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,
standing just outside
the circle of light
avoiding the pool cues
watching the game
waiting for you
hanging in the doorway
like smoke
like mistletoe
this is where i'll be
whenever you come or go
i'm gonna roll you over
gonna peel you back
expose your tender center
watch the juices flow from the crack
gonna peel you out
of your protective shell
or i might have to break right in there
and raise some hell
i don't have no grand plan
for you and me
just nothing is impossible
nothing is unlikely
i'm just riding the tide
nothing more
and it's bound to take me out some
before it brings me back to shore
when you look in the mirror
do you see visions of your past
i ain't got time for halfway
i ain't got time for halfassed
when i look in the mirror
i see my days to come
and my face is just a trace
of where i'm coming from
just outside the circle of light
is where you've been living
your whole life
you've got to jump into the center
and launch your attack
and then you've got to crawl back
in the corners
where it's really black
the circle of light
avoiding the pool cues
watching the game
waiting for you
hanging in the doorway
like smoke
like mistletoe
this is where i'll be
whenever you come or go
i'm gonna roll you over
gonna peel you back
expose your tender center
watch the juices flow from the crack
gonna peel you out
of your protective shell
or i might have to break right in there
and raise some hell
i don't have no grand plan
for you and me
just nothing is impossible
nothing is unlikely
i'm just riding the tide
nothing more
and it's bound to take me out some
before it brings me back to shore
when you look in the mirror
do you see visions of your past
i ain't got time for halfway
i ain't got time for halfassed
when i look in the mirror
i see my days to come
and my face is just a trace
of where i'm coming from
just outside the circle of light
is where you've been living
your whole life
you've got to jump into the center
and launch your attack
and then you've got to crawl back
in the corners
where it's really black
Lyrics submitted by aur0ra
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