Walkin' On The Sun

WALKIN' ON THE SUN

WALKIN’ ON THE SUN
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It ain't no joke I'd like to buy the world a toke
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars
Hey I know it's just a song but it's spice for the recipe
This is a love attack I know it went out but it's back.
It's just like any fad it retracts before impact
And just like fashion it's a passion for the with it and hip
If you got the goods they'll come and buy it just to stay in the clique
CHORUS:
So don't delay act now supplies are running out
Allow if you're still alive six to eight years to arrive
And if you follow there may be a tomorrow
But if the offer's shun you might as well be walkin' on the sun
Twenty-five years ago they spoke out and they broke out
Of recession and oppression and together they toked
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire
Just singin' and clappin' man what the hell happened
Then some were spellbound some were hellbound
Some they fell down and some got back up and
Fought back 'gainst the melt down
And their kids were hippie chicks all hypocrites
Because fashion is smashin' the true meaning of it
It ain't no joke when a mama's handkerchief is soaked
With her tears because her baby's life has been revoked
The bond is broke up so choke up and focus on the close up
Mr. Wizard can't perform no godlike hocus-pocus
So don't sit back kick back and watch the world get bushwhacked
News at 10:00 your neighborhood is under attack
Put away the crack before the crack puts you away
You need to be there when your baby’s old enough to relate

Check out other people's analyses of this song!
Ah, SMASH MOUTH’S song that shall surely appeal to the masses (i.e., “accessible”). Accessible or not, this is simply a great song.
This song is a satirical look on human being’s propensity to follow “fads” and “trends.” And as a witty move on SMASH MOUTH’s part, they made the song sound like a song that was written in the surf and flower-power era (check out the inspired Doors-like organ sound). And in their video, the visuals are complementary with the vocals and music because it also mocks the fads the characters in the video are wearing--including SMASH MOUTH’s members themselves.
Let us examine each verse and the chorus (1):

It ain't no joke, I'd like to buy the world a toke;----------[ toke? coke? ]
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony;
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars;
Hey I know it's just a song, but it's spice for the recipe.
This is a love attack, I know it went out but it's back.
It's just like any fad: it retracts before impact.
And just like fashion it's a passion for the with it and hip.
If you got the goods they'll come and buy it* just to stay in the clique. [*them (2)]
You might first say, “Hey, this guy has good intentions! He wants to make us aware of the groovy past once again (the “love attack”)!” But if you look at the last three lines, he knows that it is not possible, and that it is only an illusion--an ideal. Why do we sense that? Those very last lines allude to fads and make an important comment about them: they disappear before they make an earth-shattering or life-changing impact upon us (“it retracts before impact”). He also comments on the fact that a fad only creates a specific clique--and not the “worldwide clique” as the song wants (“the world sing[ing] in perfect harmony).
With that in mind, we realize that he purposefully wanted the term “toke” to have double meanings. Initially, we feel that he meant it in a camaraderie-sharing sort of way. But upon second look, he actually means fads are the tokes: they’re the drugs that we just have to have, just because they are in “fashion.”
CHORUS:
So don't delay, act now supplies are running out;
Allow, if you're still alive, six to eight years to arrive.
And if you follow there may be a tomorrow;
But if the offer's shun you might as well be walkin' on the sun.
Here the narrator’s sarcasm is exposed. Better get the fads before they expire. And here’s that wonderful imagery SMASH MOUTH impresses me with: people who were not able to become part of the fad should just as well walk on the sun. The thing is: what the hell does that mean? Perhaps I’m stretching it here but I would like to compare this to the fairy tale of “The Pied Piper of Hamlin”: I’m referring to the part where the boy wasn’t able to enter the Piper’s magic mountain because of his limp. Anyway, he wasn’t “with it” (okay, so I’m not really referring to the story here), so he feels depressed about the whole thing--hmm, is he a perfect candidate to walk on the sun? You bet your sweet ass he is!
So is the narrator claiming that fads are important?
For goodness sakes, if you said “yes,” then you haven’t been listening at all and I think I shall point to the sun--because I feel that you should be walking on it! ;)

Twenty-five years ago, they spoke out and they broke out
Of recession and oppression and together they toked.
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire;
Just singin' and clappin'--man what the hell happened?
Then some were spellbound, some were hellbound,
Some they fell down, and some got back up and
Fought back 'gainst the melt down.
And their kids were hippie chicks--all hypocrites--
Because fashion is smashin' the true meaning of it.
Okay, now that his point has been made, the narrator becomes specific: 25 years ago (man, I was a zygote still!). He is talking about the flower-power era of the late '60s and early '70s. The narrator asks, “What happened? What happened to their ideals of love, harmony, and world peace? What happened to the dreamers (“spellbound”)? To the revolutionaries (“hellbound”)? To the defeated, yet adamant, ones (“some...fell down”)?
And now their kids are wearing the clothes their parents used to wear during this flower-power era. The thing is, the fashion has demeaned and belittled the value and meaning of their parents’ ideals. The message of peace, love, and understanding (hmm, for some reason, I feel like singing: “As I walked through, this wicked world...” oops!) has disappeared...

