Add It Up

"Add It Up"
Song by Violent Femmes
from the album Violent Femmes
Released	April 1983 (1983-April)
Genre	Alternative rock, folk punk, post-punk
Length	4:44
Label	Slash Records
Songwriter(s)	Gordon Gano[1]

"Add It Up" is a song by American rock band Violent Femmes, released on their 1983 debut album Violent Femmes.

It contains the lyrics:

Why can't I get just one screw
Believe me I'd know what to do
But something won't let me make love to you
Why can't I get just one fuck
Why can't I get just one fuck
I guess it's got something to do with luck
But I waited my whole life for just one

Band member Gordon Gano commented:

I was in my bedroom—that's where I wrote it—feeling frustrated. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. It just happened to feel good lyrically ... and it still does.[1]

The song title was used as the name for the compilation album by the group, Add It Up (1981–1993).

Some radio stations substitute a guitar note for the swear word for airplay.

Used in other media

• Ethan Hawke's character in the 1994 film Reality Bites plays a cover of "Add It Up" with his band Hey That's My Bike.
• The song is featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2.[2]
• The song was covered on a cello and piano, as are several other Violent Femmes songs, in the 2007 film Rocket Science.
• Canadian singer Shawn Mendes performed a cover of the song during the season 3 premiere of The 100.[3][4][5] A music video for the cover was released by The CW.[5] Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie responded positively to the rendition through the band's official Facebook page, saying "It’s a testament to the universality expressed in [the song] that it can be resurrected with a different result even after 35 years and still sound current."[6]

Notes and references

1. "Behind the lines", Rolling Stone, 14 November 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2007.
2. Altizer, Roger (November 12, 2019). "Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Soundtrack". Lifewire. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
3. Murphy, Shaunna (January 8, 2016). "Watch Shawn Mendes Bring Sweet, Beautiful Music to 'The 100'". MTV. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
4. Highfill, Samantha (January 8, 2016). "The 100: Shawn Mendes sings for the Sky People". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
5. Frederick, Brittany (January 24, 2016). "Shawn Mendes releases 'Add It Up' music video from 'The 100'". AXS. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
6. Ritchie, Brian (February 1, 2016). "Violent Femmes - 'Add It Up' by Shawn Mendes". Facebook. Retrieved June 3, 2016.

External links

• "Add It Up – an Interview with the Elder Statesmen of Disaffected Youth, the Violent Femmes"