Here's the lyrics to the famous acoustic version of 'Can't Hardly Wait'.
It was recorded by Alex Chilton in the elevator shaft of Blackberry Way
Studios in Minneapolis as part of the demos for "Tim".  

According to a contemporary issue of the 'Mats-fanzine "Willpower"
(written by Bill Calahan, now of Smog fame), Twin/Tone was talking about
releasing this on a 7" as a B-side to another song recorded from those
sessions, "Nowhere Is My Home".  It's a shame this never happened since it
would've made for a classic piece of vinyl.

I have no idea why neither of these made it on Sire's "Nothing For All"
side of their 'Mats compliation.  Maybe because there was already enough
representative versions of this song on the collection.  Hopefully it'll
show up on the Peter Jesperson-compiled Twin/Tone 4-CD box set, due
someday.

The lyrics are very different than the version on "Pleased to Meet
Me."  The song had been a regular part of the 'Mats concert set since 1984
and an electric version was recorded during the Tim demo sessions that
appears on "Nothing For All".  But the lyrics changed on Pleased to Meet
Me, possibly because there was already one jump-off-a-watertower kind of
song on there (The Ledge).  But some of the lines from the original 
remain in that version, even if they make more sense in this one.

I haven't compared these words that closely to the electric full-on
rockin' version from those Tim sessions, usually because I'm playing it so
loud I can't think.

- Matt (matt@novia.net)



"I'll be there in an hour 
 Take at least 2 weeks on foot
 ...(mumble mumble)... crummy water tower
 Climb to the top and scream all over if I could
 I'll be sad in heaven, you won't visit me there 

 Jesus rides beside me
 Never buys any smokes 
 Hurry up, hurry up
 I've had enough of that stuff
 Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, filthy jokes 

 A lightning flash in the evening
 Guess we'll follow him there.    

 I'll be there in an hour
 If there's a hole in the gate
 Climb to the top of this crummy water tower screamin'    
 I can't hardly wait
 I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait, wait..."