Buddy Holly

"Buddy Holly" is a song by American rock band Weezer. The song was written by Rivers Cuomo and released as the second single from the band's debut album, Weezer (Blue Album) on September 7, 1994, which would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. The lyrics reference the song's 1950s namesake and actress Mary Tyler Moore. It reached number two and number 34 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, respectively. The song also reached number six in Canada, number 12 in the United Kingdom, number 13 in Iceland and number 14 in Sweden.

Rolling Stone ranked "Buddy Holly" number 499 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2010), dropping it 2 spots down from number 497 (2004). But the song moved up 15 spots to number 484 in the 2021 update. The digital version of the single for "Buddy Holly" was certified gold by the RIAA in 2006. VH1 ranked it as one of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s at number 59 in December 2007.

## About

Songwriter Rivers Cuomo wrote "Buddy Holly" after his friends made fun of his Asian girlfriend. He originally planned to exclude it from the album; he felt it was "cheesy" and perhaps did not represent the sound he was pursuing for Weezer. Producer Ric Ocasek persuaded him to include it. In the book River's Edge, Ocasek is quoted saying: "I remember at one point he was hesitant to do 'Buddy Holly' and I was like, 'Rivers, we can talk about it. Do it anyway, and if you don't like it when it's done, we won't use it. But I think you should try. You did write it and it is a great song.'" Bassist Matt Sharp recalled: "Ric said we'd be stupid to leave it off the album. We'd come into the studio in the morning and find little pieces of paper with doodles on them: WE WANT BUDDY HOLLY."

An early demo of "Buddy Holly" recorded by Cuomo in 1993 has a different feel, as the song is played at a much slower tempo than the version that appears on the album. This version appeared on Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. The liner notes for Alone explain that the chorus, in its most primitive form, originally was sung as: "Oo-wee-oo you look just like Ginger Rogers / Oh, oh, I move just like Fred Astaire". The rest of the chorus stayed the same as the Blue Album version.

## Reception

Steve Baltin from Cash Box commented, "You’ve gotta love a song that makes reference to Mary Tyler Moore. Slightly poppier in its guitar sound than their first single, (...), this Ric Ocasek-produced song could help expand their already-growing fan base. Besides that, it mentions Mary, the woman who could turn the world on with her smile. Therefore, it has to be a hit." Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Made loud to play loud and sing along, it's the ideal power pop to cruise round this summer. That silly twin synth/guitar, betrays producer Ocasek, the one-time driver of New York's Cars." A reviewer from Music Week gave the song four out of five, adding, "A short and sweet taster from the album which may not have the same quirky appeal of Undone (The Sweater Song), but has an attractive hook and a video to arouse interest."

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]

What's with these homies dissin' my girl?

Why do they gotta front?

What did we ever do to these guys

That made them so violent?

[Pre-Chorus]

Woo-hoo, but you know I'm yours

Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine

Woo-hoo, and that's for all of time

[Chorus]

Ooh wee ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly

Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore

I don't care what they say about us anyway

I don't care 'bout that

[Verse 2]

Don't you ever fear, I'm always near

I know that you need help

Your tongue is twisted, your eyes are slit

You need a guardian

[Pre-Chorus]

Woo-hoo, and you know I'm yours

Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine

Woo-hoo, and that's for all of time

[Chorus]

Ooh wee ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly

Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore

I don't care what they say about us anyway

I don't care 'bout that

I don't care 'bout that

[Bridge]

Bang, bang, knocking on the door

Another big bang, get down on the floor

Oh no, what do we do?

Don't look now, but I lost my shoe

I can't run and I can't kick

What's a matter, babe, are you feelin' sick?

What's a matter, what's a matter, what's a matter you?

What's a matter, babe, are you feelin' blue? Oh-oh

[Guitar Solo]

[Pre-Chorus]

And that's for all of time

And that's for all of time

[Chorus]

Ooh wee ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly

Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore

I don't care what they say about us anyway

I don't care 'bout that

I don't care 'bout that

I don't care 'bout that

I don't care 'bout that

## See Also

 Standard