Beat Happening is an American indie pop and punk rock band formed in Olympi… Read Full Bio ↴Beat Happening is an American indie pop and punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, United States in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-fi movements, noted for their use of primitive recording techniques, disregard for the technical aspects of musicianship, and songs with subject matters of a childish or coy nature.

Though not officially broken up, the band has not performed together in public since the early 1990s. In 2005, they were invited by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse to perform at All Tomorrow's Parties but respectfully declined the invitation.

The band met while attending The Evergreen State College and began recording in 1983. The band's basic lineup was drums, guitar and vocals, though when they formed their only instruments were a pair of maracas and a Sears Silvertone guitar purchased at a thrift shop. Heather once joked in an interview that the history of the band could be told through a list of the various people they'd borrowed drums from. Heather and Calvin had been members of a previous band and approached Bret, who had no musical experience at the time, saying they ought to start a band and go to Japan. Indeed, it was on a trip to Tokyo that the band members recorded Three Tea Breakfast, an EP that established the band's reputation.

Calvin Johnson was one of the founders of seminal indie rock label K Records. The label achieved modest success and continues to hold its independent integrity, claiming to have been "exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre since 1982."

Beat Happening (1985), their full length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was Jamboree (1988). By the release of Dreamy in 1991, Beat Happening was one of the most popular bands in the indie rock community, leading to their pivotal role in the International Pop Underground Festival, which brought anti-corporate rock its earliest mainstream acceptance. Their last full-length album was 1992's You Turn Me On, which represented the band breaking many of their established conventions from earlier albums, most notably on Godsend, which runs 9 minutes in length and features blatant use of multitrack recording. The album was described by allmusic.com as "A masterpiece." Though never announcing a break-up and claiming at one point to still practice once a month, the members of Beat Happening have moved on to various other projects. In 2000 they released the Angel Gone single, their first new release in eight years.

A Beat Happening box set, Crashing Through, which collects all of the band's officially released music except for two of their tracks from a live cassette split with The Vaselines, was released in 2002. The box set included a booklet containing a lengthy essay on the history and impact of the band by Lois Maffeo, as well as rare photos of members Calvin, Heather and Bret.

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Bewitched
Beat Happening Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I see you hang in the crowd
Staring me down
With that ice cream cone
Still I'm all alone
You've got me caught
Let go my heart
Or give me a sign
That you'll be mine

I've got a crush on you
I've got a crush on you
You won't let me through
I've got a crush on you
I've got a crush on you
What am I to do?
I've got a crush on you

I saw you flying your plane
Driving me insane
Hit me with a bone
Still I'm all alone
You're driving that car
Saw his arm
Saw that black as tar
Must be your heart

Chorus

Pandora's box
Has got a lock
I'm gonna knock
Gonna beat the clock
I won't rest
Until pandora's chest
Has been upset
Because I'm the one

Chorus

I can't relax
Ol' mister scratch
Is on my back
Made a devil's pact
Trade an old black cat
For a witches brew
Seven deadly sins
And you

Chorus

Crush
You
Crush

You
Yeah, you.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Beat Happening's song "Bewitched" convey the story of someone who has a crush on another person and is trying to get their attention. The lyrics are fairly straightforward with the singer watching the object of their desire from afar, hoping for some kind of signal that they reciprocate the feelings. The listener gets the impression that the singer has been obsessing over this person for some time as they watch them hang out in crowds, drive cars, fly planes, and even eat ice cream. There is a sense of desperation in the lyrics as the singer tries to appeal to this person in any way possible to gain their affection.

The chorus repeats the same phrase "I've got a crush on you" several times, as if the singer is trying to convince themselves that it's true. The lyrics are slightly ambiguous, leaving some room for interpretation as to whether the person they are fixated on is even aware of their existence. The line "Pandora's box has got a lock, I'm gonna knock, gonna beat the clock" creates an allusion to the mythological story of Pandora who opened a box containing all the evils of the world. The singer seems to be saying that they are willing to put everything on the line to win the affection of the person they are crushing on.

Line by Line Meaning

I see you hang in the crowd
I see you in the crowd

Staring me down
Looking at me intently

With that ice cream cone
Holding an ice cream cone

Still I'm all alone
I'm still alone

You've got me caught
You have me trapped

Let go my heart
Release my heart from your hold

Or give me a sign
Show me a sign

That you'll be mine
That you'll be my partner

I've got a crush on you
I have strong feelings for you

You won't let me through
You won't give me a chance

What am I to do?
What should I do?

I saw you flying your plane
I saw you flying a plane

Driving me insane
Making me crazy

Hit me with a bone
Surprised me

Still I'm all alone
I'm still by myself

You're driving that car
You're driving that car

Saw his arm
I saw his arm

Saw that black as tar
Something is dark or suspicious

Must be your heart
Something is wrong with you

Pandora's box
A box of trouble

Has got a lock
Locked and difficult to open

I'm gonna knock
I'm going to try to open it

Gonna beat the clock
I'm racing against time

I won't rest
I won't stop trying

Until pandora's chest
Until I open the box

Has been upset
Has been turned upside down

Because I'm the one
I'm the person to solve this

I can't relax
I'm unable to calm down

Ol' mister scratch
The devil

Is on my back
Is causing me trouble

Made a devil's pact
Made a deal with the devil

Trade an old black cat
Gave up something important

For a witches brew
For a dangerous potion

Seven deadly sins
A list of very bad things

And you
And I'm doing this for you

Crush
Strong romantic feelings

You
Referring to the person being sung to

Crush
Strong romantic feelings

You
Referring to the person being sung to

Yeah, you.
Definitely you

Lyrics © DistroKid, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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