• Education            1984

Surrounded by music, my expensive stereo
Cannot fill the void where no lover fears to go.
The night hugs my shoulders like a woman’s gentle touch
And I see the danger of wanting her too much.

Chorus
The years of education, the books I have read
Drowns out my heart and swims around my head.
I should have peace of mind, but I grow more restless instead
‘Cause I was never taught how to say how much I love you.

I see you from a distance, I can’t tell you why.
I should approach you, but the glare hurts my eyes.
I’m afraid you’d say ‘hello’ and I’d have no reply.
So I hold my distance and watch you go by.

Chorus

I imagine quiet evenings sipping anisette.
I watch you crush out  your expensive cigarette.
I’ll give a relationship that you won’t soon regret.
You know it’s too bad we never met.

Chorus

OK, so I was a lonely geek in college…but very romantic. I’ve always liked this lyric because it accomplished two very important things. First, it perfectly described what I was feeling at the time (including the sarcastic clichés in the third verse). Second, it preserved it so well that I can still feel it when I listen to the song today.

I never quite knew how to break the ice, but I knew if I could get into a one-on-one conversation, I could quickly endear myself to a lovely coed. The problem: I never got past that ice breaking thing. Surely I had something of an ‘angry young man’ persona, but didn’t everybody?

I think the song speaks for itself. It’s very clean and simple…and catchy. It’s one of a select few I’ve always played live.

The song was recorded in Youngstown, Ohio during the Winter of 1985/1986. I played all the instruments (guitars, synth bass and synth solos) and sang all 3 harmonies.

Originally recorded in 4-track mono. Mixed to stereo cassette (2-track) in 1986. Re-engineered to digital from the stereo mixdown using Cool96 September 1999.