Smithereens, The - House We Used To Live In Lyrics

A house is not a home when you live alone....... 💔

RIP Pat....you brought rock back in the ‘80s

one of the best alternative bands of all time. in the words of kurt cobain: "REM being molested by Tom Petty".

Keen on nostalgia

Worn & broken..like my dreams..thank you so much pat & smithereens

it's like a northern version of REM from Athens Georgia

I met Pat and talked to him one on one for like 2 minutes. I actually wakled off just as he called over the drummer to here me talk and ask questions like "what does green thoughts represent"..."what's the cover mean". To this day I'm not sure why I did but I had just been let go from my job and it was at the beginning of the financial crisis so feeling......sad confused angry that rainy day. I wish I asked if this was the actual house he grew up in. Probably not. Looks like that picked it out for the video. Awesome house though. Meeting Pat that day was the only time in my life I felt star struck. It was like finding out some dream you had as a child was an actual event. Listened to them a lot from age 14 to 17.

This is a great band , there kinda more on the end of college type bands . I saw them in SLC in 1989 . Great concert !!!

This band is new to my ears. They like it!

This is my song. My true love and I got back together in the house we used to live i

A tight driving bass ALWAYS gets me. Love it. Loved it in 88. Loved it when i saw them in vegas in 97.

Favorite song by them

Even without Pat DiNizio, the smithereens will win new fans both in the UK where I live and overseas for many years to come

RIP Pat, see you at that great White Diamond in the sky for a steak n cheese

Just another brilliant song that achieved modest commercial success.

One can listen to them for hours while listening to music styles. As far as I'm concerned, the REM group used the same style years later.

About all I knew about the Smithereens until recently was their hit "Blood and Roses", but I started checking them out...now I'm a huge fan...better late than never...

Never too late to join the party......😁😁😁😁

Listening to this in my soon-to-be old house.

Americans have this ONE LAST CHANCE to avoid getting shoved under some tarp under a freeway overpass. Vote your CONSCIENCE; vote to preserve our REPUBLIC, vote RED if you truly love your neighbor. This is hardly the time to be a NPC. Life or death is REAL, folks

A GREAT LOSS

I can't figure out why this band never reached superstar status. Their music is incredible.

the Urbex theme song

My favorite Smithereens track.

I wish I could go back in time to this video and kiss Pat. And I don't mean some silly peck on the cheek I mean a long one on the lips.

I miss Pat and we did meet at XM radio but time was too short and became friends.!! God Bless You Pat!

I just love The Smithereens. All their songs!

Boathouse Norfolk VA late 80s Smithereens sing a long song

I always liked the "Revolver" ending to this song - and the "house" shout out.  Great writing, great band.

Goes great with Bon Jovi's This House is not for Sale.

I like to rock.

RIP Pat DiNizio. One of my favorite voices from back in the day.

R.I.P. Pat

RIP Pat. This was my song

RIP Pat DiNizio! One look before they tear it down...

The bassist doesn't fit in with the rest of the band. He's always too energetic, bouncing around like a Go-Go, and he looks Australian.

8 people never had a home.

This song got me through a divorce. Thanks Pat for all the great music.

R I P Pat DiNizio. You were a true rocker!

RIP Pat DiNizio. :'(

Rest in Peace, Pat.

1 of my favorites! rest in peace Pat.

R.I.P. Pat DiNizio.

r.i.p. pat, jersey will miss you so very much

Detroit is missing him, too--gonna drown in my own tears

RIP Pat. You were fantastic and will be missed 💔

Rest Easy, Pat. We Love you.

RIP Pat

Nice song but a sad one as I've heard Pat wrote the song about his experience as a kid when his family lost the home to for closure.

Ohh no! Yes I read that also somewhere online. But I did not know this song was about it. That must've been heartbreaking. Ugghh. Poor Pat.

I drove through the two neighborhoods i grew up in recently. I stopped in front of both houses and (much like this video and great Smithereens tune) the forty year old childhood memories flashed right before my eyes.

what a great rock song!

RICKENBACKER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENOUGH SAID !

That outro is perfect.....

