Me Wise Magic
"Me Wise Magic" | ||||
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Warner Bros. | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen | |||
Producer(s) | Glen Ballard | |||
Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
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"Me Wise Magic" is a song by
Composition
After
Roth discarded Ballard's sketch lyrics and wrote his own, and denied the suggestion to get help from songwriter
The lyrics to "Me Wise Magic," written by David Lee Roth, were based on an initial set of lyrics by the song's producer Glen Ballard, which Roth insisted on rewriting to suit his own unique style. Written in first-person, "Me Wise Magic" presents a series of questions and statements about self-awareness, religious belief and superstitions - alternating between the points of view of God and a human being.
Release
A promo CD of "Me Wise Magic" was distributed to radio stations prior to the release of Van Halen's Best of Volume I. Its artwork features a stylized image of Buddha, reflecting the song's lyrics (specifically the lyric, "a Buddhist riff for your inner ear.") "Me Wise Magic" became an instant rock radio hit - Van Halen's third #1 with Roth on the US Rock Chart - and twelfth of a record-setting 14 Rock Chart #1s during the 1980s and 1990s. Reviews were also positive.[3]
The return of Roth to Van Halen made media headlines, with MTV going as far as to play a celebratory "welcome back" commercial for the charismatic Roth. Weeks after an appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards caused a public and media sensation, Van Halen parted ways - for a second time, acrimoniously - with Roth.[4]
A planned video for "Me Wise Magic" was never filmed. The first proposal, of a concept video with a Voodoo theme, was discarded by Roth, who also rejected a performance video where he would be in a big screen behind the three other members.[5] However, in lieu of a video, MTV created a montage of Van Halen and Roth clips set to the song, which they ran with a Van Halen TV special.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Eruptions"; Steven Rosen, Guitar World (December 1996)
- ISBN 9780470536186.
- ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (19 October 1996). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
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has generic name (help) - ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/van-halen
- ISBN 978-0-470-53618-6.
- ^ mtvnews, MTV News Staff 09/02/2010. "The 2010 VMA Countdown: Van Halen Get The Band Back Together (For A Few Hours)".
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