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Venus in Overdrive
(Rick Springfield/Matt Bissonette)
Alone in a world
Of 6 billion
I was feeling
My soul rust
Yea I saw that
Everything that was broken
Everything was ashes
Everything was dust
(I say this)
I say this just to let you know
(I say this)
I'd be crazy if I let you go
I'd be stoned, I'd be stupefied
and I don't want to run and hide
Here’s me thinking love could never survive
Yeah, Yeah
You showed up, Venus in overdrive
Sex just got me buried alive
Yeah, Yeah
Turn on, Venus in overdrive
The thing about love is
It's not kismet
You don't choose it
It chooses you
I write words about it
but I doubt it
If I even have a clue
(I say this)
We all think it's a big freak show
(I say this)
The fat end of the great rainbow
I get blind I get stupid
and you know I get so convoluted
Here's me thinking love could never survive
Yeah, Yeah
You showed up, Venus is overdrive
Sex just got me buried alive
Yeah, Yeah
Turn on, Venus in overdrive
Hear's me thinking love could never survive
Yeah, Yeah
You showed up, Venus in Overdrive
Sex just gets me buried alive
Yeah, Yeah
Turn on, Venus in Overdrive
[talking]
Here’s me, thinking love could never survive
Yeah, Yeah
You showed up, Venus in Overdrive
Sex just got me buried alive
Yeah, Yeah
Turned on, Venus in overdrive
Here’s me, thinking love could never survive
Yeah, Yeah
You showed up, Venus in Overdrive
Sex just gets me buried alive
Yeah, Yeah
Turned on, Venus in overdrive
Venus in Overdrive
Song Facts: This can be found on Venus
in Overdrive.
According to Rick: the title track, "Venus in Overdrive" is basically about his wife Barbara. "She is the most loving person I have ever known and she has accepted me with all my darkness and bumps and warts and all."
- PRNewswire
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According to US
This one starts out with some mumbo jumbo mumbling in the beginning, so of
course, I relate it somewhat, to music from SDAA. I really think, of all the
music on this CD, this one is the most like those. The only thing I could do
without is the doo doo doo doo doo parts.. Not my cup of tea! .
I do however, love how he answers “Yeah Yeah” in the chorus…….that
part rocks!
And of course, the heavy breathing part. A very rocking song for sure and
one of my favorites on the CD. - Amy L
This song is the heartbeat of the album, so it is fitting
that it is the title track - Kat Mendelin
Sexy, funky reggae rock 'n roll with Rick's "she saved
my life" sentiments mixed in - Kelley Pearson
This is a prime example of why I love his writing so much, he
is willing to put it all out there for all to see - Tina W.
"Sex just got me buried alive"...now that's a lyric
I can totally get into! - Mandy W.
VIO is my favourite on the CD. In the car my daughter
recently asked me "Aren't there any other songs on the CD?!?! - Heather W.
This has been my favorite song since the preview in
Milwaukee. He did it live for the first time in St. Charles and it
rocked!!! - Jeanne
I amy happy to report that the song VIO has got me buried
neck deep!! I love it! - Joanne in Canada
I love how he bares his soul to write about Barbara - Darla
Gerken
Rick performed this live in St. Charles, IL and when he was
done, he said "That will have to do"...I was like "OMG!"
that was sooo freaking awesome - Cyndi O'Hora
When he played this live in St. Charles, it was already my
most fav on the CD. But experiencing it LIVE was beyond incredible -
Shelly Horton-Tuma
Venus in Overdrive is very catchy and totally ROCKS!
Rick really kicks this one into Overdrive - S. Fortune
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Almost a year later, this song still holds the spot as a top favorite of mine from VIO, especially now that I’ve seen it performed several times at Rick’s live shows. I would dare say it’s my favorite ‘new’ track. The song has an amazing, rocking energy! I really like the pink “YEAH X’s 2” stickers on the back of Rick’s guitar that he flashes in synch during the “Yeah yeah” part of the song. Cute! I’m thinking George could use identical stickers. They could do a ‘choreographed’ guitar move!
