Week Fifty-Four: Violent Femmes - "American Music" - Why Do Birds Sing?

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So, as I mentioned in my "Down By the Water" post by PJ Harvey, my parents would pay me a modest sum to pick up my younger brother and sister from school before I had to head off to my job at the deli.

Immediately after "Down By the Water", on that particular mixed cassette, was this song, "American Music". So after my younger siblings would recover from screaming the lyrics to that PJ Harvey song at the top of their lungs, they would resume their singing to this tune about needing "a date to the prom" and doing "too many drugs". Now mind you, they were in first grade and fourth grade, at the most... gawd, I was kind of an awful older sister!!!

I'll also include another favorite called "Kiss Off"...

Can I, can I put in something like... "This is "American Music"... take one." 1-2-3-4!

Do you like American music? I like American music.

Don't you like American music, baby?

I want you to hold me, I want your arms around me.

I want you to hold me, baby...

Did you do too many drugs? I did too many drugs.

Did you do too many drugs, too, baby?

You were born too late, I was born too soon,

But every time I look at that ugly moon, it reminds me of you.

It reminds me of you... ooh-ooh-ooh.

I need a date to the prom, would you like to come along?

But nobody would go to the prom with me, baby...

They didn't like American music, they never heard American music.

They didn't know the music was in my soul, baby...

You were born too soon, I was born too late,

But every time I look at that ugly lake, it reminds me of me.

It reminds me of me...

Do you like American music? We like American music.

I like American music... Baby.

Do you like American music? We like all kinds of music.

But I like American music best... baby.

You were born too late, and I was born too late,

But every time I look at that ugly lake, it reminds me of me...