Chance eventually left to form The Contortions and pursue his own equally abrasive musical direction. Both groups were featured on the seminal "No New York" LP, a showcase of the early No Wave scene compiled and produced by Brian Eno.
Infamous for playing ten-minute sets filled with thirty-second songs, they sought to take music beyond what Lunch saw as the traditionalism of punk rock. The group left behind little more than a dozen complete recorded songs with most of the surviving titles collected on the 18-minute career retrospective CD titled "Everything". However other studio versions of several songs exist alongside a few live recordings.
Lunch and Chance both went on to become cult figures of the New York underground music scene and the group has been cited as a significant influence on subsequent post-punk groups such as Sonic Youth and The Istics.
The band reunited in 2008 for a series of performances, with Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore. The band continued to perform without Moore throughout 2009, including dates in Canada.
I Woke Up Dreaming
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Lyrics
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My brain is open my mouth rips
I woke up dreaming, you are my vision
I want to touch you my fingers quiver
Across the room, under the covers, open the blankets
You're my wound
My wrists are split
My elbows twisted
My knees arthritic
I woke up bleeding
You are my razor
I want to touch you
My fingers quiver
Across the window
Under the curtain
Break the glass
Feel the pain
My guts in knots, I convulse
I fall on the floor
I search for pulse
I woke up heaving, you are submission
I want to touch you, my fingers shiver
Across the street, under the pavement
Open the concrete, you're the heat
The song "I Woke Up Dreaming" by teenage Jesus and the Jerks is a raw and intense expression of desire and pain. The lyrics describe a person's obsession with a lover who is both the source of pleasure and pain. The singer describes their physical pain with clenched fists, split wrists, arthritic knees, and twisted elbows. At the same time, the lover is described as a wound and a razor that causes bleeding and convulsions. The singer's desire to touch the lover is overwhelming and the sensation of quivering fingers is palpable. The lyrics also suggest a sense of submission and a longing for release, with the line "I woke up heaving, you are submission." The final lines describe a desire to break free from concrete and feel the heat, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for breaking free from constraints and feeling passion.
Overall, the song expresses a raw and visceral longing for physical intimacy, while also portraying the emotional and physical pain that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
My eyes are gript my fist are clenched
I am feeling intense emotions of anger and anxiety, as if preparing for a fight or confrontation.
My brain is open my mouth rips
I am experiencing overwhelming thoughts and feelings that make me want to scream or yell.
I woke up dreaming, you are my vision
I am obsessed with the idea of you, you are always on my mind and even in my dreams.
I want to touch you my fingers quiver
I have a strong desire to physically connect with you, so much so that my hands tremble with anticipation.
Across the room, under the covers, open the blankets
I want to be close to you, whether across the room or in bed, even ripping open the covers to be near you.
You're my wound
You are a source of pain or injury to me, but I am still drawn to you like a magnet.
My wrists are split
I am inflicting physical harm on myself, perhaps due to the emotional turmoil that you cause me.
My elbows twisted
I am contorting myself in pain, perhaps as a result of the mental and emotional anguish you cause me.
My shoulders bent
My body is physically hunched over, perhaps to shield or protect myself from further harm or hurt.
My knees arthritic
My knees ache with pain or inflammation, perhaps from the stress and strain of my feelings for you.
I woke up bleeding
My emotional pain has manifested in a physical way, causing me to harm myself and bleed.
You are my razor
You are the source of the emotional pain that I am inflicting on myself, almost as if using you as a weapon.
Across the window, under the curtain, break the glass
I will go to any length to be with you, even if it means breaking windows and going through obstacles to get to you.
Feel the pain
The pain that I am feeling is almost addictive, as if I want to feel more of it just to prove how strong my feelings for you are.
My guts in knots, I convulse
My stomach is churning with anxiety and stress, almost to the point of making me physically sick.
I fall on the floor, I search for pulse
I am so overwhelmed by my feelings for you that it is almost as if I am dying, frantically searching for a sign of life or hope.
I woke up heaving, you are submission
I am in a state of surrender or submissiveness to you, unable to resist your attraction or pull.
I want to touch you, my fingers shiver
My desire to be with you is so strong that my entire body trembles with anticipation.
Across the street, under the pavement, open the concrete, you're the heat
My feelings for you have an intense, fiery quality that burns through everything around me, even the pavement and concrete.
Contributed by Lincoln S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.