(The) Harvey Danger Database

I Missed It

Recorded

Release history

Credits

Lyrics

Once I had a sweetheart
She kinda looked like Joan Fontaine
She made mediocre art, but had a fascinating brain
She asked me how I felt about monogamy
I didn’t understand what she was telling me, no

You can come up short and never know
Another debt I’m gonna owe, well

I missed it, I missed it, I missed it
I got so close I could have kissed it
But then I missed it, I missed it, resisted
Now those days are gone

Once I held my own set of keys to the senior executive suite
With my very own secretary taking my calls
telling me who I was scheduled to meet with
They asked me what I thought about advancement
I wasn’t sure what “we have other plans” meant

You can lose your place and never know
Another chance I’m gonna blow, so

I missed it, I missed it, I missed it
I got so close I could have kissed it
but then I missed it, I missed it, resisted
Now those days are gone

You can halve the distance all you like
and still not ever touch it1
You can split the difference all your life
It hurts, it hurts so much, it—

Once I entertained the notion I could skate along on charm
Count on my wit and my looks alone to keep me safe from harm
You asked me how it felt to be a dilettante
I knew that you knew the answer
But you didn’t want to hear it, no, you didn’t want to hear it

You can blow your shot and never know
Another game I’m gonna throw, oh

I missed it, I missed it, I missed it
I got so close I could have kissed it
But then I missed it, I missed it
I pissed it all away

I missed it, I missed it, I missed it
You all said no, but I insisted!
That’s how I missed it, I missed it, I missed it
Now those days are gone

  1. Ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea’s “dichotomy paradox” observes that, to reach a destination, one must first travel halfway; but one must first travel one-quarter of the way; but one must first travel one-eighth, etc. The paradox of this infinite division is that one can never arrive, nor begin: one cannot even move.  ↩

Quotes

SCN: The first song Jeff, Aaron, and I wrote for HDv.2, aided initially by demo drummer Ira Elliot’s Stones-y groove, made me realize I wanted to be a lead singer in a rock band again; it was like a stage of a rocket—we needed it to get flying, but once aloft, found it wasn’t quite necessary anymore; we aren’t a Stones-y groove kind of band; still, the bridge is killer; as are the various synths on the recording, played by Steve Fisk, Aaron, and me; I also really like the words, especially when I think of good old Joan Fontaine in Letter From an Unknown Woman or Rebecca, never suspecting that she’d turn up as a rhyme in a Harvey Danger B-side.10A

SCN: Joan Fontaine is probably best known as the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Suspicion, or maybe Robert Stevenson’s Jane Eyre. But she truly achieves glory in Max Ophüls’s Letter to an Unknown Woman, which, in a curious way, is the only reason this song exists.P&F

SCN: One thing I will share, though, is the fascinating process by which a certain song (again, no names) has evolved in the past 72 hours from quasi-early-‘70s-Stones-style stomper into some bizarre hybrid variant of Eno-era glitter pop (which was mostly based on the same basic late ’50s R&B blueprint as the Stones, anyway…), New Wave freakout, and classic rocker. I mean, the process was basically this: we added a bunch of weird keyboards to the intro and the choruses. But the way it all happened was one of the most exciting and collaborative moments in the history of this band. All of us in the room, trying ideas, keeping the good ones, encouraging one another, using the resources at our disposal and not getting territorial about instruments or pre-conceived ideas, and also having the respect to hang back, knowing when it’s time to stop, etc… It was basically the way I’d always hoped things could happen in the studio. Major credit to John & Steve for fostering the environment, of course, but for me, the key was that no one ever said no. The song needed something, and it got something none of us would have predicted.

— Studio diary,

Notes

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