Strange Invitation
By: Beck Hansen, John King, Mike Simpson
Written by: Beck Hansen, John King, Mike Simpson

Version Of: Jack-ass

This Version:
 
Lyrics:
I've been drifting along in the same stale shoes
Loose ends tyin' a noose in the back of my mind
If you thought that you were making your way
To where the puzzles and pagans lay
I'll put it together, it's a strange invitation

When I wake up, someone will sweep up my lazy bones
And we will rise in the cool of the evening
I remember the way that you smiled
When the gravity shackles were wild
Something is vacant when I think it's all beginning

And I've been drifting along in the same stale shoes
Loose ends tyin' a noose in the back of my mind
If you thought that you were making your way
To where the puzzles and pagans lay
Put it together, it's a strange invitation

It's a strange invitation, it's a strange invitation
It's a strange invitation, it's a strange invitation
 
The Song:

This is a completely redone version of "Jack-ass." Not a remix, but an entirely new performance - and in the process, almost a new song. The keyboards and melody of the original (all sampled from Them's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue") have been stripped. Beck and Smokey play dueling acoustic guitars quietly in the background. The real "gimmick" of the song though is the gorgeous string arrangements courtesy of Beck's father, David Campbell. The strings are quite heavy and as any fan of "Nicotine & Gravy" can tell you, Campbell works quite well with his son.

Beck's new vocals are slower and less "pop" than on the original Odelay version. The lyrics are the same, but the mood and feel of the song have been drastically altered. Different phrases jump out here that may not have the same emphasis in other versions.