Original handwritten lyrics prove Smash Mouth's 'All Star' was close to being much darker
It's no surprise that lyrics are altered until eventually a song is ready for other ears. But it's not always the case that we get to see the original words before changes are made.
Which brings us nicely on to Smash Mouth and the original lyrics of their hit 'All Star' - you know, the one that goes: "She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb/In the shape of an 'L' on her forehead." Thanks Shrek.
Well, one of the lines in the chorus might have given the tune a bit of a darker turn and that came to light after the original lyrics were tweeted by the band's official Twitter account back in 2017.
The song - which was penned by Greg Camp, the band's guitarist - was slightly altered and a line was crossed out but was still visible.
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Eventually, the chorus did get changed a little bit more but on the original piece of paper it read: "Hey now, get your game on,
"You're an all star; go play.
"Hey now, get the show on,
"You're a rock star; go play.
"And all that glitters is gold..."
The line that was crossed out read: "Wave bye bye to your soul."
But that was, of course, not in the final cut, the IRL chorus reads: "Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
"Hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid
"And all that glitters is gold
"Only shooting stars break the mould."
Some people reckon that the original line about waving bye bye to your soul puts a dark twist on the song which is essentially about living out your dreams.
Possibly referring to there being a stage where you will say goodbye to your soul as you're living a life you always thought you wanted.
Writing at the time, Spin's Andy Cush said: "That single line puts a darkly ironic twist on a song that otherwise seems pretty naive: sure, you can live only for fun, hit the ground running, take the backstreets, and set your world on fire - you'll shine, you'll glow, but you might lose the very thing that makes you human in the process."
Anyway, we won't read too much in to that. Some people on Twitter seem to prefer the original lyric, with one writing: "NO. 'Wave bye bye to your soul'?! You don't think that's creepy?!?"
In response, someone else added: "I don't even see that but no I love it."
Rebecca Shepherd