I heard this on the radio during "throwback Thursday" this week.. Brought back so many memories. I was still in high school (Sophomore I think) when this song came out and remember watching this video. I don't think I appreciated back then. I remember thinking..Who would write a song about a house? I did think it had a good beat though. Now it holds so many different meanings. My family still lives in the house I grew up in, and as they get older, I know the day will come when we'll have to part with it. Ironically, I went out with a guy in college who looks like the lead singer of this band. Not sure what ever happened to him. I think he still lives in Madison, WI. Now that's a distant memory! Great song, great band.

Cool recollections! I thought the same thing when the song came out!

that kid on the bed had a soul patch already? too cool.

I can't believe the Smithereens weren't huge

Think they're the only such band that wasn't?

But I think they did in fact achieve fame and adoration to a certain point. It's not like they did not go anywhere.

First time I've ever seen the video and always loved this Smithereens B side gem. The video makes it even better by showing the tale of a guy revisiting the house he grew up in as a youngster.

I would so have had a crush on Pat at the time, LOL (Maynard G Krebs!!)

Maynard G. Krebbs most underrated beatnik in the whole fuckin universe. I LOVE U M.G.K. 😍💖💋!!! LIKE PEACE MAN✌

Always great song structure...great choruses...great hooks.

Rest in Peace Pat DiNizio........you will be missed

Indeed. You just described the smithereens :0)

filmed in carteret? loved this song in high school. now I sold my house after 11 years and shared this w my kids.

check out that killer palm mute at 2:56 mins in! wooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I've always had a little crush on Pat DiNizio........... & now there is even more of him to love!

+Soozi inCa to be honest, I was slightly shocked at how, er, big he got--still love him and the band and they still sound great.

Please help donate money to Pat Dinizio, lead singer/songwriter of The Smithereens, who is in jeopardy of losing the ability to play guitar! Not a scam!!!!!!
https://gofundme.com/ok2dm0

awesome

The call and response between the singer and band at the end of the song is classic.

@J High yeah I know

@J High The whole song speaks volumes to those of us who had that one house we loved more than any other. What also speaks volumes is how Pat goes from room to room and he sees the ghosts of the memories of his mom and dad and himself when he was younger. That really hits you square in the chest.

+Kain Nosgoth I've heard it was more than that.Don't know if it's mentioned here but I read apparently it was about his family loosing it for whatever reasons.

@MIKECNW  The liner notes on the double CD "It Came From Jersey!"  specifically state that the song was about the loss of Pat's childhood home, and that Pat was originally afraid to come to the rest of the band with the song, but that the band was glad that he did.

In fact each song has a liner note to it and it's the ultimate Smithereens anthology. if your're a fan you have to get it.

I love call and response in rock n roll.

Five people don't know what good music sounds like

I know right?

This song speaks volumes of the band. When a lot of 80's MTV's vid's were hair bands drivel, they had the guts to make a video that was an ode to their parents, home and community.

@Danny Mack Right on man!

Danny Mack from one Dan to another, very well said

Pat DiNizio lost his childhood home, so this song is also a strong statement on the attack on the middle class, as was said in the liner notes on the 2 CD set "It Came From New Jersey!". The notes also said Pat was afraid to come to the band with the song because of the subject matter, but they liked it anyhow, and so do we!

There was a lot of substance in the 80's too.

Danny Mack u

bass player is hot

+Susan Hayden you got that right!

The Smithereens belong in the RnR Hall of Fame, without a doubt.

Sort of agree.

It should be called the music HOF and another R&R HOF should exist.

I mean Country & Blues music have their own.

Long overdue

Eet Chit: YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN...

great song, not about chicks and cars, but HOME

Just so Dam Kool ; )

I first heard this song when I was in my living room watching Mtv, back when they actually played music.(1988-ish?)  As soon as the band name and title came on the screen at the end, I grabbed my keys, went down to the car and drove to the record store (remember those?) and bought the CD. That very same disc is right next to my computer today.

I have the cassette. I was a poor college kid and couldn't afford a CD player.

lololol great story , was moved by  very few  songs at  first  hearing them  1st was in 76  i heard  dr love by kiss, then  in 79 queens get down make love, then in 82 devo beautiful world video on some tv show,  then in 86  XTC dear god  now that im old ive matured and  have recently been moved by   the hookers teenage blood, lol

I found 11 and Especially For You on CD for $1 in Goodwill a couple years ago, best $2 I've ever spent.

