The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the… Read Full Bio ↴The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s.
The original band, billed simply as "The Modern Lovers", existed from 1970â74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Jonathan Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson (later of The Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (later of Talking Heads). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of The Velvet Underground, and is now considered one of the leading bands of the "proto-punk" scene. It pointed the way towards much of the Punk, New Wave and Indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained stylistically unprecedented[citation needed] songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, and love of life and the USA.
After recording several tracks in 1972 and '73, including "I'm Straight" (referring here to abstaining from drug use), and "Government Center", Richman wanted to scrap the tracks that were recorded and start over with a mellower, more lyrical sound. The rest of the band, while not opposed to such a shift later, insisted at the time that they record as they already sounded. They continued and eventually, the first album was released in 1976. Long before its release, however, creative differences split the band apart.
Later, Richman used the name Modern Lovers for a variety of backing bands, always billed as "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers." These bands were quieter and featured more low-key, often near-childlike, songs, as Richman drew on folk-rock and other genres. Out of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations.
The original band, billed simply as "The Modern Lovers", existed from 1970â74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Jonathan Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson (later of The Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (later of Talking Heads). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of The Velvet Underground, and is now considered one of the leading bands of the "proto-punk" scene. It pointed the way towards much of the Punk, New Wave and Indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained stylistically unprecedented[citation needed] songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, and love of life and the USA.
After recording several tracks in 1972 and '73, including "I'm Straight" (referring here to abstaining from drug use), and "Government Center", Richman wanted to scrap the tracks that were recorded and start over with a mellower, more lyrical sound. The rest of the band, while not opposed to such a shift later, insisted at the time that they record as they already sounded. They continued and eventually, the first album was released in 1976. Long before its release, however, creative differences split the band apart.
Later, Richman used the name Modern Lovers for a variety of backing bands, always billed as "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers." These bands were quieter and featured more low-key, often near-childlike, songs, as Richman drew on folk-rock and other genres. Out of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations.
Walk up the street
The Modern Lovers Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by The Modern Lovers:
01 new england See, I come from Boston. I'm gonna tell you about how…
96 Tears [spoken introduction:] This is one that we didn't write,…
A plea for tenderness Hey girls, do you hate men? Do you hate the earth? Well…
Afternoon You know, it's afternoon Yeah, yeah And there's the moon So …
Angels Watching Over Me Well all day and all night I so glad angels watch…
Astral Plane Tonight I'm all alone in my room I'll go insane if…
Buzz Buzz Buzz You see, Buzz buzz buzz goes the honey bee And tweedily…
Coomyah Coomyah Coomyah Coomyah Coomyah Coomyah yeah yeah Coomyah Co…
Dance With Me Well hi dear I'm just here from outside I've been out…
Dignified %26 Old My telephone never rings She'd never call me I hate myself t…
Dodge Veg-O-Matic I'm gonna tell you 'bout the car that I just…
Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste I need to walk by the flowers, with someone who…
Fly Into The Mystery Let's make this a slow dance, ladies' choice See now, it'…
Girl Friend If I were to walk to the Museum of Fine…
Government Center Well we've got a lot, a lot, a lot of…
Hospital When you get out of the hospital Let me back into…
I Well, I don't want just a girl to fool around…
I M Straight I called this number three times already today But I, I…
I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms You know I never can relax I'm always stiff and tense I…
I'm a Little Airplane Well, iâ²m a little airplane nyow I'm a little airplane nyow…
I'm Nature's Mosquito Well now, little mosquito, there must be Well some reason fo…
I'm Straight I called this number three times already today But I, I…
