her, though
But keep your head up
Can't accept your hand, no
I would love to, I would love to
But I am overcome with shame
Shame, shame
Because you didn't say your girlfriend's name
You knew
You knew that problems would ensue
I wrote your name for all to see
I wrote your name for all to see
I wrote your name for all to see
I would love you
I would love you
But I am overcome with shame
I never read all of 'Dames, Dames'
I can't identify the change
But something isn't quite the same
But then I couldn't say your name
I suppose I've seen you three times now
And I guess that I'm
Wondering how
You keep the boys at bay
I have a feeling that they
Are wondering too
I've seen you with your hair down at least five times
And always wondered
What makes a man commit crimes?
But even I would sometimes
If it weren't for the likes of you
And your glasses
Your hideous glasses
When you remove them
I would rather skip my classes and be caught
Than to entertain the thought
That someday you'll just put them on again
But I can make the best of it until then
Still I know you go deeper than your beauty
You go well above and beyond
The call of duty
To your country and your school
But I grew up too cool
I'm like the rest of them
With our thumbs up our asses
If you call I will come
But I'm about as quick as molasses
When I dream of you
You're not wearing your glasses
La la la la...
Pushed off of the silver swings
I got my braces full of sand
When all I ever wanted to do
Was hold on to your hand
Lost you once
I never had a second chance
Would you have changed your mind
With a second glance?
I think I'll take you down now
Take you down from that shelf
Let you be and set you free
Instead of keeping you for myself
Guess you'll always be the same
And it might be just as well
Let you think, fill your sink
You've already smashed that shell
You're the sizzle teen
And you're older than me
I'm just walkin' around
I make that snowsuit sound
It's not up to me now, la la
Pushed off of the silver swings
I got my braces full of sand
Never got to tell you
That I was your greatest fan
You're the sizzle teen
And you're older than me
I'm just walkin' around
I make that snowsuit sound
It's not up to me now, la la
There's no more fame to address
Did you impress?
In all fairness, yes
So just cancel my game
If it's all the same to you
I've had clear thoughts
Tied in black and blue knots
But you remember that I forgot
To track them down
To track you down
Track me down
Call me if you need my help
To watch you - help me, help you
I've tried it all before
(I've had a good time)
And it's not a lot of laughs
(My best one yet)
And there's a hole in my heart
You carried your vice twice
Like a basket full of roses
And the pearly gate now closes
With you inside
How should I drink to this?
My train's been stalled for ages
And this means me standing still
With a first class ticket
So stick me with it
I'll stick with it
Just call me if you need my help
To watch you - help me, help you
I'm usually in mourning
(I've had a good time)
In the afternoon and night
(My best one yet)
Otherwise I'm asleep
(I never had enough time)
At least I've got a lot of room
And the alarm is set for noon
(To play you my "love you" set)
And it's gonna go off
Before I do
(I've had a good time)
(Speaking during instrumental)
So he was in this, this hospital
Checkin' out the phone he misunderstood
And I was speakin' firmly, very talkatively at the time
And he was walking around with a dress on
Totally dressed with, with his arm down
And he said, I dunno what I'm doing here
I'm a business man
He didn't come and tell me
They totally misunderstood me you know
This is a whole, whole mistake here
This is a whole fuckin' mistake
But I can't explain it and they don't wanna listen to me
You know, you know this
No they didn't, they didn't listen to me
You can't help it
I couldn't explain it, but business is business
And then there's fuckin' this other time
This fuckin' town, they didn't wanna let me out
They didn't wanna let me telephone you directly
These bastards
These bastards stuck me in here and I wanted to talk to my lawyer
Now I'm totally pissed, man
You're the first guy I've met since I, since I got here
Now what, what should I do?
Look, maybe you can help me out here
Maybe you can get me out of here
The hell with the girl
I don't care who you are
I run 10 kilometres a day
And they put me down for a nice, nice long stay
Anyway now I'm here for a while now
You know, I'll just have a good time
She came runnin'
I hate everything that came before me
Crush
I'm breakin' under the crush
Don't ignore me
'Cause you know I can always make it louder
Three
Three's nothin' out of ten
But you've got a thing for me
I can feel it, I can feel it
And I've got a thing for you, too
You can have it, you can have it
I've been runnin'
Just to get away from what's inside me
Rush
I'm drownin' under the rush
Happy birthday
To the best brother in the world
Hooray
At least I'm still cool to one girl
But you've got a thing for me
I can feel it, I can feel it
And I've got a thing for you, too
You can have it, you can have it
You've got a thing for me
I can feel it, I can feel it
And I've got a thing for you, too
You can have it
No strings attached
No copy to match
No drift to catch
No plans to hatch
No itch to scratch
Just infatuation
Is all you need
You could tell a million lies
And I'd think they all were true
Trust
That's my trust in you
It's what I value
And it's what I refuse to lose
You've got a thing for me
And I've got a thing for you, too
Handsome girl and pretty boy
I'm thinkin' of your love
I can see it as it passes by
Heads inside your helmets
Hearts inside my head
Hold on tightly to her shoulders
As she drives around
As she drives, drives around
He's so sweet and she's so cool
All his toys are in the plastic
Except her, she's not
When she's out ridin' around
Pathetic and content
Handsome girl and pretty boy
I'm thinkin' of your love
I can see it as it passes by
Heads inside your helmets
Hearts inside my head
Hold on tightly to her shoulders
As she drives around
As she drives around
As she drives around
As she drives
