"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, rearview 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.