Ice Cream Man Hi there everybody We're the modern lovers We're gonna sing …
Important in your life I'm always gonna have to know I'm important in your…
Modern World Well there's sex in the sunny day That shines down on…
New England See, I come from Boston. I'm gonna tell you about how…
Old World Well the old world may be dead Our parents can't understand …
Pablo Picasso Well Some people try to pick up girls And get called asshole…
Road Runner One-two-three-four-five-six! Roadrunner, roadrunner Going …
Road Runner #1 Roadrunner, roadrunner Going faster miles an hour Gonna dr…
Roadrunner One, two, three, four, five, six Roadrunner, roadrunner Goi…
Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns Hey, what's that out there in the park? Well, I'll tell…
Roller Coaster By the Sea You see I went on the roller coaster last night…
She Cracked Well she was sensitive She understood me She understood the …
Someone I Care About Well, I don't want just a girl to fool around…
Someone I Care About (Live) Well I don't want just a girl to fool around…
Springtime Springtime, I'm out here in your morning breezes. And I sme…
Summer Morning I was walking around on Sunday morning A summer breeze was…
The Morning of Our Lives It hurts me to hear, to see you got no…
The Wheels on the Bus The windows on the bus go up and down Up and…
Wake Up Sleepyheads Yes we're doing our last song now and John Felice…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@slint69
all right
hey, I'd like to go up state and I'd like to go up the river, now
well, I'm gonna walk up the Bartow??? street cause I have no place left to go
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place left to go
yeah, oh yeah
Well I used to wake up in the back bay??? when I was 17 years old
I was lonely and scared at 5 o'clock am
and I would wake up on Sunday morning
and I wouldn't see any friends, none of them
well perhaps I could go to the bus station and fall asleep
or sit around until those stores are open
but the wintertime was so cold in the Boston streets
and I had no place else to go
you see I have a sore throat???
and my hands were always cold from walking alone
and I'd walk up the Boston streets
cause I have no place left to go
well, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
all right
now I'm ??? this
now listen
well
well I have a sore throat
and my hands are cold from walking alone
but I'm gonna walk up the street
cause I have no place else to go
well it's 0 degrees and the bleak colours on the backbay
my hands are cold from this bitterness and loneliness
so I'm gonna walk up the Boston street and be a ???
and I have no place else to go
????
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
one more time
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
@RayZappa
Great. I can really hear how much Jad Fair and Half Japanese kept alive the spirit of this early Richman phase
@CathyLawless
The footage of Boston and this music together bring me right back to Boston in the 60s/70s as a young adult I lived there. Thank you!
@TheDenman47
Fab
@identifiantidentifie397
My one and only love Jonnhy Richman!
@galahtownsville6444
nice clip, nice song
@sveneriksson6387
Now i realize who influensed Sid Viscius and probably some more. First time I heard roadrunner was with Sid. Love to Jonathan
@slint69
all right
hey, I'd like to go up state and I'd like to go up the river, now
well, I'm gonna walk up the Bartow??? street cause I have no place left to go
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place left to go
yeah, oh yeah
Well I used to wake up in the back bay??? when I was 17 years old
I was lonely and scared at 5 o'clock am
and I would wake up on Sunday morning
and I wouldn't see any friends, none of them
well perhaps I could go to the bus station and fall asleep
or sit around until those stores are open
but the wintertime was so cold in the Boston streets
and I had no place else to go
you see I have a sore throat???
and my hands were always cold from walking alone
and I'd walk up the Boston streets
cause I have no place left to go
well, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
all right
now I'm ??? this
now listen
well
well I have a sore throat
and my hands are cold from walking alone
but I'm gonna walk up the street
cause I have no place else to go
well it's 0 degrees and the bleak colours on the backbay
my hands are cold from this bitterness and loneliness
so I'm gonna walk up the Boston street and be a ???
and I have no place else to go
????
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
one more time
I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk up the street
I'm gonna walk up the street cause I have no place else to go
@getoffmywifi969
Footage is from the early to mid 90s if I had to guess??!
@ThePsychedelicWave
this is full of fuckin street spirit.
there is a cover of this song by a punk band I can't remember?
Can someone help me to find it?
@MonkeySnoutUK
+Erwin Reiter
Cheater Slicks?