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All I Wanna Do Lyrics
This ain't no disco
It ain't no country club, either
This is L.A.
"All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die,"
Says the man next to me, out of nowhere
It's apropos of nothing
He says his name's William
But I'm sure he's Bill or Billy or Mac or Buddy
And he's plain ugly to me
And I wonder if he's ever had a day of fun
In his whole life
We are drinking beer at noon on Tuesday
In a bar that faces a giant car wash
The good people of the world are washing their cars
On their lunch break, hosing and scrubbing
As best they can in skirts in suits
They drive their shiny Datsuns and Buicks
Back to the phone company, the record store too
Well, they're nothing like Billy and me, cause
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
I like a good beer buzz early in the morning
And Billy likes to peel the labels
From his bottles of Bud
He shreds them on the bar
Then he lights every match in an oversized pack
Letting each one burn down to his thick fingers
before blowing and cursing them out
- And he's watching the bottles of Bud as they spin on the floor
And a happy couple enters the bar
Dangerously close to one another
The bartender looks up from his want ads
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
Otherwise the bar is ours,
The day and the night and the car wash too
The matches and the Buds
And the clean and dirty cars
The sun and the moon, but
All I wanna do is have some fun
I've got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I've got a feeling the party has just begun
All I wanna do is have some fun
I won't tell you that you're the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
It ain't no country club, either
This is L.A.
Says the man next to me, out of nowhere
It's apropos of nothing
He says his name's William
But I'm sure he's Bill or Billy or Mac or Buddy
And he's plain ugly to me
And I wonder if he's ever had a day of fun
In his whole life
We are drinking beer at noon on Tuesday
In a bar that faces a giant car wash
The good people of the world are washing their cars
On their lunch break, hosing and scrubbing
As best they can in skirts in suits
Back to the phone company, the record store too
Well, they're nothing like Billy and me, cause
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
And Billy likes to peel the labels
From his bottles of Bud
He shreds them on the bar
Then he lights every match in an oversized pack
Letting each one burn down to his thick fingers
before blowing and cursing them out
- And he's watching the bottles of Bud as they spin on the floor
Dangerously close to one another
The bartender looks up from his want ads
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
The day and the night and the car wash too
The matches and the Buds
And the clean and dirty cars
The sun and the moon, but
I've got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I've got a feeling the party has just begun
All I wanna do is have some fun
I won't tell you that you're the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up
Over Santa Monica Boulevard
Song Info
Submitted by
itsmyownmind On Dec 19, 2001
More Sheryl Crow
If It Makes You Happy
Soak Up The Sun
Strong Enough
I Shall Believe
My Favorite Mistake
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I like how anachronistic the song is. Datsun, Buick, phone company, record store, matches, and want ads-- all gone. It doesn't surprise me that it's originally poetry, because it is potently descriptive.
great song, way overplayed
The lyrics for the song are closely based on the poem "Fun" by Wyn Cooper . Crow had written the music for the song but was unhappy with the accompanying lyrics. Her producer bought her ten random books of poetry and Crow adapted "Fun" to accompany the music. Cooper is listed as a co-writer and receives royalties from the song.
The lyrics are basically word-for-word from Wyn Cooper's poem with a few slight additions and cuts (which is why Sheryl Crow's has the gap poetically). One of the few additions is in the Cooper line of "And I wonder if he’s ever had fun in his life."
The lyrics are basically word-for-word from Wyn Cooper's poem with a few slight additions and cuts (which is why Sheryl Crow's has the gap poetically). One of the few additions is in the Cooper line of "And I wonder if he’s ever had fun in his life."
Those who want to see "Fun" can go to http://ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu/books/cooper.htm (for now, at least).
Those who want to see "Fun" can go to http://ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu/books/cooper.htm (for now, at least).
And the opening lines are from Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime," of course.
And the opening lines are from Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime," of course.
This sounds like a cheerful pop song, but listen to what the lyrics are saying:
"All I want to do is have a little fun before I die" -- don't miss the "before I die" here, time is running out, and the guy who says this looks like maybe he's never had a day of fun in his life. And what's Billy or Mac or whatever going to do about it? Sit in a bar with Sheryl Crow and drink "at noon on a Tuesday" and burn matches and tear up the labels from the bottles, while the world goes by outside.
By the way, you can read the full text of the original poem here: http://poetryandstout.blogspot.com/2005/07/fun-wyn-cooper.html
@treant Truly insightful reply.
@treant Truly insightful reply.
Too, the bottleneck guitar work almost seems to introduce a sort of unreality, which one might feel "as the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.".
Too, the bottleneck guitar work almost seems to introduce a sort of unreality, which one might feel "as the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.".
These lyrics are wrong. Following are the correct lyrics:
Thanks, Corrected<p><b><i>Edited by Matty on March 12 2005, at 10:14PM</i></b></p>
Not a lot of Sheryl Crow fans around here, are there? This is definitely one of her best. Great song, if I were weary of society and I wanted to spend my life sitting in a bar. To each his own, and this song still kicks.
Thank goodness for the corrected lyrics. It's such a fun song.
To have actually had days like this is one of my prouder achievements :)
-deSitter
I've heard that this song is very much like Sheryl Crow's life before she became famous. She used to play gigs at bars, make next to nothing, and hang around the bars during her free time too, living a drunk and pointless lifestyle. I can understand though... what is the point of life anyways... lol
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Yea, it really is. This song is really fun and upbeat. I've known it since I was little because my dad has all her CD's so it's great to comment on it.