It ain't no joke when a mama's handkerchief is soaked
With her tears, because her baby's life has been revoked.
The bond is broke up, so choke up, and focus on the close up;
Mr. Wizard can't perform no godlike hocus-pocus.
So don't sit back, kick back, and watch the world get bushwhacked:
News at 10:00, your neighborhood is under attack.
Put away the crack before the crack puts you away.
You need to be there when your baby’s old enough to relate.
Now this verse is an enigma to me. What the hell is it referring to?!!! But hear me out, I just might make some sense:
Has the baby’s life been truly revoked (i.e., dead)? Of course not. It’s that vivid SMASH MOUTH imagery at its best again. It’s an exaggerated description of the generation gap between parent and child. The mother is crying because she is saddened at how her “baby” perceives her era: just as a fad, a fashion, and nothing more. “Mr. Wizard” (3) is a nice touch that will ring a bell in the hearts of many Gen-Xers who had watched that show; anyway, the significance of Mr. Wizard is that he shares his scientific genius among children. Now you see the connection?
The last four lines sounds alarming--as though there is a big calamity about to occur. In fact, Steve Harwell’s voice goes up an octave in this part. The imagery he shows us is a cyberpunk world (ok, that’s just me imagination) that the adult “baby” is now living in. The pattern has resumed again: 25 years (or more) have passed again and now their own children is copying them; and as the adult “baby” has become a hypocrite, their children will also become hypocrites.
And now the “toke” that the narrator wanted to share in the first place, now wants the adult “baby” to “put away the crack before the crack puts [them] away.” Now try substituting “crack” with “fad.” Ah, the narrator is urging us--yes, us--to not become slaves to fads. Because if we don’t become slaves to them, we will not end up just as a fad, just as a perceived image, and just as a fashion for our children in the future to emulate. Instead, they shall perceive us as human beings.
What a wonderful song this is, isn’t it?
I personally believe that there is not 2 nor 3 sides to every story: there are multitudinous sides to every story. Hence, check out these other analyses shared to me by you sharp folks!

footnotes:
(1) i took liberties in placing proper punctuation marks in this one song only. i’m very sorry.
(2) why did i put “them” when steve harwell clearly didn’t sing that? well, he had apparently committed the common error of not making the pronoun agree with the antecedent (noun or pronoun in the sentence subject): the subject (antecedent) is “fads,” hence the pronoun should have been “them.” if it was “fad,” then “it” would be the appropriate pronoun*.
*i’m such a prick, ain’t i? send me email if you think i'm so.
(3) mr. wizard: could they be referring to nickelodeon’s wonderful mr. wizard show? this reminds me of my two favorite early nickelodeon shows: dangermouse (how i loved penfold!) (a) and you can’t do that on television (alanis morissette’s acting debut).

footblisternotes:
(a) visit this cool dangermouse site
DANGERMOUSE: "Penfold, where in blazes are you going?"
PENFOLD: "Crumbs, chief, we'd better not delay or we might end up walkin' on the sun! I wouldn't want to end up in some ol' bloke's barbie grill!"
check out my tribute to McG (music video director of this song).

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I thought you guys would like to know about this...I had a minor heart seizure reading this!
COOL NEWS!
As reported by AmishOutlaw
I have some really cool news! I was at my local record store today, looking in the Smash Mouth section to see if there was anything new there, and there was! I found a CD with 5 Walkin' On the Sun Remixes! It cost $8. I will describe it to you. It was in a regular jewel case, but there was no front insert (no liner notes) but there was a back insert. The actual CD is very plain looking. It's all done in gray. It says "Smash mouth" on it (in the font they used on Fush Yu Mang, etc.), and it's in black. Under that it says:
Walkin' On the Sun
REMIXES
And it has the little Interscope logo under it. There is a ring of gray and white checkers along the edge of the CD. Now I will describe the back insert. The background is in white, the text is in black, and there's the same "checkered ring" in white and gray. It says "Smash mouth" in big letters (in their usual font) and underneath it it says "Walkin' On the Sun." under that it has track listings:
1. Feet Beat Manifesto Mix (radio edit) 4:06*
2. Feet Beat Manifesto Mix 4:37*
3. Love Attack Mix (radio edit) 4:14**
4. Love Attack Mix 5:36**
5. Feet Beat Manifesto Instrumental Mix 4:36*
*Remix Produced by Philip Steir. Engineered by Chris Haynes
**Remix Produced by Jim Pratt and Steven Seibold
Below that it has the Interscope logo. Below that, in tiny letters, it says:
(P)(C) Interscope Records. All Rights Reserved. For Promotional Use Only. Not for Sale. Manufactured in the USA by Universal Music and Video Distribution, Inc.
I asked the guys working there if they knew anything about it but they didn't. So maybe it originally came with a front insert. I dunno. I'm just damn lucky I found it! The songs are actually really cool. Maybe a little goofy sounding, but good. Here are my descriptions of each track:
1: Steve's voice is intact, but all the instruments are done on keyboards. You wouldn't really recognize the song until you heard him singing. I don't know what you'd call this: electronica? techno?
2: pretty much the same as #1, just a longer intro
3: Steve's voice is very distant and echoy in this one. Keyboards are used, but it doesn't sound the same as the first two tracks. And "this is a love attack" is said before and after every verse. Also, "they toked" is echoed three times.
4: Same as #3, just a longer intro.
5: Same as #2, just no one singing.
So, that's the low-down in this rare find. Even those these things say "radio edit" next to them, have you heard them on the radio? I sure haven't.