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,
There's an old man on a city bus
Holding a candy cane
And it isn't even Christmas
He see's a note in the obituary
That his last friend has died
There's an infant clinging
To his overweight mother in the cold
As they go to shop for cigarettes
As the spends her last dollar
On a bottle of vodka for tonight
And I guess it struck a nerve
Like I had to squint my eyes
You can never get out
Of the line of sight
Like a barren winter day
Or a patch of unburned green
Like a tragic real dream
I guess it struck a nerve
Every day I wander
In negative disposition
As I'm bombarded by superlatives
Realizing very well that I am not alone
Introverted
I look to tomorrow for salvation
But I'm thinking altruistically
And a wave of overwhelming doubt
Turns me to stone
And I guess it struck a nerve
Send a murmur through my heart
We just haven't got time
To crack the maze
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells
A collision in the dark
I guess it strunk a nerve
I try to close my eyes
But I cannot ignore the stimuli
If there's a purpose for us all
It remains a secret to me
Don't ask me to justify my life
Holding a candy cane
And it isn't even Christmas
He see's a note in the obituary
That his last friend has died
There's an infant clinging
To his overweight mother in the cold
As they go to shop for cigarettes
As the spends her last dollar
On a bottle of vodka for tonight
And I guess it struck a nerve
Like I had to squint my eyes
You can never get out
Of the line of sight
Like a barren winter day
Or a patch of unburned green
Like a tragic real dream
I guess it struck a nerve
Every day I wander
In negative disposition
As I'm bombarded by superlatives
Realizing very well that I am not alone
Introverted
I look to tomorrow for salvation
But I'm thinking altruistically
And a wave of overwhelming doubt
Turns me to stone
And I guess it struck a nerve
Send a murmur through my heart
We just haven't got time
To crack the maze
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells
A collision in the dark
I guess it strunk a nerve
I try to close my eyes
But I cannot ignore the stimuli
If there's a purpose for us all
It remains a secret to me
Don't ask me to justify my life
Lyrics submitted by ndu192, edited by Mellow_Harsher, MyQualia
Struck a Nerve Lyrics as written by Greg Graffin
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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