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Providence Lyrics

"Claudius! I'm downstairs in your nearest window... if you're up...
pub 'phone booth... if you're up...(I get tense) [Beep]"

[Mike Watt]
"Thurston! Watt! Thurston! I think it's ten thirty, we're calling
from Providence, Rhode Island. Did you find your shit? You gotta
watch the motin' Thurston, your fuckin' memory just goes out tha window.
We couldn't find it in the van at all, we wonderin' if you looked in
that trash can. When we threw out that trash, man, was the bag in
your hand, did you dump it? Call later. Bye."
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Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

if you read the book, confusion is next: the sonic youth story, it explains that this is just a message that was so bizarre that they just had to use it. mike watt and the minutemen (or was it firehose?) were touring with SY and they lost a bag.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

In the "Confusion is Next" book, they explain that after a gig Thurston came in the van on drugs, where there was Mike Watt and Kim, etc, with lots of tapes and cables and stuff. And there were a pile of garbage on the van, so Mike asked Thurston if he could take them and throw them on the trashcan. Thurston throwed the garbage on the trashcan and, as he was on drugs, he throwed all the stuff he brought, too. Later Thurston asked where he put all the stuff and no one was able to tell him. So what you hear on this song is actually a message Mike let on Thurston's answering machine the day after that, talking about it.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

gotta agree with toher.. not about the amp burning out, but that piano bit, at least before the message starts playing sounds incredibly sad to me. just reminds me how fast time goes and about everyone dear to me i've lost. pretty odd to me that this track is on a noise rock album, idk why that is.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

I always thought Watt said "punk phone booth," which I find pretty hilarious. I think I'll go on pretending that's what he says.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

i really would wanna know what this song means....it makes a little sense, but not much.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

i guess i should also mention that it was a bag of weed. "motin' " = la mota, the spanish slang for marijuana.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

even though this song is just two phone messages, it's still made incredibly sad because of the sound of the guitar amp overheating and the piano notes....

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

pretty creepy song............

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

it's good to get high and listen to DN.

Cover art for Providence lyrics by Sonic Youth

hehehehehe listening to Daydream in these days... pretty fucked up album, harsh, and very hard to listening, my favorite one is The Sprawl for now....

Too much weed, Thurston :)

 
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