Album: Tuesday Night Music Club (1993)

Charted: 4 2

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• Hit it
  This ain't no disco
  And it ain't no country club either
  This is L.A.
  
  All I want to 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 is 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 the bar that faces the giant car wash
  And the good people of the world
  Are washing their cars on their lunch breaks
  Hosing and scrubbing as best they can
  In skirts and suits
  
  They drive their shiny Datsun's and Buick's
  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 over-sized pack letting each one burn
  Down to his thick fingers before blowing and
  Cursing them out, 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 wanted ads
  
  But 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 Bud's
  And the clean and dirty cars
  The sun and the moon
  
  But, 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
  I 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
  Until the sun comes up over
  Santa Monica Boulevard Writer/s: Bill Bottrell, David Francis Baerwald, Kevin M Gilbert, Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Wyn Cooper
  Publisher: Downtown Music Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 13

• Brad B - Uk from WisbechI recently went tonSanta Monica Boulevard to watch the sun go down. Im not sure it would be as impressive watching it come up. Mind you if you have been up all night drinking in the warm Californian sun I'm sure it would be nice to the sun rise.
• Terry G from Fort Worth, TxThe line about "a guy named Willie or Mack or Buddy" is actually a reference to a guy I went to school with- Willie Wilson, stage named Willie Mack- who was from Hico, TX but moved to Nashville and was friends with Sheryl when they were both struggling unknown songwriters.
• Cj from Orange CountySomething bugged me about this song since release. I take issue with the sun coming up over Santa Monica boulevard. From which bar can you see sunrise over smblvd? Thought this while standing in the alleyway of one of the research bars.
  
• Luke from London, UkI remember late '94. I first heard this song on the radio. Talk about earworm! I think I drove my mates a bit nuts because I couldn't stop singing it. And this was when I was into the likes of Megadeth and Pantera.
• Bill from Sacramento, CaThe poem "fun" by Wyn Cooper is based upon his personal relationship with the character in Crow's song. That's right, "Billy, Mac or Buddy" was a real person. Bill Ripley is called the "most unlikely muse" by another friend of his (and Wyn's). His signature line was "All I want do do is have a little fun before I die." The poem "Fun" was written after Wyn and Bill Ripley had spent an afternoon together in a Utah bar. But it's really about Bill and the kind of person he was. When you think about it, it really changes the meaning when you consider "Fun" was written by a man by another man, and not a rather sultry beauty like Sheryl Crow. But I would give David Rothman's explanation a good read, and some good thought. It will bring a whole new meaning to this song. Find it here: http://www.cprw.com/the-most-unlikely-muse-bill-ripley By the way, Wyn does receive royalties and has received enough, apparently, to retire.
• Earl from Carlisle, PaI bought TNMC when it first came out for the song Run Baby Run. I totally hated All I Wanna Do at first. I could never get passed the "this ain't no disco" line. About a year later, during one of my daily hour and a half commutes to work, this song came on. It was one of those "where have I heard this song before?" moments. When I got home I dug out that year old CD and was surprised to find it was that "crappy disco" song I hated so much. Needless to say, it grew on me and is now one of the most played songs on my IPOD. Good times, great oldies.
• John from Fort Worth, TxI remember when I first heard this song while driving to work one day ca 1993 or 1994 (today's date is Oct. 23, '07). To me, it had such a '70s sound and I loved it. I thought it had to be from that earlier era. I made a mental note to learn more about it and I was very surprised to learn that it had been only recently recorded. I didn't hear it again until a short time later when I listened to a 'dance music' tape and the song had been sped up, enhanced, etc. I still loved it in spite of all that and I was determined to hear the original, non-enhanced version again. To this day, I love the song and Sheryl Crow for having given me such an significant memory for my life experiences.
  John Martin, 46
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesAmy Studt scored a UK hit in 2004 with a cover version of this song
• Jo-c from Lima, PeruGreat slide guitar!
• Jo from Newcastle, AustraliaMatt's link don't work. This one does though, and yeah, she HAS "borrowed" the poet's words...
  http://ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu/books/cooper.htm
  Did he get any royalties or songwriting credit for this?
• Dee from Salt Lake City, UtMs. Crow owes a huge debt of gratitude to Kevin Gilbert, her erstwhile boyfriend shortly before she shot to fame. He was the best dead artist you never heard of, but a brilliant musical genius just the same. I believe he produced a great part of her break-out album. And as with great creative genius input which is no longer available to the artist, no brilliant follow-ups have emerged from Ms. Crow. Check out Kevin Gilbert's groups, Toy Matinee, Giraffe. His rock Opera is an absolute genius recording that never got the recognition or fame it deserved!
• Scott from St. Louis, MoThis song is like a 90's "Piano Man." Forgive me if this comment is "apropos of nothing."
• Matt from Beverly Hills, CaThe lyrics for the song are closely based on the poem "Fun" by Wyn Cooper (available at http://english.boisestate.edu/mfa/oldahsahta/books/cooper.htm). 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.

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