The studio core comprises Spike Slawson on vocals, bassist Fat Mike, Joey Cape on guitar and backing vocals, Dave Raun on drums, and Chris Shiflett on guitar (his brother Scott of Face To Face/Viva Death fills in for Chris on tour). Touring members have included Brian Baker (Bad Religion/Minor Threat), Barry DaLive (Crosstops/RKL), Eric Melvin (NOFX), Matthew MacNasty (bagpipes player from the Real McKenzies), and Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals).
Originally a themed 7" singles project, now each of their full length albums covers a different genre of music spanning the 50's to the 90's. Their first release in 1997 was entitled Have a Ball, followed by Are a Drag in 1999. In 2001 they released Blow in the Wind and two years later released Take a Break. Almost immediately after the release of Take a Break the released a live album Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah The genres they've butchered now include country, on Love Their Country featuring covers of songs made popular by The Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash and others. Their most recent release is a collection of B-sides from their album Have a Ball, simply titled Have Another Ball.
The Gimme Gimmes perform to entertain themselves as much as for the entertainment of their fans. Their albums and concerts are some of the most lighthearted and off the wall musical experiences in the punk world. Concerts are often interrupted between songs to freshen cocktails at the on stage tiki bar. CD liner notes relate the hardships of recording such as Fat Mike getting so caught up in "Wild World" that he believed he was Fat Stevens, a guitar-toting Islamic Extremist, so that when Spike sang "All My Lovin" he mistook it for "Allah my Lovin" and condemned Spike to death for heresy.
The Gimmes are also known for their costumes. Each album has a 'theme' for which they all dress up for the cover art and live shows. Some themes include red suits, metallic suits with fezzes, cheerleader outfits, drag (each Gimme dressed as a character from a musical they took songs from on the cover of Are a Drag: Chris Shiflett was Columbia and Spike was Dr Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror, Joey Cape was Annie, Fat Mike was Sandy from Grease and Dave Raun was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). During a Warped Tour they dressed as AFI, to the confusion of many fans. Most recently they have been dressing as cowboys, but are possibly best known for their lurid Hawaiian shirts.
Or their live album, "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah", the band performed for a crowd of 30 at a Bar Mitzvah. The CD contained video of the actual event and the liner notes were written by attendee Benjamin Rosenblatt who describes the events: "They made a lot of mistakes. They even started a song then stopped, then started again." -track 7 "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the CD.
Speechless
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Last night when we were alone
You threw your hands up
Baby you gave up, you gave up
I can't believe how you looked at me
With your James Dean glossy eyes
In your tight jeans with your long hair
Could we fix you if you broke?
And is your punch line just a joke?
I'll never talk again
Oh boy you've left me speechless
You've left me speechless, so speechless
And I'll never love again,
Oh boy you've left me speechless
You've left me speechless, so speechless
I can't believe how you slurred at me
With your half wired broken jaw
You popped my heart seams
On my bubble dreams, bubble dreams
I can't believe how you looked at me
With your Johnnie Walker eyes
He's gonna get you and after he's through
There's gonna be no love left to rye
And I know that it's complicated
But I'm a loser in love
So baby raise a glass to mend
All the broken hearts
Of all my wrecked up friends
I'll never talk again
Oh boy you've left me speechless
You've left me speechless so speechless
I'll never love again,
Oh friend you've left me speechless
You've left me speechless, so speechless
How?
Wow
How?
Wow
And after all the drinks and bars that we've been to
Would you give it all up?
Could I give it all up for you?
And after all the boys and girls that we've been through
Would you give it all up?
Could you give it all up?
If I promise boy to you
That I'll never talk again
And I'll never love again
I'll never write a song
Won't even sing along
I'll never love again
So speechless
You left me speechless, so speechless
Why you so speechless, so speechless?
Will you ever talk again?
Oh boy, why you so speechless?
You've left me speechless so speechless
Some men may follow me
But you choose "death and company"
Why you so speechless? Oh oh oh
The song "Speechless" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is about a relationship that has gone wrong in many ways. The singer is expressing disbelief and heartbreak at the way their partner has acted towards them. The first verse opens with the singer not being able to believe what their partner said to them when they were alone. The partner gave up on the relationship, and the singer is hurt and incredulous. The second verse describes the way the partner looks at the singer with glossy, Johnnie Walker eyes and tells the singer lies. The singer wonders whether their partner's punch line is just a joke, indicating a lack of commitment to the relationship.
The chorus of the song expresses the singer's speechlessness and heartbreak. The singer says they will never talk again or love again because of the way their partner has treated them. The third verse describes the physical violence that the partner has inflicted on the singer, popping the singer's heart seams and breaking their dreams. The singer can't believe the way the partner has looked at them with a half-wired broken jaw.
