I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I knew a man who came down from kentucky
And everyone would whisper, boy he sure is lucky
He'd go to church every Sunday and have breakfast at stuckey's
He rubbed somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Well I knew a woman who could act like a girl
She held the secret for peace in this world
She'd stand on her porch, with a baton she'd twirl
Singing, rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Now I know there's times you're frustrated and low
You'd like a shotgun to shoot down your foes
You swam with your sorrows, but both of you drowned
So tighten your seatbelt, wipe off that frown
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Time passes quick, and you know how it goes
You can open your arms, you can turn up your nose
You'll have much, much more fun if you make peace with your foes
And rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Got to rub somebody the right way
And everyone would whisper, boy he sure is lucky
He'd go to church every Sunday and have breakfast at stuckey's
He rubbed somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Well I knew a woman who could act like a girl
She held the secret for peace in this world
She'd stand on her porch, with a baton she'd twirl
Singing, rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Now I know there's times you're frustrated and low
You'd like a shotgun to shoot down your foes
You swam with your sorrows, but both of you drowned
So tighten your seatbelt, wipe off that frown
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Time passes quick, and you know how it goes
You can open your arms, you can turn up your nose
You'll have much, much more fun if you make peace with your foes
And rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
And all I'm askin' for you to do
Is live by this simple creed I give to you
Just take five minutes out of your day
And rub somebody the right way
Got to rub somebody the right way
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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