Lyrics for A as interpreted by ojms

A Lyrics
A is for angry, which is what you are at me
A is for adult, which is what I'll never be
A is for applesauce, my favorite meal
A is for Adam, which is how I sometimes feel;
Like I'm the only man on earth and I've forgotten what that's worth

A is for Arthur, he's a lovable drunk
Amazing like Thelonius Monk
A is for argument, A is for apparent
A is for antagonism that's not even there and
It's just you begging for attention or something I won't even mention.

(chorus)
And I don't even know why you keep on trying
I don't even know why I keep on lying
There are millions of people in worlds of their own
And two of them can't let go.

A is for algebra, I learned it in school
A is what Fonzie said, 'cause he was very cool.
A is for adversery, A is for election
A is arousal, you are giving me an erection
C'mon I'm trying to show affection for longer than a half an hour.

(chorus)

I met a woman I used to know
Long before you, long ago
All I could say, after hello
Was "are you still single?"

A is attitude I can't help but wield
A is for arrogance; emotional shield
A is for acting, A is for abhorrently
A is for asshole, which is what I am, how rude of me,
I owe you an apology I'm sorry

(chorus)

Here we go
A

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  • 28 Comments
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sarahmansour
09-10-2002

Rated 0 
Steven Page for president!!!

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Emily1014
04-20-2004

Rated 0 
This is a great song

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wrion
06-04-2004

Rated 0 
The girl he's with sometimes acts like a bitch, either for attention or for another reason.... he doesn't know why he says with her... he meets an old girlfriend and is attracted to her... but he still loves his girlfriend... then, just like me, after tearing down the girl he turns to himself in the last chorus... although he's upset, that's no excuse for him being an asshole... he's sorry.

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simpg
11-29-2004

Rated 0 
A is for [A]wesome, totally friggin [A]wesome. This band, and this song, are [A]we-inspiring. I have heard that this song is about [A]utism. [A]urther was an [A]utistic kid that Kevin Hearn knew in High-School. [A]urther drank like a fish and died early in life. Kevin and [A]urther were in a jazz band together (hence the "Thelonius Monk" reference).

This song and others like it are why the Bare Naked Ladies will become, and are becoming, the best band in history. I predict that the Bare Naked Ladies will surpass the Beatles in roughly 1 1/2 years.

Bare Naked Ladies have such depth and the songs (like this one) have so much meaning. When I first heard this song I [A]ctually cried. It is [A]stonishing with it's sweeping use of [A]lliteration and [A]llegory.

Man am I jacked! I really love this band. I am so glad that other "Naked Ladies" like myself are fans. I [A]ctually bought one of those "BNL-Betty" blowup dolls. I like to sing to it really fast like they do and imagine that she is Ed Robertson or Steven Page. Sometimes, I sing Beatles tunes to her and pretend that she gets sick and pukes on me.

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underabuse
11-29-2004

Rated 0 
This song is quite obviously about the beginning of time. The hidden undertones are forged in the subtext of the letter chosen as the zenith of the song. A is for the alpha, which in the bible is the beginning, with omega being at the end. The rest of the song is about what comes after the beginning, thanks to it. Had the world not been started, many things would not have come to pass. Some of them are good, some of them bad, but they all started in the beginning, with alpha. There are also those things that are good and bad, like "the lovable drunk".

"A is for angry, which is what you are at me"

A bad thing.

"A is for adult, which is what I'll never be"

Adult is a good thing, but he won't be it so it's a bad thing. This one is ambiguous.

"A is for applesauce, my favorite meal"

A good thing.

"A is for Adam, which is how I sometimes feel; "

This one is interesting. It's bad and it's good, because Adam was the first man which is absolutely smashing! However, Adam also was lured to commit a sin by Eve, so that is bad. This is another ambiguous one, and it also points towards A as in the alpha. A stands for alpha, but also for adam, who was the alpha male, and whose name starts with adam.

The song of course talks about relationships and what not, but it is definitely framed within the architectural context of alpha and omega. Relationships are in a way a representative of that duality, as all relationships have a beginning and end! This symbolism is amazing, and the barenaked ladies, as per simpg's suggestion, are certainly approaching the level of the beatles. I don't know if they will surpass them in 1 1/2 years, but they very well might eventually. With this kind of in-depth mineral wealth of creative assertion, the barenaked ladies have proven themselves A-Awesome.

This song bathes in metaphors, and comes out clean as a whistle. It drips finely formed similes onto the floor, allowing them to flow towards the drain and mingle with allusions. The towel of hyperbole wraps around it, completing the metaphorphasizing process, an absolutely fantastic song that will live on forever as one of the greats.

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simpg
11-30-2004

Rated 0 
Me: "Foof, foof, foof, foof, foof .... oh this gives me a headache...foof, foof, foof....there.....Hi"

BNL-Betty: (not saying anything, but giving a smoldering look)

Me: "It’s been one week since you looked at me..."

