Lyrics:

(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)



"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