Touch-Tone Telephone
| Touch-Tone Telephone | |
| |
| Song | |
| Artist | Lemon Demon |
|---|---|
| Released | 2016 |
| Written by | Neil Cicierega |
| Appears on | Spirit Phone |
| Sung by | Neil Cicierega |
| Duration | 4:42 |
| Tempo | 160 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Language | English |
| Links: | Bandcamp Needlejuice Bandcamp YouTube Spotify |
Touch-Tone Telephone is the second track on Spirit Phone.
The main melody and chorus of this song is lifted from Ivanushka, an unreleased 2009 demo track with entirely unrelated lyrics.[1]
Neil explained this song's lyrics in the album's audio commentary track[1]:
"So… this song is about a dedicated caller into a radio show who has it all. figured. out. and he just needs to explain it to someone, and even just knowing how he’s gonna sound to other people is giving him all this anxiety and it’s coming out before he can even say what he wants so say. In fact, it never comes out. So, this song is just a big rant of preemptive defensiveness and saying you’re gonna do something without ever doing it."
It is highly notable for being the second most popular Lemon Demon song on both Spotify[2] and YouTube[3], having garnered 85,000,000+ streams and 20,000,000+ views respectively.
Lyrics
I think it's time for you to know the awful truth Mm, the truth about me, and the truth about you 'Cause you're a brand-new species Big cat (oh-oh), space Nazis, Robert Stack (oh, oh) God-damn it, gonna snap, Leonard Nimoy (oh, oh-oh-oh-oh) Call me back (call me back) I try to call you every day I'm rehearsing what to say when the truth comes out (of my very own mouth) I've been working on a unified theory If I make it through tonight, everybody's gonna hear me out 'Cause I'm the right one On my touch-tone, touch-tone telephone I'm the only one On your AM, AM radio Oh, I'm crying now, authentic tears They flow out of me when I think about you 'Cause you're the only person in the world who'd understand 'Cause you're the only person in the world who'd understand the meaning of this Oh my god I try, and I try, and I try to make you listen to me I try to call you every day I'm rehearsing what to say when the truth comes out (of my very own mouth) I've been working on a unified theory If I make it through tonight, everybody's gonna hear me out 'Cause I'm the right one On my touch-tone, touch-tone telephone I'm the only one (hey) On your AM, AM radio Don't hang up yet, I'm not done I'm an expert, I'm the one The one who was right all along Better to be laughed at than wrong I'm an expert in my field UFOlogy, yes, it's all real Ancient aliens, it's all true I'm an expert just like you And like you, I'm a genius before my time Disbelieving, that's the real crime Pretty soon, they'll discover me In the Super-Sargasso Sea I try to call you every day What can I say when the truth comes out? (Of my very own mouth) I've been working on a unified theory If I make it through tonight, everybody's gonna hear me out (now) 'Cause I'm the right one (now) on my touch-tone telephone (now) On my touch-tone, touch-tone telephone I'm the only one on your AM radio (On your AM, AM radio)
Trivia
- This is one of two Lemon Demon songs to receive a single release on wax cylinder by Needlejuice Records in 2023.[4]