Men Without Hats

Clutching a ten dollar bill in my hand
Sir John A's face getting wrinkled and damp
I went down to the mall on Saturday after cartoons
I made straight for the tape store
I knew exactly what to look for
I skipped the candy shop and the clown with the animal balloons
I saw it on the rack with the other new tapes
That baby face with the gap-tooth gape
And I grabbed one quick like a pervert in a video store
I guess I was shy it was my first time
And I joined the girls with the curled bangs in line
And when I got back home I discovered what my ears were for

That was my first day in the world of pop music
Where the sound of a drum or the strum of an acoustic
Could pop it all open like a blister in the sun
A world where Johnny played guitar and Jenny played bass
And they started a band just to see their face
In a magazine 'cause what else is there to do for fun

A few years later drawing logos of bands
On backpacks and binders and the backs of my hands
And writing out lyrics with the help of rewind pause and play
Math class flashed past in a blur of zeros
Daydreaming about all those musical heroes
Who never needed numbers to say what they had to say
Meanwhile I developed an unholy affection
For the older girls in the smoking section
With the boots and the buckles and the pins and the circle a shirts
Their music was rough but strangely enough
Turned out I liked getting angry and shouting about stuff
I knew the message was meaningful though I didn't understand a word
And so I discovered another world of music
Where the kids are alright just like the Who said
You count to four and then play the one or two chords you sort of know
A world where hey ho, let's go is a legitimate And you can search the stacks and thumb the thesaurus
But there's no synonym for rock and roll

Back at that young and impressionable age
I never dreamed some day I'd be the one on the stage
But now that I'm here I guess I have to think of something to say
So to all the young girls and young guys out there
Experimenting with drugs, experimenting with hair
Press record on your four track, or whatever kids are using these days

It's life or death but it's also just music
And it chooses you, you don't get to choose it
But once you're hooked you're hooked like a rug or a john
So hats off to Ivan and all the rest of the bands
Thanks for giving us so many good reasons to dance
Thanks for giving us so many good reasons to sing along