Everclear - Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile Album Lyrics

The only thing that ever made sense to me
Is the words to a song from an American movie
The only thing that ever made sense in my life
Is the sound of my little girl laughing
Through the window of a summer night

I sit alone in the back yard
Wishing I could be inside
Just the sound of my little girl laughing
Makes me happy just to be alive

You know I like to watch you sleep
No I don't want to touch you
You'll get mad at me
No I don't want to think
About the bad times
Anyone could have a bad year.

Now I don't want you to show me
I do not want you to know me
The way I used to be
All these good things we have
Would not mean a damn to me

And I don't want to hear those words
You feel you have to say
When you find out how I used to be
Back in the day

Yeah, you know
I like the way you slide
Yeah, yes I like it when
You do that slow glide
Please don't bad talk all those good times
Don't ask around cause baby
That you do not want to hear

I don't want you to make me
Do not need you to break me
Of all my childish ways
I'm still the same you know
Dumb, rock hard and good to go
I still hear them voices calling me
From back in the day

Oh baby can't you see
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Then watching dirty movies
In that happy room with you
Sitting on that mattress in the corner
Eating Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again

Ooh now here we go again

I know you like the way I rock
Sometimes I just need to drown out
All that bad talk
Yeah, I could not care less
What your friends say
Someone's always talking shit
About the old days

You do not need to remind me
That I left it all behind
Things I used to do
I don't want that other life
Cause I am so in love with you
I can barely hear it calling me
From back in the day

Oh baby can't you see
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Then watching dirty movies
In that happy room with you
Sitting on that mattress in the corner
Eating Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again

Yeah here we go again
Oh baby here we go again
Baby baby can't you see

Yes I know you got some doubts
I know you don't believe
I know you think I'm crazy
And I know you're just like me
When I hear that voice inside me
Makes me want to jump right in
Saying here we go
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go again

Let's go watch some dirty movies
Yes in that nasty little room
Sit on that mattress while
We eat that greasy Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again

Ooh baby here we go again

You can hear the music on the AM radio

The VCR and the DVD
There wasn't none of that crap back in 1970
We didn't know about a World Wide Web
It was a whole different game being played back when I was a kid

Wanna get down in a cool way
Picture yourself on a beautiful day
Big bell bottoms and groovy long hair
Just walkin' in style with a portable CD player
No, you would listen to the music on the AM radio
Yeah, you could hear the music on a AM radio

Flashback, '72
Another summer in the neighborhood
Hangin' out with nothing to do
Sometmes we'd go drivin' around
In my sister's Pinto
Cruisin' with the windows rolled down
We'd listen to the radio station
We were too damn cool to buy the eight track tapes
There wasn't any good time to want to be inside
My mama wanna watch that TV all goddamn night

I'd be in bed with the radio on
I would listen to it all night long
Just to hear my favorite song
You'd have to wait but you could hear it on the AM radio
Yeah, you could hear the music on a AM radio
I can still hear Mama say ?°Boy turn that radio down!?±

?°Aw, Mom. Not that show again! I don't wanna watch that show!
Can't we watch Good Times or Chico and the Man or something cool?
Turn it off!"

Things changed back in '75
We were all growing up on the in and the outside
We got in trouble with the police man
We got busted gettin' high in the back of my friend's van

I remember 1977
I started going to concerts and I saw the Led Zeppelin
I got a guitar on Christmas day
I dreamed that Jimmy Page would come from Santa Monica
and teach me to play
Teach me to play...

There isn't any place that I need to go
There isn't anything that I need to know
I did not learn from the radio

Yeah when things get stupid and I just don't know
Where to find my happy
I listen to my music on the AM radio
You can hear the music on a AM radio
You can hear the music on a AM radio

I like pop, I like soul, I like rock, but I never liked disco
I like pop, I like soul, I like rock, but I never liked disco
We like pop, we like soul, we like rock, but we never liked disco...

No I never liked disco...

Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la

Go!

I hear a song makes me think of a girl I used to know
I sing along when I hear it on the radio now

Hey now where did we go
Ooh yeah, days when the rains came
Way down in the hollow
Ooh yeah, playin' a new game

Laughin' and a runnin', hey, hey, hey
Skippin' and a jumpin', yeah, yeah
In the misty morning fog
Oh baby and our hearts a thumpin'
And you
My brown eyed girl
You, my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when
We used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
I hear a song makes me think of a girl I used to know
Hey, hey, hey
I sing along when I hear it on the radio now

Now that the years gone by
Yeah, now that I'm on my own
Saw you just the other day
Oh my, baby you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometimes I am overcome just thinkin' 'bout it
Makin' love in the green grass
Behind the stadium with you
My brown eyed girl
You, my brown eyed girl
You, my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when
Yeah, we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la
I hear a song makes me think of a girl I used to know
Hey, hey, hey
I sing along when I hear it on the radio
Hey, hey, hey