I had a similar experience with Surfer Rosa by The Pixies. I was driving down a dirt road outside Gaston, Oregon and listening to Portland's "indie" radio station when Vamos came on; I drove well past my destination until the DJ came on and identified band and song; the next day I drove to Tower Records and bought the cassette, which opened the door to a whole world of music I'd been almost entirely ignorant of.

I used to think about my childhood home when I heard this song, now it makes me think about my house I'm about to lose to the bank.  sad.

I'm sorry.

That makes two of us, it was my dream house. But the bank doesn't care if you're sick, they just want their money. Can't blame them....everything happens for a reason. Hang in there Anglynn.

I'm sad for you. Keep the faith.

Love this Group & Love the Song! Popular when I got divorced! Yee Haw!

I cannot believe 25 years have past since this song came out. Great memories from the Summer of 88 when I was a college student. I remember buying "Green Thoughts" on cassette and playing it over and over in my car.

You know it.  And yes, Mike, I totally would have gone out with you.  ;-)

* passed. I guess college never paid off?

Me too Mike. I bought the cassette green thoughts while I was in college so we must be around the same age. And I played it to death. The Songs still hold up today. i miss Pat.

The Smithereens and The Replacements (I put the two side-by-side, really) saved rock 'n' roll for me. It was such a horrible era of glam rock (Poison, Europe, Slaughter, all that GARBAGE) and i just wanted something real. This was it! Beautiful stuff, and sensitive, too!

It was right before hip-pop started taking over the world. Started out harmless with Mc Hammer and that kinda stuff. Fast-forward and now everyone wants to dress like, and talk like hoodlums. Births out of wedlock up, shootings all over the place. People shaking their heads side to side, wagging fingers and then fighting over a Big Mac at McDonald's.

Add Smash Mouth to the bill and what a cooler show it would have been, not to mention how cool it is already, being that it's the Smithereens! :-)

Saw them as the opening act to Los Lobos at the Tower Theater in PA.

This band is still bad 25 years later. I knew they were bad when my sister and her lame friends were listening to them in high school. It's just so obvious why REM took a similar sound and made it big.

I bought the vinyl album in '88!
Whichever you have, play this song LOUD.

Gilligan wants his hat back.

I've always loved this song.

And much better that it stays that way

Probably been said before.....but, their drummer in this vid looks like the drummer from Weezer. If it is, then fine. I didn't research it.

yeah the house in the video was in California.

And the Babjak boys are the coolest too. I know their dad and their mom and their nana and they all rock!

I asked Pat about this & he told me the house in the video was in fact not his actual childhood home

Was in a cover band back then that did TONS of their stuff. Amazed me that these guys weren't huge.

Ah, the summer of 1988, when I would just sit and watch nothing but MTV all day - on purpose.

I never, ever, EVER understood why this album wasn't a massive success. I know there was some success with Only a Memory, but I really thought this album was absolutely wonderful. I was such a huge fan and it seemed like no one I knew cared about them.

Pat wrote this song because his childhood home was torn down. Beautifully written tribute.

@gapedhok Yeah it is but it's even mentioned in some of the earlier comments that it was about his family losing their home to forcloser, and unfortunatly as we know today it's happening too often.

@IamCoznoz So u know them? Wow, tell Pat I was in love with him back in 1991! LOL Yes, the new stuff is great; that classic Smithereens/Rickenbacker sound, awesome harmonies, catchy tunes, it's all there & its all fresh. And yes, the bassist is fantastic, but there was just something about Mike's basslines...they added SO much to the tunes. Sometimes, Mike's bass MADE the entire song, you know? It just wasn't just the background foundation. But of course, that's just my opinion. ^_^

I really miss Mike on bass. Jumps, kicks, and all....he was SO GOOD! Does anyone know why he left the group, btw?

Nice bass line going on here.

Love this song. Love this time in my life! Back in the good days, before age took over.

This song is so uplifting and has held up well over the years, yet the video is kinda lame.

Easily one of the truest rock bands of the 80's. I just saw them play to 200 people at a local fairground - it might as well have been Giants Stadium. Well done, boys.

The house that we used to live in....