Friday Nineties – Blues Traveler: Run-Around

Dorothy! Don't dress like that. VH1 is classy!

1994 gave us giant outdoor concerts and a big fat dude who could sing and wore harmonicas in a Chewbacca-style bandoleer.   I wonder whose job it was to clean the spit out of the harmonicas after the show.  I bet that guy didn’t get paid enough.  The video is clever, mainly because the fake band is so perfectly, painfully hip in that dread locked how the fuck did you get to bang so many hot chicks it makes no sense way like the guy from Counting Crows way.  That fake band has everything, including a black chick with a big hat.  And Ken Ober, the MTV guy.  I wonder where he is….

I actually have some personal anecdotes that I can share about the band and the song.  Should I?  Why not!  If John Popper can get his stomach stapled, I should be able to tell a couple stories.  Jerks.  Also – the video and the lyrics are after the jump, so suck on that!

Story One:  I worked with someone who was related to someone in Blues Traveler.  Not the fat dude, though.  OK, that story sucked.

Story Two:  I worked security once at a Blues Traveler concert and for some reason this guy decided to climb up the scaffolding.  It was an outdoor show and we were too busy telling the girls to pull up their shirts to notice this egregious breach of security.  But eventually someone told us and since it would have been silly to go up after the guy, we waited for him to climb down and then he got his ass kicked.  Oh, and we saw some boobs.  Who shows their boobs for Blues Traveler?  It would be like showing your boobs to Emeril…

Once upon a midnight deary
I woke with something in my head
I couldn’t escape the memory
Of a phone call and of what you said
Like a game show contestant with a parting gift
I could not believe my eyes
When I saw through the voice of a trusted friend
Who needs to humor me and tell me lies
Yeah humor me and tell me lies
And I’ll lie too and say I don’t mind
And as we seek so shall we find
And when you’re feeling open I’ll still be here
But not without a certain degree of fear
Of what will be with you and me
I still can see things hopefully

But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down

And shake me and my confidence
About a great many things
But I’ve been there I can see it cower
Like a nervous magician waiting in the wings
Of a bad play where the heroes are right
And nobody thinks or expects too much
And Hollywood’s calling for the movie rights
Singing hey babe let’s keep in touch
Hey baby let’s keep in touch
But I want more than a touch I want you to reach me
And show me all the things no one else can see
So what you feel becomes mine as well
And soon if we’re lucky we’d be unable to tell
What’s yours and mine the fishings fine
And it doesn’t have to rhyme so don’t you feed me a line

But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down

Tra la la la la bombardier this is the pilot speaking
And I’ve got some news for you
It seems my ship still stands no matter what you drop
And there ain’t a whole lot that you can do
Oh sure the banner may be torn and the wind’s gotten colder
Perhaps I’ve grown a little cynical
But I know no matter what the waitress brings
I shall drink in and always be full
Yea I will drink in and always be full

Oh I like coffee
And I like tea
I’d like to be able to enter a final plea
I still got this dream that you just can’t shake
I love you to the point you can no longer take
Well all right okay
So be that way
I hope and pray
That there’s something left to say

But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down

But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down