The Impression That I Get

Infobox Single
Name=The Impression That I Get


Artist=The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
from Album=Let's Face It
Released=1997
Format=
Recorded=
Genre=Ska punk
Length=3:14
Label=Mercury Records
Writer=Dicky Barrett
Joe Gittleman
Producer=
Chart position=US Modern Rock #1
Reviews=
Artist=The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Last single="Hell Of A Hat" (1995)
This single="The Impression That I Get" (1997)
Next single="The Rascal King" (1997)

"The Impression That I Get" is a song by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

It is the first single from the 1997 album "Let's Face It" and reached number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. In 1998, a live version of this song appeared on "Live from the Middle East". That same year, the Bosstones performed this song during their debut performance on Saturday Night Live.

Track listing

Maxi Single

#"The Impression That I Get" - 3:13
#"Desensitized" - 2:04
#"Is It - 2:53
#"Storm Hit" - 3:14
#"Ben Loves Anal... a Lot" - 1:47

Alternate Pressing

#"The Impression That I Get" - 3:13
#"Is It - 2:53
#"Storm Hit" - 3:14

Music

"The Impression That I Get", like their song "Where'd You Go?", is fairly characteristic of the Bosstones’ ska punk style. Horns play a large role in this sound, as do the distinctive vocals of Dicky Barrett.

Original Release

More than year before the release of "Let's Face It" the song appeared on "Safe and Sound: A Benefit in Response to the Brookline Clinic Violence" [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fxfyxqlhldhe] an album released in response to the slayings of two abortion clinic workers in two different clinics in Brookline, MA on December 30, 1995 and received heavy play on Boston radio throughout 1996.

Lyrics

In the lyrics, the singer asks listeners if they have "been close to tragedy" necessitating "a strength most don't possess". The singer says while he has not faced such a daunting situation himself, he "know(s) someone who has" and makes the understatement that he is "sure it isn't good." The singer also expresses doubts about his own and wonders how he would perform in such a situation himself. While stating "I like to think that if I was I would pass" he confesses "I'm afraid of what I might find out."

The opening line of the chorus states "I never had to knock on wood," and it may be more accurately rendered as "I never had to...(knock on wood)" referring to something that the singer has never had to do (i.e. face a huge crisis) and utilizing the superstitious phrase "knock on wood" which is said in the hopes that a good thing will continue to occur after it has been acknowledged. Similarly, the mid-chorus lyrics "It makes me wonder if I never had to knock on wood" are more easily understood with the insertion of ellipsis and other punctuation, i.e. "it makes me wonder if I...? Never had to... (knock on wood)."

The lyrics have been interpreted by some to be in reference to AIDS, and the anticipation of blood results:

"I'm not a coward,"I've just never been tested,"I'd like to think that if I was, I would pass."Look at the tested and think, there but for the grace go I might be a coward,"I'm afraid of what I might find out."

The group's official website denies this. The lyrics are more commonly regarded as having been derived from the experiences of a Bosstone's family member as has been disclosed by the group.

References

* [http://sideonedummy.com/bands.php?band_name=The_Mighty_Mighty_Bosstones Official Bosstones Page]
* [http://www.outlyer.org/article/7804 Bosstones Letter to fans regarding the hiatus]
* [http://www.3feetunder.com/bosstones/bossdisc.html William Krick's Bosstones Discography]