Holmes, Rupert - Answering Machine Lyrics

When I was a telemarketer one of the numbers I called would have the chorus as their answering recording...we laughed so hard we would constantly call it just to hear it.

A little while ago I went and placed a call
To tell this girl I know that she could have it all
The wedding, the ring, the whole dumb thing
I was willing to tie the knot
So I called her up, and this is the answer I got

"I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
Leave your name and number
And I'll try and get back to you
You have thirty seconds to talk to me before you're through"

And I said, "Baby, let's go get married
Well, I need to know you're mine
I am hangin' on, I am hangin' on
I am hangin' on this line
And if I can leave one message
Before you go to bed
I would say to you..."
And the phone went dead

So I stepped out to buy some dog food for the cat
Of course she called about three minutes after that
Would she be my wife and share my life?
Well, of course you can write the plot
'Cause she called me up, and this is the answer she got

"I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
Leave your name and number
And I'll try and get back to you
You have thirty seconds to talk to me before you're through"

And she said, "Baby, I got your message
Well, I'm answering your call
I have thought it out, I have thought it out
And I think that all-in-all
If you ask if we can marry, and make it for all time
Then my answer is..."
And the phone went

"I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine
I'm so sorry you have just reached my answering machine
I'm not in at present, I'm sure you know this whole routine"

My friends and I did a lip sync battle on this song

heard this at my first job and whenever I hear this I can close my eyes and almost feel myself still in uniforms cleaning same tables every day.

Rupert Holmes
"Answering Machine"
1980.

That digital dialup sound is what really made me notice this song the first time i heard it.

Listening in August 2019, and this is still the greatest song ever made.

This song sucks

I left her this message to ask her to go to O’Malleys.

I want a t-shirt with that drawing of him with the baby blue background on it.

Wasn't the story of his record label like this song? They released this and went out of business!

"Why are you so fucking weird?"
It starts here- this, and Sesame Street Fever.

This is the worst song lyrics I have ever heard

i just heared it once and my GOD,, last song syndrome cant help... remember the word

ANSWERING MACHINE..

😁😁😁

Used this as my greeting on my machine back in the day . Had tons of calls just to listen to out going message.

(Beethoven's 5th) Nobody's home...nobody's home...they did a whole tape of crazy answering machine messages to use in the 80s.

this melody is so original

I have bill wurtz vibes

Blossom Dearie's version is best.

Dumbest song ever

I LIKE THIS SONG

Wait a minute. Did he leave us hanging? What happened? Is there a part 2 to this? Enquiring minds want to know!

I won't read it anymore, there are CANDY BARS above it on the stand.

His cat is hooked on heroin?

Uno -95*

Loved this song. Did not find out about it until 1983. I remember when answering machines first came out. Businesses got them first. We still had a rotory telephone when we got our first answering machine in 1987. In 1989 I heard someone say they got voice mail at the same time they got caller ID on their telephone. Did not know what voice mail was at that time.

Great song that should've been a bigger hit.

Smart Pop

Noviembre 2018! Desde sonora mexico

iloved this song back in 79/80 still love it amongst his other songs //I still have this 45 record mint condtion...I miss the old days /happy go lucky music//

Thanks to texting I'm missing out on classics like this

Time flies. God take me back to being 14 years old.

Adonis Sesson You can't go back! But if you figure out a way please bring me with you!!! I've only a small bag to bring with! ❤☺

Rupert is great. I bought his cd box set. It contains all ten of his albums in cd quality. That's a treasure.

Check out his play writing skills! Awesome.

*0:40** to **0:50** is my new voicemail... with me snickering in the background*

Dumbest song in the world, yet it gets stuck in your head.

One of the most clever and creative songs I know

This song is technologically obsolete (but is still great).

VERY VERY GOOD

I like This song,but l like more him.

The good ole day's not a care in the world free.

I like : 1. Him, 2. Scape, 3.aswering machine, 4.partners in crime. Thats all.

The first true death metal song.Imagine if it were suddenly announced that this song is the new national anthem for the United States.

sooo nice to b reunited with this song... thanks for sharing

A hipster before hipsters were cool

A cheesy song... but a good one too.

I heard this song on the radio right at "So I stepped out to buy dog food for the cat..." and knew at an instant that this is written by Rupert Holmes.

So...What was her answer?????

IM SO SORRY

1:48....Best album cover ever....Rupert DGAF

Rupert Holmes is pro!

Spring of 1980 for this song. Being 24 at that time found much applicable in my life. This song and other music back then was a song track to many persons lives...

i love yacht rock radio!!!

Not a huge fan of The Pina Colada Song, but this is a great tune.

i use parts of this on my answering machine. my friends always call to listen to it.

Very Rupert

yacht back on channel 17

I like this song, along with "Him".

Yacht rock still exists. It's channel 311 on SiriusXm internet radio.

Yacht rock on SiriusXm is awesome! This is where I heard this song.

The message says you have 30 seconds to talk, but both messages get cut off at the 20 second mark.

i think thats the point. Like their ending the voicemail before they can say it. so the lady ends it early so the guy responds the same.

I have to laugh at that line where he says he had to buy the Cat some Dog Food! LOL!

This lamb has accidentally grazed on dry dog food. Yuck.

