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Answering Machine Lyrics
One, two, three, four
Try to breathe some life into a letter
Losing hope, never gonna be together
My courage is at its peak
You know what I mean
How do say you're O.K. to
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?
Big town's got its losers
Small town's got its vices
A handful of friends
One needs a match, one needs some ice
Call-waiting phone in another time zone
How do you say I miss you to
An answering machine?
How do say good night to
An answering machine?
I get enough of that
Try to free a slave of ignorance
Try and teach a whore about romance
How do you say I miss you to
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?
How do you say I'm lonely to
An answering machine?
The message is very plain
Oh, I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine...
Losing hope, never gonna be together
My courage is at its peak
You know what I mean
How do say you're O.K. to
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?
Small town's got its vices
A handful of friends
One needs a match, one needs some ice
Call-waiting phone in another time zone
How do you say I miss you to
An answering machine?
How do say good night to
An answering machine?
Try and teach a whore about romance
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?
How do you say I'm lonely to
An answering machine?
The message is very plain
Oh, I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine...
Song Info
Submitted by
typo On Jan 06, 2002
More The Replacements
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Alex Chilton
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A handful of friends One needs a match, one needs some ice
^^ those lines are basically saying that his only friends are his cigarettes and his alcohol (one needs a match, one needs ice)
yet another example of westerberg's genius.
I had this song on repeat for a very long time. My ex, a musician, was always on tour, and this song just hit home for me. It's an amazing song... very much ahead of its time. Westerberg is a damn genius.
This is a simple concept about not accepting the lack of personal intimacy. I love all the comparisons to things that are as equally as futile as expressing emotion through a machine: "Try to breathe some life into a letter", "Try to free a slave of ignorance", "Try and teach a whore about romance".
I heard this song a thousand times but never picked up on the 212, 313 lyrics at the end (PS, 313 is Michigan).
I don't think the song is specifically about an answering machine and trying to make contact with someone. I think it's more about just loneliness in general. "a handful of friends, one needs a match and one needs some ice" - Those are the only friends around for him, and anyone who has ever been lonely, whether it's been their entire life or just for one night should be able to understand the feeling.
the last numbers are area codes.
212 = new york etc.
I just don't completely understand the line "One needs a match, one needs some ice"...I'm assuming that one needs a match for a cigarette and one needs some ice for (presumably) an alcoholic drink...
Perhaps he's missing something in his life (maybe the girl he's trying to get a hold of?) like he's missing the match for his smoke and the ice for his drink...he's just not complete or something along those lines
I also thought about match as in a match in a relationship (i.e. "they're a perfect match") but then the ice thing doesn't work with it or make sense
Ice melts, matches burn out. When you talk to someone as they hear you, there hearing exactly what you mean wile you mean it. When they hear a message they hear the dead past
Ahh, I understand that line now. "Handful of friends, one needs a match, one needs some ice"...he's got his hands full with a cigarette in one and a drink in the other...
@Robot Rock, which is exactly how I found Westerberg in a NY lounge bar the one time I met him in person back in 1990. Approachable guy, did not mind at all being chatted up, maybe because the "friends" he was with didn't provide much in the way of conversation. ;)
my favorite Mats song... well favorite of the moment. The clever lyrics really drive home the point of loneliness. I believe the opening of "Color Me Obsessed" addresses this song and the woman whom Paul was trying to hook up with. She was a photographer that had done some work for a paper or the Mats... one of the fansites addresses this in more detail, perhaps it is colormeimpressed.com