Five miles outside of Vegas when we broke down
Threw my keys inside the window and we never looked back
Got all drunk and sloppy on a Greyhound bus
We passed out, all them losers they were laughing at us
I will never let them break your heart
No I will never let them break me

We got lost in Phoenix, seemed like such a long time
Seven months of livin' swimming on those thin white lines
Did some time for sellin' acid to the wrong guy
Life just keeps on gettin' smaller and we never ask why

Why there is no perfect place, yes I know this is true
I'm just learning how to smile
That's not easy to do
I know there will come a day
When we can leave and just go runnin' away

We was broke outside of Philly when the storms came
I was working in New Jersey, hitchin' rides in the rain
You was happy talkin' dirty at that phone sex place
Life just keeps on gettin' weirder for us every day

You say there is no perfect place, I say I know this is true
We are just learning how to smile
That's not easy to do
We both live for the day
When we can run away

Oh baby we can leave and run away
Yes we can leave this place and run away
We can leave it all behind like we do every time
Yes we both live for the day
When we can leave and just go runnin' away

No I will never let it break your heart
No I will never let it break me

Five miles outside of Vegas, five years down the line
We got married in the desert and the sunshine
I can't handle how the hell it happens every day
When you smile and touch my face
You make it all just go away

Yes I know there ain't no finish line, I know this never ends
But I'm just learning how to fall, climb back up again
I know there is nothing perfect, I know there is nothing new
We are just learning how to live together, me and you
You know I live for the day
When you say "Baby let's just run away"

Oh baby we can leave and run away
Yes we can leave this place and run away
Baby we can leave and run away
We can leave this place and run away

You know I love you baby
And I know you love me too
But the fun that day
Didn't start until
We left on our honeymoon

We stepped off the plane
Into a warm sunny day
And then we, got laid
Together

The sun shines down
On a Hana lei town
Where the fish all smile
Cause they know us

Our wedding day
Was warm and sunny
Our friends and family
Came from out of town

We said I do
Then ate some food
And smiled
Until the sun went down

We'll take the Zodiac Cadillac
Around the north shore
Then we'll head back
The sea turtles come to greet us

So let's get loaded tonight
We'll drink on the flight
Back home
The honeymoon is over

You know I love you baby
And I know you love me too
But the fun that day
Didn't start until
We left on our honeymoon

We're on our honeymoon [Repeat x 2]

The fun that day
Didn't start until
We left on our honeymoon

Yeah right!

Break down
And shake for me
Nothing ever is the way
You want it to be
Nothing even tastes right
Now that it's over

Break down
And shake for me
Don't write words
Unless you want me to read them
Nothing really matters
Now that it's over

Maybe we can be friends
Now that we're older
We can have fun
Like we did in the early days
Now that it's over

Yeah right!

Break down
And shake for me
Nothing ever seems
The way it ought to be
Nothing ever seems right
Now that it's over

Yeah now maybe we can be friends
Maybe we can be closer
We can have fun
Like we did in the old days
Now that it's over

My bad dreams just don't seem the same
Baby without you
I wish you were willing to accept the blame
Yeah for everything you do

My nightmares just don't scare me now
Baby without you
I wish that I could find the words to tell
In the best way possible
You and your friends to go to hell

Ooh, break up time
Is never easy to do
Nothing ever ends
The way you want it to
Nothing seems to make sense
Now that it's over

Yeah now maybe we can be friends
Yeah now that you're leaving
You can be nice to me
Maybe I'm dreaming
I am a lot better now than just OK
Maybe I am just waking up
In my own way
Now that it's over

Now that it's over

My bad dreams just don't seem the same
Baby without you
I wish you were willing to accept the blame
Yeah for all the shitty things you do
Nightmares just don't scare me now
Baby without you
I wish that I could find the words to tell
You to go politely go f*ck yourself
Yeah now that it's over

Now that it's over [Repeat x4]

Baby go to bed
And put out the light
We both know
If we talk anymore
We are going to end up
In a great big fight

You can have your way again
Yeah you believe
What you want to believe

You can walk all over me tomorrow
But tonight
Can't we just pretend to sleep

I think we're headed for a big fall
I think we're headed for a bad time

I'm going to go downstairs
And sit in that chair you like

I want to put a John Prine record on
Yes I need to slow down for awhile

Yeah I wish we had never bought
A king size bed

The only damn thing
That it's ever been good for
Is plenty room for the real good sex

I lay in bed in the dark
And all that I can see
Is the distance that grows between us
You seem so far from me

Yes I think we are headed for a real big fall
I think we are headed for a bad time

I'm going to go downstairs
I'm gong to sit by myself
All alone in the middle of the night

I'm going to put a John Prine record on
I think we need to slow down for awhile

I'm going to go downstairs
Smoke cigarettes
In that thrift store chair you like

I'm gonna put a John Prine record on
I think we need to slow down for awhile

We need to slow down for awhile

Do you remember when we were hungry
Do you remember when we were cold
Do you remember when we were happy
Do you remember do you remember

