This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Yo! Hey, what's happening, dude?
I'm the guy with the rep for being rude.
Terrorizing people wherever I go,
It's not intentional, just keepin' the flow.
Fixin' test scores to get the best scores.
Droppin' banana peels all over the floor.
I'm the kid that made delinquency an art,
Last name Simpson, first name Bart.
I'm here today to introduce the next phase,
The next step in the big Bart craze.
I've got a dance real easy to do;
I learned it with no rhythm, and so can you.
So move your body if you've got the notion,
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Now that you've got it, if you think you can,
Do it to the music--that's the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Whoa!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake it out, man!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Bartman!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Uh-huh.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Whoa, mama!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Whoa.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
It wasn't long ago, just a couple of weeks,
I got in trouble, yeah, pretty deep.
Homer was yellin',
Bart!
Mom was too,
Because I put mothballs in the beef stew.
Punishment time, in the air lurks gloom,
Sitting by myself, confined to my room.
When all else fails, nothin' else left to do,
I turn on the music, so I can feel the groove.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Whoa, I'm feelin' the groove now, baby!
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Bring it back, whoa!
Move you hips from side to side now.
Do the Bartman!
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
Whoa, Lisa. Ha!
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Ha, ha, ha!
Light rhythm in time with the music.
Ha, ha, ha. Check it out, man.
You just might start a chain reaction.
If you can do the Bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Oh, yeah!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake yo' body!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Huh!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Yeah, do the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Everybody, yeah, do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake it out.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Whoa, mama.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
I'm bad, I'm bad!
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Pick your feet up off the floor, let 'em glide!
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
She can do it, he can do it, so can I.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Now here's a dance beat that you can't deny.
Turn it down! Will you stop that infernal racket?!
Do the Bartman!
Oh, my ears! Lisa! Put that saxophone away!
You can't touch this.
I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.
Oops!
Now I'm in the house, feeling good to be home,
Till Lisa starts blowing that damn saxophone.
And if it was mine, you know they'd take it away,
But still I'm feeling good, so that's okay.
I'm up in my room, just a singin' a song,
Listen to the kick drum, kickin' along.
Yeah, Lisa likes jazz; she's their number one fan,
But I know I'm bad, 'cause I do the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Hey, everybody!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Need I remind you?
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
I am Bart, Bart-man.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Shake it out.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
She can do it, he can do it, so can I.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Move it.
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Swing it!
Move you hips from side to side now.
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby, doo, wop, bop, bop!
Light rhythm in time with the music.
Dabba doo, dabba doo, dab it!
You just might start a chain reaction.
Dabba dab, doo dab
Hee, hee, hee. I'm a Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Swing it, baby.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Hoo-uh.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Oh yeah. I'm bad. Real bad.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Whoa, mama.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Ha, ha!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Oh yeah!
Do the Bartman.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
You call that dancing? Ha!
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
(Do the Bartman)
Watch this move.
Move you hips from side to side now.
(Everybody in the house do the Bartman)
Ooh, uh uh, uh, ai, ai. Yeah!
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
(Do the Bartman)
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Ha, ha, ha! Swing it!
Jack your body in time with the music.
You just might start a chain reaction.
Eat your heart out, Michael! Woop!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
I'm the guy with the rep for being rude.
Terrorizing people wherever I go,
It's not intentional, just keepin' the flow.
Fixin' test scores to get the best scores.
Droppin' banana peels all over the floor.
I'm the kid that made delinquency an art,
Last name Simpson, first name Bart.
I'm here today to introduce the next phase,
The next step in the big Bart craze.
I've got a dance real easy to do;
I learned it with no rhythm, and so can you.
So move your body if you've got the notion,
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Now that you've got it, if you think you can,
Do it to the music--that's the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Whoa!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake it out, man!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Bartman!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Uh-huh.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Whoa, mama!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Whoa.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
It wasn't long ago, just a couple of weeks,
I got in trouble, yeah, pretty deep.
Homer was yellin',
Bart!
Mom was too,
Because I put mothballs in the beef stew.
Punishment time, in the air lurks gloom,
Sitting by myself, confined to my room.
When all else fails, nothin' else left to do,
I turn on the music, so I can feel the groove.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Whoa, I'm feelin' the groove now, baby!
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Bring it back, whoa!
Move you hips from side to side now.
Do the Bartman!
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
Whoa, Lisa. Ha!
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Ha, ha, ha!
Light rhythm in time with the music.
Ha, ha, ha. Check it out, man.
You just might start a chain reaction.
If you can do the Bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Oh, yeah!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake yo' body!
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Huh!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Yeah, do the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Everybody, yeah, do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Shake it out.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Whoa, mama.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
I'm bad, I'm bad!
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Pick your feet up off the floor, let 'em glide!
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
She can do it, he can do it, so can I.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Now here's a dance beat that you can't deny.
Turn it down! Will you stop that infernal racket?!
Do the Bartman!
Oh, my ears! Lisa! Put that saxophone away!
You can't touch this.
I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.
Oops!
Now I'm in the house, feeling good to be home,
Till Lisa starts blowing that damn saxophone.
And if it was mine, you know they'd take it away,
But still I'm feeling good, so that's okay.
I'm up in my room, just a singin' a song,
Listen to the kick drum, kickin' along.
Yeah, Lisa likes jazz; she's their number one fan,
But I know I'm bad, 'cause I do the Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Hey, everybody!
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Need I remind you?
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
I am Bart, Bart-man.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Shake it out.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
Do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman!
She can do it, he can do it, so can I.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Move it.
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Swing it!
Move you hips from side to side now.
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby, doo, wop, bop, bop!
Light rhythm in time with the music.
Dabba doo, dabba doo, dab it!
You just might start a chain reaction.
Dabba dab, doo dab
Hee, hee, hee. I'm a Bartman.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Swing it, baby.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Hoo-uh.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Oh yeah. I'm bad. Real bad.
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Whoa, mama.
Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Ha, ha!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Oh yeah!
Do the Bartman.
Move your body, if you've got the notion.
You call that dancing? Ha!
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
(Do the Bartman)
Watch this move.
Move you hips from side to side now.
(Everybody in the house do the Bartman)
Ooh, uh uh, uh, ai, ai. Yeah!
Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
(Do the Bartman)
If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Ha, ha, ha! Swing it!
Jack your body in time with the music.
You just might start a chain reaction.
Eat your heart out, Michael! Woop!
Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
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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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I think this is the first. It was released as a single, in 1990 I think, and it was included on the album 'Sing the Blues'. There's a link for purchasing the album from Amazon up top right. It was revealed, some time after the release of 'Do The Bartman', that it was written by Michael Jackson. Hence the two mentions of his name in the lyrics.