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 ba** 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 cla** 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 chorus 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 d**, experimenting with hair Press record on your four track, or whatever kids are using these days It's life or d**h 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