#recorded in 1993

[weezerbsides]

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Holiday is the ninth track from Weezer's eponymous debut album (The Blue Album). This demo by Rivers Cuomo was released online sometime in the 2000s. The song is notable for alluding to many of Cuomo's influences during the time of writing. In a 2006 fan-interview, Cuomo cited Jack Kerouac as one of his favorite philosophers (though the reference to Kerouac is not yet present in this demo). Also, the first lyric in the song is likely a reference to the Beach Boys song "Let's Go Away for a While" from the album Pet Sounds, which Cuomo has also cited as an important influence.

Lyrics: Let's go away for a while, you and I To a strange and distant land Where they speak no word of truth But we don't understand anyway

Holiday, far away Let's go today, on a holiday Far away Let's go today, in a heartbeat

Heartbeat, heartbeat

Don't bother to pack your bags, or your map We won't need them where we're going We're going where the wind is blowing Not knowing where we're gonna stay

Ba-dum, bu-dah da dum

[weezerbsides]

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Rivers Cuomo - I Swear It's True 1993-08-??, [Home Demo]

Originally demoed by Cuomo in 1993 (as heard here), the song would later be rehearsed as a possible track for the band’s debut album, a full-band recording of which would later see release on the Deluxe issue of Weezer’s self-titled debut (The Blue Album). Though the song would never see release on an album proper, it would be rehearsed again during sessions for the band’s sophomore album, Pinkerton, and was recorded as an intended B-side for the single Pink Triangle. Due to Pinkerton’s lack of commercial success, however, this recording would not see release until it was featured on the Deluxe reissue of Pinkerton in 2010.

Lyrics: It’s been two and a half years now That we’ve been apart I’ve been kinda spaced out lately Can’t seem to get you out of my mind I really miss you girl I really do You think I’m crazy but I swear it’s true You think that I’d have given up Found somebody new But no girls got what you got I belong to you

[weezerbsides]

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Souvenirs, Novelties, Party Tricks is a song demoed by Rivers Cuomo in 1993, the same day that Weezer was signed to Geffen records. Cuomo's friend, musician Adam Orth, is also featured on the recording. The title and lyrics (as well as Cuomo's fake accent present on this recording) are likely derived from the character of the blind souvenir vendor, played by actor Ian McNeice, in the 1984 film Top Secret! As such, the song bears a very silly, lighthearted tone.

Lyrics: Souvenirs, novelties, party tricks Souvenirs, novelties, party tricks

Come and get your dog poo Or your trick gum Careful when you grab it It might snap your thumb Look at all the goodies I've got here today Come and fool your friends with a can of bug spray Souvenirs, novelties, party tricks Souvenirs, novelties, party tricks I will sell you vomit Or X-ray specs Look and see the girlies Without having sex Come and see the goodies that I have today You might even run into the Mel Tormé

Souvenirs, novelties, party tricks 

[weezerbsides]

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Only In Dreams is the tenth and final track from Weezer's eponymous debut album (The Blue Album). The song is among the band's most acclaimed, best known for it's three-minute crescendo, and is the longest song in the Weezer canon.

This recording, from a VHS recording released by Karl to Weezer's website as a "DVD Leftover" following the release of the 2004 Weezer DVD Video Capture Device, features the band rehearsing the song in 1993.

Lyrics: You can't resist her She's in your bones She is your marrow And your ride home You can't avoid her She's in the air In between molecules Of oxygen and carbon dioxide Only in dreams We see what it means Reach out our hands Hold on to hers But when we wake It's all been erased And so it seems Only in dreams You walk up to her Ask her to dance She says "Hey, baby, I just might take the chance" You say "It's a good thing That you float in the air That way there's no way I will crush your pretty toenails into a thousand pieces."

[weezerbsides]

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In the liner notes for Alone II, Cuomo recounts being a roadie for his friend Kevin's band, King Size, for a show in Guatemala. At a private party, Cuomo met a girl named Aliss, who did not speak any English. After having a great time and having to return to Los Angeles, Cuomo recalls:

"[...]I wanted to capture my pessimistic belief that the love I seek in relationships will always break my heart because all relationships must come to an end. I used a metaphor to stand in for my romantic longing: a thirsty gringo travelling south of the border, made sick by the water he so desperately seeks."

A low-quality version of the demo circulated among fans for several years before this higher-quality version was released as the third track on Alone II in 2008.

Lyrics: Everybody told me and I knew it myself Don't drink the water it's bad for your health But god, it's hot I had no choice The sun it burned down on me Even though they told me so I drank it deep, drank it deep

Even though, we both know What we know, we can't say no The world is blind to what it finds The world is blind, though the sun shines 

Now I kneel Before the sacred basin and offer up The sweetest of all sin

But god, it's hot I had no choice The sun it burned down on me Even though they told me so I drank it deep, drank it deep

Even though, we both know What we know, we can't say no The world is blind to what it finds The world is blind, though it shines