BNL-Betty: (Condensation starting to appear on her taught plastic surface)

Me: (Winking)...Cocked your head to the side...

BNL-Betty: (Plastic color starting to turn red as it is rubbed)

Me: "...and said I’m angry..."

BNL-Betty: (Still not saying anything, but seemingly starting to swoon)

Me: "...hmmm...."

Me: "...Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."

BNL-Betty: (A small pustule of non-organic matter begins to form in her artificial tube of a mouth. It begins to ooze a brown-green discharge which has square black-brown chunks that, for whatever reason, start to take the shape of Ringo. The Ringo puss dribbles to the floor and burns through the economically sensitive oriental rug bought from Target. The generally viscous, yellowish-white fluid formed from infected auditory tissue otherwise known as Ringo-puss starts to sing Yellow Submarine and spurt white cakey wads of mop-haired cholesterol balls. BNL-Betty starts to lose air as her plastic color turns a putrid green. The dog in the house start to bleed a slimy yellow custard from his eyes. The Tivo turns on the TV and begins recording Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and armageddon begins to take over....)

Me: "....oh...ah....Five days since you laughed at me saying, Get that together come back and see me...Whew that was close...."

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SNMNMNM
11-30-2004

Rated 0 
How dare you, simpg and underabused. Comparing Barenaked Ladies to The Beatles is like comparing apples to oranges...and not in a good way. Where should I start? Well, how about these key points?

1. The Beatles came first. Though some might say that the fathers of the BNL guys inspired The Beatles, I don't see how this could be the case. If it were, I'm sure BNL's music would be much better ('cause it sucks).

2. Barenaked Ladies is a stupid name. And I can't see that kindergartners will be singing BNL songs when they're at play...will they...? NO! They'll be singing The Beatles happy go lucky music that has survived for 40+ years (as compared to BNL's 10+ years in existence...hey, reminds me of how long Modest Mouse has been around).

3. The Beatles has a clever play on words: Beat intertwined with Beetles makes Beatles. As for the other? Well, Barenaked Ladies...not much more than that. And while The Beatles actually had a beat, I don't remember Barenaked Ladies having nude women on their albums, concerts, videos, etc. (upsetting since I would like to pose).

4. Number of songs. For a band to surpass another, it would most likely need to have more songs. Shiznit, why not say Led Zeppelin is better than The Beatles, then? (Which some consider that they might be.)

5. N/A (as in Never Asshole)

Just my nickel's worth.

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underabuse
11-30-2004

Rated 0 
You are quite wrong snm. Your first point is completely irrelevant. If we were to say that whichever came first was the best, than twisted sister would be better than an awful lot of groups, and they are definitely towards the bottom. The simple fact that Mr. Creeggan the first taught Ringo his first guitar lick is irrevocable evidence that the beatles were influenced by the barenaked ladies, albeit in an indirect form. The musical talent of Creeggan's father (and some of the other band members) is releashed with violence in all of their progeny's music, striking down the enemies of good taste with unrelenting waves of near-apocalyptic level style.

Your second point is well made, but only if you ignore the root of the barenaked ladies name. It actually comes from one main story about the drummer's brother. Back in the day when they all used to smoke a bunch of doobies, his brother Barrie (spelled funny, but blame his parents) took a hit of some weird stuff. Anyhow, by the end of the night they had convinced him to run down the street naked. "They" being the rest of the band, since they used to be friends. Anyhow, this happened at about the time they were in high school, and were Lad's. Hence, if you rearrange the name, you have "Barrie Naked Lad" which is really a close anagram of Barenaked ladies. Pretty neat, right? Certainly equivalent to the beatles. This also makes your third point moot.

The beatles might have lots of songs, but most of them are pretty miserable. Strawberry fields forever? What kind of hogwash is that? Anyhow, they certainly have not written anything approaching the delicious representation of lyrically astounding and stupendously invitingly tongued guitar licks, coupled with phenomenal earth-shattering drum rolls, delivered as an undertone to the finely delivered lyrics meant to bring the listener into a state of euphoric rapture. Name one beatles song the equivalent of this one!

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simpg
12-02-2004

Rated 0 
Hey SNMNMNM....when I fart it sounds better than the Beatles.

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SNMNMNM
12-02-2004

Rated 0 
I would absolutely LOVE to hear those musical farts. Oh please, kind sir, where can I find MP3s of your amazing talent with your ass?

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underabuse
12-02-2004

Rated 0 
I see that SNMMM would refer to respond to a drivelling urine-licker than an actual intelligent and fact-based response. Nice dodge.

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SNMNMNM
12-02-2004

Rated 0 
It was sarcasm, dumb ass. Anyway, your argument wasn't very intellectual and stimulating and fact-based and whatever, so shut your pie hole.

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underabuse
12-02-2004

Rated 0 
You simply say that because you cannot debate my benign representations of truth laid out before you. I win.