I've always loved that line, Jeffrey! Rupert definitely has a way with words. You don't find lyrics like his in today's music.

I like right before he says that, he's building up to say something and the answering machine runs out of time

I've heard this twice while listening to Sirius-XM "Yacht Rock" #18.

Me too!!!!!!

Me and my dad and my aunts and uncles love yacht rock. We hear it in the summer even on trips to Oklahoma and Kansas. And ruidoso.

That's how I found this too. This oddball of a song is a breath of fresh air.

For people who wear long sleeves

Yeah, that’s exactly how I found this song today! It’s not very good but more of a meme. The station has become my new favorite though.

I heard this on the radio back in 1977 or so, and my father had an answering machine, and I figured out how to change the outgoing greeting and sang this song on it.  Now I run a voicemail service and record outgoing greetings all the time.

Maybe 1979 or so, and my phone had this message on it as well....

This immediately makes me think of R.Stevie Moore. Love it

XM yacht rock station recently gave this song and his hits new life, but sadly the station was temporary.

awesome! long live the Rupert! any album is great!

This station is back on #70

I love Yacht Rock on SiriusXM

Dee Barker a better idea for me: come to YouTube where there is no waiting!! Would be great if the station stayed at 70.

Permanent home at Chanel 311, channel 70 in the summertime

Gotta say the Partners album rules...every track

Very calming

They played this song on XM's 80's on 8 this past weekend on their Big 40 Countdown from this week back in 1980.

I was listening to the same show, and that's what brought me here.

Michael Harris loved those and the 70’s top 40 countdowns too

Rupert Holmes no solo tiene prestigio por ser un popular compositor en el mundo ,si no ademas en su pais es respetado por otros aportes en la campo de la musica. Yo diria que el es un autentico musico

Still as fresh as wet paint or wet as fresh paint or new as...hasn't aged a bit....omg how embarrassing.

gardenvarietypenis

I'm painting a room right now. LOL

If I even have to mention the amount of Psychology in this guy's music then my point is lost.

Huh???? What do you mean? And what point are you talking about?????

If you play it backwards is it reverse psy...okay,

@Glen Slater THEY don't want you to know.

The chord progressions especially on the verses are unpredictible.  As a matter of fact, I'd say that's a calling card for RH.  He's a very refreshing artist.

This guy told a story, gave you emotion, suspense, and and a killer tune with a swift and smooth jazz progression. He always made us laugh or feel good.  He is brilliant.  Always was.  I may be an old fart now, but I grew up with Rupert and miss the 80's. Who was your 70's and 80's favorites? Really, I would love to know! 

+Rich Green Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Led Zepplin, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, B.B.King. Ray Charles, Diane Schuur, George Benson, Ronnie Laws, Stan Turintine and a lot more.

@barry leeper they all suck, except  Steve Morse

Steely Dan and Gerry Rafferty.

American Born Patriot. Yes

Born 2001 so i dont know many by name

Don't suppose there is anyone on here old enough, and sad enough (?), to have been a member of the UK Rupert Holmes Fan Club?!!!

I represent the Rupert Holmes fan club from the year 2445, looking though our historical data bases I can see that we have no records of a "roger Iakhani" You sir, are an imposter ;)

I'll join it now

The recording engineering was delightful, the DTMF dial tone, and answering machine beep. LOL  I love this song...I would have loved to have been in the recording studio when this was made!

Rupert Holmes's songs always struck me as the musical equivalent of Woody Allen

But Woody Allen sucks ... he's a nasty little pedophile with no talent and no redeeming qualities whatsoever ... Rupert Holmes has a beautiful voice, and writes very clever, catchy tunes.  Other than them both being male, they are nothing alike.

+DisneyGrrrl i have to agree.........

@Vicki Schon​ you can appreciate a person's abilities and their work without having to like the person. Most people have no idea what type of person Einstein was. He wasn't the warm of avuncular figure that everyone thinks he was. Yet no one denies him his achievements

Man this guy is good. I wish people knew other songs from him instead of escape. although, that song rocks as well.

I do ... I love every single cut on the Partners In Crime album.

I never heard this track before back in 1977. I was nine years old, of course, for most American juveniles Star Wars w captivated that age group.

He was also an awesome play writer and won a few awards.

He was a member of a group called Street People that had at least one AM hit around 1969 or 1970. That's Rupert singing lead on "Jennifer Tompkins". My mom had the 45, back when people bought 45's.

Fav! ♫♪ ♪♫♥
Rupert Holmes - vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone
Dean Bailin - guitar
Leo Adamian - drums
Steve Jordan - drums on "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"
Peter Gordon - French horn
Wayne Andre - trombone
Bob Gurland - trumpet on "Get Outta Yourself"
Chrissy Faith - background vocals on "Answering Machine"
Gene Orloff Section - strings

I thought along the woman was either Tony Tenille or Melissa Manchester 😮

actually love the whole Partners in Crime album

.take me bak to 79...I was 15...and remember hearing this for the first time in my cousin's car....bak when we put 6x9's behind the bak seats ..I was just in high skool...and grease ruled theaters.....then..came the 80-s..it was a great time to be young..sorry..when you start pushing 50...you will understand...thanx for sharing a fun song from a fun time..it was actually like that..bak then..lots of beeps and operators....thank you...for reminding mee..

Love this so much...