I Am One

Lyrics

Information

I am one as you are three Try to find a messiah in your trinity Your city to burn Your city to burn Try to look for something In your city to burn, you'll burn Am I as I seem? I'm down Down, so down Time is right for a guiding light Try to turn your reasons in your inner life Your city to burn Your city to burn Try to look for something In your city to burn, you'll burn See you, don't you just want to See you, I am one See you, don't you just want to See you See you, don't you just want to See you, I am one See you, don't you just want to See you, I am one

Written by William Corgan and James Iha BMI Work # 000603520 version 1 length- 4:19 version 2 length- 4:07 This was Smashing Pumpkins first commercially released song. It was later rerecorded for Gish. Billy Corgan: (Guitar School 1994) "The only thing I didn't like about Gish has to do with "I Am One." In hindsight, that was really the first true Pumpkins song. We'd done other stuff before that, but that song seemed to click us into some other gear. We recorded it at least a year before we did Gish, and put it out on a seven-inch. What disappointed me was that I didn't take advantage of the chance to re-record the song for the album. The two versions are virtually identical; in fact, I've had guys come up to me in bars and say that the solo on the seven-inch is better that the one on the record. I'm sure they have a point, because the seven-inch solo was a one take deal." "we're sick of playing "I Am One," right? So I came up with this idea: in the original version there is a bass break and then the band kicks back in, so instead of that, we just keep the groove going, the guitars drop out, and I wanted to do this spoken word thing. I had no idea what I was going to do. Over the course of a few weeks, I came up with kind of a running/singing dialogue that was a little bit of commentary, a little bit of whatever, keeping in line with what the song is about. For a month or two, that rap meant something, but after two months, the rap ceases to mean anything. It becomes as predictable as some solo that you'd play. It's no longer an inspired rap about how you feel, and becomes just another change in the song. Especially when people are seeing you for the second time, it's like, wow, he's saying the same shit--the first time I saw him, it seemed like it was coming from the heart, but now I know it's rehearsed!" Official Releases: I Am One 7" The Absolute Middle of Nowhere #17 Gish I Am One (CD) Vieuphoria Earphoria Rotten Apples Promo Release: Smashing Pumpkins 1991-1998 Smashing Pumpkins (2000 - 7 track) Bootleg Release: Reel Time Studios Gish Basment Tape Pisces Iscariot + Friends (live)