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wrion
12-04-2004

Rated 0 
will you two give it up? i'm a huge fan of both bands. the beatles definately get props for being first. that doesn't make them better, but they were the first to do a LOT of stuff that everyband today does and doesn't even think about. saying that the barenaked ladies will pass the beatles any time soon is just adsurd. in what way? popularity/status-wise, there's no chance. the BNLmania just doesn't exist, like it or not. musicly or lyricly? you can't compare bands thrity years apart like that. modern physicists have used Einstein's laws of relativity to come up with some pretty cool stuff about black holes and such that Einstein never thought of. does that mean that they're smarter than him? the beatles had to break ground and make it possible for today's bands to do what they do. people (myself for example) could enjoy listening to BNL moreso than the Beatles, but that doesn't mean they're better or worse.
snm, you're points are just ridiculous. two of them are about the name of the bands. who gives a crap? and believe it or not, the Ladies have released over 100 songs on CDs, so it's not a lopsided battle as you think of library size.
BNL didn't influence the Beatles because Mr. Creeggan taught Ringo; BOTH bands were influenced by Mr. Creegan.
you're both putting out a lot of dribble over nothing. both groups are amazingly innovative and have incredibly good songwriters. but it's unrealistic to say that BNL will ever "surpass" the Beatles.

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bnlcraze
01-29-2005

Rated 0 
the name barenaked ladies originated from a joke at a bob dylan concert. ed and steve were the two original barenaked ladies. Then came Jim and Andy, and then the drummer, Tyler Stewart. So how does Barrie Naked Lad fit in if the name was already made up before the drummer came along?

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underabuse
04-29-2005

Rated 0 
What proof do you have of that bnlcraze? I have a well documented story that was reported in "Rolling Stone" in the july issue of 2002, where do your "facts" come from?

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jnb987
12-23-2005

Rated 0 
BTW, Arthur the lovable drunk, while he may be an autistic kid Kevin knew, is clearly a reference to the 1981 movie "Arthur."

I also have heard, but can't confirm at the moment, that every "A" at the beginning of a line is sung as an A note. If that's true, then it's just wicked cool.

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sl8r
02-14-2006

Rated 0 
the main thing the beatles had over evry1 else was timing. if they wer introduced now with their bubbly pop songs that got them famous in the 1st place, theyd b another conveyor belt boy band. they only started writing good lyrics wen they started takin drugs

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colum1225
07-13-2006

Rated 0 
"A is for Arthur" is definitely a reference to the movie "Arthur", and this song is not in any way about the beginning of time or anything in the Bible. It's about a couple on whose relationship is on the rocks. That's all.

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ascrodin
12-02-2006

Rated 0 
Simpq, how could this song be about someone Kevin knew when it was written by STEVEN PAGE, and relased a year BEFORE Kevin joined the group?

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ascrodin
12-02-2006

Rated 0 
Simpq, how could this song be about someone Kevin knew when it was written by STEVEN PAGE, and relased a year BEFORE Kevin joined the group?

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MickeyPhilly
05-06-2007

Rated 0 
The apparent rumor that every "A" at the beginning of each verse is sung on the pitch "A" is incorrect. I have perfect pitch... it's being sung on an F.

Anyway, not sure how you could compare the Beatles to BNL, because the Beatles had amazing artistic DEVELOPMENT while BNL started out with 2 excellent albums and went straight downhill.

This is an amazing song though. One of the best pop songs every written, in my opinion.

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andrewxc
07-04-2007

Rated 0 
Ascrodin - he can't hear you from three years ago... Likely that you can't hear me, either :)

BNL has gotten better lately, and they have been describing their transitions through their songs. It's true that you can't compare the Beatles and BNL, though, they are in completely different sports. It's like trying to compare Manchester United with the Boston Bruins (forgive me if you don't like either). They are each good at what they do, but they have somewhat different goals. BNL are a bunch of guys that just want to have fun and bring their music to the masses.

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ManningIndy
07-21-2007

Rated 0 
Here's my take:

I see the Beatles and BNL as having many similarities between them. First of all, both bands had a lead songwriting tandem of two people (Page/Robertson, Lennon/McCartney). Both songwriting tandems often write their own songs (Page writing alone, Robertson adds a bridge or lyric), but then the other comes in and adds something new and it is credited as being written by both writers.

Also, they are also very similar musically. Both stay relatively simple but still there are small subtleties that let the listener know how talented the bands really are. Also, lyrically, they write very catchy but meaningful things that really attract listeners.

Both bands are very politically concerned, both with one person more than the other (Lennon more than McCartney, Page more than Robertson) but still very concerned with what is going on in the world and looking for change for the better. Both incorporated these feelings into their songs in the latter part of their careers.

There are many more, but at the top of my head I can't think of anything that is really glaring out at me.

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ascrodin
01-29-2008

Rated 0 
Did Jim Creeggan's father really teach Ringo how to play guitar? That story sounds kind of fishy.

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