The Man From Milwaukee by Hanson

Album: Middle Of Nowhere (1997)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

In a Songfacts interview with Zac Hanson, he talked about this song: "That's a really fun one. Pretty simply, it's about an alien encounter. I don't really believe in aliens, but it was just a funny idea that came along. We got stuck in Albuquerque, New Mexico - we drove out from Oklahoma to make our first album, we do that every time we make an album, we drive across the country, it's sort of the beginning of the journey of making a record and the writing process. The car broke down in Albuquerque. I was sitting on the side of the road, and I started coming up with the chorus part. I brought the other guys in and said, 'I've got this stupid song, what do you think?' They said, 'Hey, it's goofy, but it's fun, and sometimes you need that.' It's just about a guy's slow turn to finally going kind of crazy."
This is a hidden track on Hanson's first major-label album. They released two independent albums before Mercury Records signed them. The Hanson brothers were 16, 13, and 11 years old when this was released (Zac is the youngest).
The group grew up listening to '50s and '60s music, which was a big influence when they started writing their own songs. This had a bit of a Beatles influence, as Zac explains: "It represents the joy in music, the same way as 'Yellow Submarine.' It's not necessarily the most meaningful song or the perfectly well-written song with every edge trimmed and achieved, but it's just about having fun and the joy. That one's kind of back to our roots as a garage band, it's crazy."

Comments: 6

Terry from Grafon, WiI live near Milwaukee and every time they come to Wisco, they ALWAYS play this song, and they say it's for us. I love Hanson! One of the most under-rated bands of all time.
Jean from Cupar, ScotlandAlbertane..didn't I hear somewhere that was the fictional capital of Mars?
Heather from Waukesha, WiThis is an awesome song, I fell in love with it when I first heard it. It makes me remember how goofy Zac is and cheers me up when I'm down.
Madeline from Melbourne, AustraliaZac's engaged and your meant to be a fan of the music. This is a cute song
Aria from Omaha, Nei used to sing this song when i was maybe 13
ya, those were the days
Bobbie from Calgary, CanadaI STILL LOVE YOU GUYS!!! hey zac...call me *wink* the age difference isnt that big.... lets see im 13 now and its december 23 2004 so.... :)

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Surf CityJan & Dean

"Surf City" was recorded by Jan & Dean, but written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was the first #1 hit Wilson wrote.

Mercedes BoyPebbles

"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.

I Remember EverythingZach Bryan

Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves had both gone through divorces when they wrote and recorded the wrenching duet "I Remember Everything." It was the first #1 Hot 100 hit for each of them.

Streets Of PhiladelphiaBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's "Streets Of Philadelphia" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1994, beating out Neil Young's "Philadelphia," which was also written for the movie Philadelphia.

Bad GirlsDonna Summer

Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" is about prostitutes, but it was still used in the movie Rugrats In Paris.

It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)R.E.M.

"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" was inspired by a dream where Michael Stipe conjured up images of people with the initials L.B.: Lester Bangs, Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Leonard Bernstein.