Why do I love this song so much? So many reasons actually. Probably the first thing that grabbed me is how “out-of-the-box” this sound is for Rick. It’s groovy, kind of 70’s funky, and almost has a “rap” beat to it, yet it screams with rock and roll guitars and heavy bass. What an unusual mix of sounds that work beautifully together! It also reminds me of a reggae beat. (Everybody’s Girl?!) It sounds like another ofthose hi-fi, low-fi type songs, in which the instruments are almost non-existent in the verses and then they come in full force for the chorus. I hope that heavy bass sound they used in this song will be a mainstay in his future projects. It’s perfect for a “head-banger” like myself. :-P
Another quality to this song that I find special is how it’s about Rick’s wife. I was pretty sure when I first heard the song (even before Rick spoke of it and did in fact confirm it was written about Barbie), it had to be about her. My mind wandered to Rick’s accounts of when he met Barbie, just before his career really took off in the early 80’s. I could totally see him reflecting back on those times and realizing that she was *the one* who “rescued” him from his loneliness and his messed up ideas about what love is supposed to be. (Maybe we all have some messed up ideas on what “real love” should be?) “Alone in a world, of 6 billion. I was feeling…my soul rust.” I think Rick was in a place where love had been cruel to him and he probably did feel like his soul was “rusting.” Great wording! I suspect from the next line that Rick was afraid of another broken heart. (“Yeah I saw that, everything was broken, everything was ashes, everything was dust.”) I think he was beginning to feel that he would never find true love, but suddenly there it was, unexpectedly right in front of him.
Rick’s voice is great in this song, the whole sound and clarity of it and of course his vocal inflections throughout. It reminds me a lot of his “80’s voice.” (I guess because of the key he used?) The pause near the end of the song after the music break is one of my favorite parts. How awesome is a silent song break with Rick’s “breath” in there!? It has a great impact the way he does that and then the chorus kicks back in with force.
I love how he phrased the beginning of the chorus with “Here’s me thinking love could never survive.” That line portrays exactly what I’d expect Rick to say, as he seems like the eternal pessimist. But then along comes Barbie…“You showed up Venus in overdrive.” What a great compliment to her that he’s calling her “Venus” in this song, the goddess of love. ;-) And the next line, well…speaks for itself and is a favorite of mine…“Sex just got me buried alive. Turn on. Venus in overdrive.” I’m not sure if the “turn on” part is an adjective or a verb, as it could go either way. Yep, leave it to Rick and you’ll find there is more than one way to say you can get ‘carried away’ by the sexual end of a relationship!
So once again Rick has taught me a new word, as he did when I first heard Jessie’s Girl and the ever-famous use of the word “moot.” Only this time the word is “kismet.” I had literally NO clue what that meant. I couldn’t recall ever hearing that word, but I quickly learned it refers to “fate.” And since the release of VIO, I have heard that word used twice on General Hospital (I think it was Spinelli who said it). Then the next line is back to Rick and his insecurities about love…“I write words about it. I doubt it, if I even have a clue.” Actually, I would give him more credit than he gives himself, just going by his songwriting he has blessed us with over the years. I’m thinking he has way more of a “clue” than he might think. ;-)
Then we have a really interesting use of the word “convoluted” in the next part of the song. Ok, seriously…I could never have imagined how one would work THAT particular word into a song!!! But he did…and it sounds GOOD. It fits perfectly in the dialogue and it even rhymes with “stupid!” That part has a cool little sound effect kind of wrapped into it too. Again, he’s referring to how “twisted up” or confused ‘love’ makes him (or should I say…just sex without love and emotion, as he says that never ever works for him).
I find it comical how Rick used the phrase “freak show” in yet another song and it really works, rather than seeming like he just couldn’t resist throwing it in there. :-P This song is chock full of unusual word choices! What about the word “stupefied?” Even that word sounds good in this song!
I’m still not 100% sure what the voice at the beginning and the middle of the song is saying, but I’m hearing something like “I’d rather have fun, put my feet in the water together” or “I’m here to have fun, put our feet in the water together.” Either way, to me it translates that Rick wanted the two of them to explore a life together and give love a shot, take a chance. At first I thought the voice might be Rodger, but now I’m not so sure who it is.
I would love to hear more songs from Rick with this type of sound. He said that he heard a song online that brought in the influence for this sound, but he said he couldn’t recall now what the song was. I would love to know what it was that inspired this “experimental” sound.
- Kelley Pearson
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