Todd Snider: Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

(chorus)
hey, hey, my, my
rock and roll will never die
hang your hair down in your eye
you'll make a million dollars

well i was in this band goin' nowhere fast
we sent out demos but everybody passed
so one day we finally took the plunge
moved out to seattle to play some grunge
washington state that is
space needle
eddie vedder
mudhoney

now to fit in fast we wear flannel shirts
we turn our amps up until it hurts
we've got bad attitudes and what's more
when we play we stare straight down at the floor
wowee
pretty scary
how pensive
how totally alternative

now to fit in on the seattle scene
you've gotta do somethin' they ain't never seen
so thinkin' up a gimmick one day
we decided to be the only band that wouldn't play a note
under any circumstances
silence
music's original alternative
root's grunge

well we spread the word through the underground
that we were the hottest new thing in town
the record guy came out to see us one day
and just like always we didn't play
it knocked him out
he said he loved our work
he said he loved our work but he wasn't sure if he could sell a record
with nothing on it
i said tell 'em we're from seattle
he advanced us two and a half million dollars

(chorus)

well they made us do a video but that wasn't tough
'cuz we just filmed ourselves smashin' stuff
it was kinda weird 'cuz there was no music
but mtv said they'd love to use it

the kids went wild, the kids went nuts
rolling stone gave us a five-star review said we played with guts
we're scorin' chicks, takin' drugs
then we got asked to play mtv unplugged
you should have seen it
we went right out there and refused to do acoustical versions of the
electrical songs we had refused to record in the first place
then we smashed our shit

well we blew 'em away at the grammy's show
by refusing to play and refusing to go
and then just when we thought fame would last forever
along come this band that wasn't even together
now that's alternative
now that's alternative to alternative
i feel stupid
and contagious

well our band got dropped and that ain't funny
'cuz we're all hooked on drugs but we're outta money
so the other day i called up the band
i said boys i've taken all i can
shave off your goatees
pack the van
we're goin' back to athens