R.e.m. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

is your Benzedrine, uh-huh

I was brain-dead, locked out, numb,

not up to speed

I thought I'd pegged you an idiot's dream

Tunnel vision from the outsider's screen

I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh

I'd studied your cartoons, radio,

music, TV, movies, magazines

Richard said,

"Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy"

A smile like the cartoon,

tooth for a tooth

You said that irony was the shackles of youth

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh

I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

"What's the frequency, Kenneth?"

is your Benzedrine, uh-huh

Butterfly decal, rear-view mirror,

dogging the scene

You smile like the cartoon,

tooth for a tooth

You said that irony was the shackles of youth

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh

I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh

I couldn't understand

You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh

I couldn't understand

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh

I couldn't understand

I never understood,

don't fuck with me, uh-huh