The bridge of the song offers a glimpse of hope for the singer's broken heart. The singer asks whether the partner would give up all the drink, bars, boys, and girls they have been through. The singer offers to promise never to talk, love, or write a song again if the partner would stay with them. However, ultimately, the song ends on a note of bitterness and sadness as the singer wonders why their partner is so speechless, and they are left heartbroken and alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't believe what you said to me
I am in disbelief about what you said to me.
Last night when we were alone
This occurred between us when nobody else was around.
You threw your hands up
You gave up easily.
Baby you gave up, you gave up
You gave up without any fight.
I can't believe how you looked at me
I am surprised by the way you gazed at me.
With your James Dean glossy eyes
With your eyes resembling those of James Dean, shining and attractive.
In your tight jeans with your long hair
You were wearing tight jeans, and you had long hair.
And your cigarette stained lies
You told me lies, and your cigarette left stains as you smoked.
Could we fix you if you broke?
If you had a problem, could we help you?
And is your punch line just a joke?
Are you joking or being serious?
I'll never talk again
I won't speak again.
Oh boy you've left me speechless
You made me feel so much that I can't speak.
You've left me speechless, so speechless
You've made me feel so much that I can't speak, I must emphasize.
And I'll never love again,
I won't ever love again.
Oh boy you've left me speechless
You made me feel so much that I can't speak.
You've left me speechless, so speechless
You've made me feel so much that I can't speak, I must emphasize.
I can't believe how you slurred at me
I can't believe how you spoke to me with your words slurring.
With your half wired broken jaw
Your jaw is broken, and only half of it seems connected or working.
You popped my heart seams
You broke my heart.
On my bubble dreams, bubble dreams
You shattered my dreams.
I can't believe how you looked at me
I am surprised by the way you gazed at me.
With your Johnnie Walker eyes
With your eyes having the same color as Johnnie Walker whiskey.
He's gonna get you and after he's through
Something or someone is going to hurt you badly, and after it happens, nobody will want to be with you.
There's gonna be no love left to rye
Nobody will want you after this, and you will be left with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth like rye bread.
And I know that it's complicated
I understand that things are complex.
But I'm a loser in love
I am not good at love, and I'm struggling to make relationships work.
So baby raise a glass to mend
Let's drink to try and fix our problems.
All the broken hearts
All of the people who have been heartbroken.
Of all my wrecked up friends
Of all my friends with messy lives.
How?
In what manner or way did this happen?
Wow
An exclamation of surprise or amazement.
And after all the drinks and bars that we've been to
Despite all the drinks and bars we went to together.
Would you give it all up?
Would you give up your experiences with me for something else?
Could I give it all up for you?
Would I be willing to give up all my experiences with you?
And after all the boys and girls that we've been through
Despite all the other people we've been with.
Would you give it all up?
Would you give up your experiences with me for something else?
Could you give it all up?
Would you be willing to give up all your experiences with me?
If I promise boy to you
If I promise you, my dear.
That I'll never talk again
That I won't ever speak again.
And I'll never love again
That I won't ever love again.
I'll never write a song
That I'll never write a song again.
Won't even sing along
I won't even sing along anymore.
So speechless
I am overwhelmed and cannot speak.
You left me speechless, so speechless
You have left me so overwhelmed and unable to speak that I need to emphasize it.
Why you so speechless, so speechless?
What caused you to leave me feeling so overwhelmed and unable to express myself?
Will you ever talk again?
Will you ever regain the ability to speak?
Oh boy, why you so speechless?
Why did you make me feel so overwhelmed and unable to speak.
You've left me speechless so speechless
You have left me so overwhelmed and unable to speak that I need to repeat it.
Some men may follow me
Some men may follow my way of living.
But you choose 'death and company'
But you have decided to pursue a path of destruction and negativity.
Why you so speechless? Oh oh oh
What caused you to leave me feeling so overwhelmed and unable to express myself?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stefani Germanotta
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elizabeth Gonzalez
This cover is beyond beautiful. I cannot believe that I have only heard it for the first time a few weeks ago. How did this get by me!? Love it. Thank you thank you for sharing
Víctor Pérez Urbano
Awesomeness has been redefined.
I'm speechless.
oakblackbird
Love this song. I can't understand the people who thumbed this song down.
Rory Joe
Damn, I have all the MFATGG albums and somehow managed to miss them having a new album last year... this is amazing!
Patrick Stott
+Rory Joe Me too.
Cole Ceas
I'm speechless. Love the cover photo.
88Featured
I'm pleasantly surprised by this one. I really like it
Tojikki
Damn that Sonic Reducers intro is amazing
Yav Jee
Pure awesomeness
88Featured
Also I'm really glad they covered this and not one of Gaga's more popular songs. I'm so tired of hearing covers of Bad Romance.