Do you remember when we were lucky
We living the life almost every night
I would wrap you in my thin white arms
We'd sit and watch the stars die
Ayayayayayayayayay

Do you remember when we were the losers
Do you remember when we were the lame
Do you remember when we were the lovers
Do you remember do you remember

Do you remember when we were strung out
Eating Top Ramen and macaroni & cheese
We would get so lost in that basement room
And let the Otis Redding sing us to sleep

I wish I had one more life

[Chorus:]
I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to live inside this daydream anymore
I just want to be happy again

I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to be blind

[Chorus]

I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to be blind (x 3)

I wish I could be like all my heroes
I wish I could be like all yours too
I wish I could sing like Otis Redding
I wish I could play this guitar in tune

Do you remember when we were hungry
Do you remember when we were cold
Do you remember when we were happy
In a way, no one outside
Could ever know

I wish I had one more life...

How I wish I had one more life to live

[Chorus]

I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to be blind

[Chorus]

I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to be (x 2)

I don't want to be wasted
I don't want to be blind

I don't want to be blind

[Answering machine:] ''Hi, this is Peggy. Leave me a nice message or I'll kill ya."

''Hey Peggy, it's me.
You are never going to believe what happened to me today.
I'm sittin' at the unemployment office, waitin' on my loser of a caseworker,
in one of those nasty chairs,
when from out of nowhere, this total stranger walks right up to me,
sits down, then leans over and says something like,
This is gonna sound a little obsessive.''

This is gonna sound a little obsessive
This is gonna sound a little bit strange
I have one thing to say
Before I turn and I walk away

This is gonna sound a little impulsive
This is gonna sound a little insane
I know you don't know me yet
But you and I, we will be together someday
Someday
I know, I know, I sound like I'm on drugs
Listen to me when I say

That ever since when I first saw you
Sittin' on your car outside
You asked for a cigarette
I couldn't stop starin' at your eyes

Ever since when I first saw you
Looking bored in that plastic chair
With the lights of the office around you
Those blond streaks, they look so pretty in your black hair
You look cool and alternative with that disaffected stare
Yeah you want people to think that you just don't care

Hey you can be with me
Yeah 'cause I just might be the one
Who will treat you like you're perfect
Who will always make you come
Hey you can be with me
Yes I will always let you win
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be your unemployed boyfriend

Can you believe he said that to me?
To me, of all people! I can't even remember the last time a guy took me out
on a date and actually paid for it!?

This is gonna sound a little bit out there
This is gonna sound a little insane
I keep having the same dream
You will be the mother of my children someday
Someday

I heard you sleep with that obnoxious guy
I know he is in that famous band
You look so sad when you are with him
Yes I never see him reach to hold your hand

Yeah you can be with me
Yes I will treat you like a queen
I will go to all those chick flick movies
That I really don't want to see
Yeah you can be with me
No I will never let you down
I will never make out with your girlfriend
When I know you're not around
Yes you can be with me
Yeah I just might be the one
Who will treat you like you're special
I will always make you come
You can be with me
Yes I will always let you win
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be your unemployed boyfriend

Can you believe this? I mean, can this be for real?"

No!

"Then he takes my hand, writes down his number, and just walks away."

Whoa!

I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it's over when I open them

I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again

Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
Say bad words that make me want to cry

Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream of angels that make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world's so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now

(Na na na na na na na)

Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now

I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it's all okay
I like to laugh so my friends won't know
When the bell rings I just don't want to go home

Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don't believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world is so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now

I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

I don't want to hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I don't want to hear you say
We both have grown in a different way
No, no, no, no
I don't want to meet your friends
And I don't want to start over again
I just want to my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Some days I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now

I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

I see you roll your eyes
You know it makes me smile
You are like the sun to me,
Bright as liquid fire
I feel so powerless
To hold you up above the world
You are quite a lot of trouble,
Such a pretty little girl

Such a pretty little girl

You know I'm never home
I'm always miles and miles away
I feel I'm running out of time
To say the things I need ta say
Call you on the telephone, you will not talk to me
Yea you just don't understand
You are my everything.

Anna
Anna
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
Anna, Anna
You are never alone
You are never alone

Hey yea yea
Hey yea yea
Hey yea yea

Anna
Anna
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
Anna, Anna
You are never alone
You are never alone

I like to watch you play
When you don't know I'm there
See you when you're sleeping and I
Reach out and touch your hair
I'm gonna make this world
Be just how you want it to be
Yea you just don't understand
You're my everything.

Anna
Anna
Tell me what you want
Baby tell me what you need
Anna, Anna
You are never alone
You are never alone

Anna
Anna
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
Anna, Anna
You are never alone
Anna
You are never alone
Anna
Oh, you are never alone
Anna
You are never alone
Anna
You are never alone
Anna