Can't Hardly Wait (Tim demo version)

The first versions of the song are definitely better than the final product, in my opinion. Not only for the great lyrics, but how they performed it. There's something raw and desperate in both Paul's voice and Stinson's guitar strumming (both in the electric and the acoustic versions) that make it seem so genuine.

As a sixteen-year-old I could lie on my bedroom floor listening to this song on repeat for hours. It gave me some sort of comfort. Which is strange, though I've always known it had to be about a suicide.

Although I believe that the lyrics has some errors, due to the several different versions. This is like a mix from both the alternate version and the outtakes from the expanded Tim album.

The acoustic outtake version of Can't Hardly Wait goes something like this:

"I'll be there in an hour Take these two weeks there on foot Watering hole, scummy* water tower I'd climb to the top scream out loud if I could

I'll be sad in heaven You won't visit** me there

Jesus rides beside me He never buys any smokes Hurry up, hurry up I've had enough of the stuff Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, filthy jokes

Light flash in the evening guess we'll follow him there

I'll be there in an hour If there's a whole in the gate Climb to the top of this scummy* water tower screaming I can't hardly wait

I can't wait, I can't wait...."

*Should be correct if you compare it to the more common version of the song, but in the acoustic outtake it sounds like he's singing "cummy" och maybe "crummy"

** In other versions he uses "find" and "follow".

The electric outtake is a bit different goes something like this, I think:

"I'll be there in an hour Take half a month there on foot Watering hole, scummy* water tower Find it to the top I'll avoid if I could

I'll be sad in heaven You won't find me there

Jesus rides beside me He never buys any smokes Hurry up, hurry up I've had enough of the stuff Dirty floors, sleazy clothes, filthy jokes

I'll be there in the evening I guess I'll follow him there

I'll be there in an hour I'll find a whole in the gate Climb to the top of this scummy* water tower and I can't hardly wait

I can't wait, I can't wait...."

The alternate version from Please to meet me, sounds to me like something like this:

"I can't wait for hours Take half a month home on foot Watering hole, fucking water tower Scream on top I'll avoid if I could

Lights gonna flash in the evening You won't find me there

Jesus rides beside me He never buys any smokes Hurry up, hurry up I've had enough of the stuff Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, filthy jokes

We'll get there in the evening I can't hardly wait

Lights gonna flash tomorrow There's a whole in the gate I'll be riding* on this little tower I can't hardly awake**

I can't wait, I can't wait...."

*Or "rioting" or something? Hmm... could make sense. In some strange "I protest by taking my own life"-way

** Might be "I can't hardly wait", but it sounds a bit like a K!

This version is a bit more clear about being the lead-up to a suicide. I can only guess that Paul changed the lyrics for the PTMM version to avoid redundancy with "The Ledge", though the PTMM version is still a suicide song, no doubt about it.

This version was produced by Alex Chilton and kicks major ass. Love the charging beat and Bob Stinson's great, restrained lead. The other version is nice too, but this one is definitive to me.

i think the line is 'i'll be safe in heaven'.