"I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)" | ||||
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Single by Fall Out Boy | ||||
from the album Infinity on High | ||||
Released | September 11, 2007 | |||
Format | CD single | |||
Recorded | 2006 | |||
Genre | Pop rock, alternative rock, R&B | |||
Length | 3:31 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Writer(s) | Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump | |||
Producer | Babyface | |||
Fall Out Boy singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)", or for short "I'm Like a Lawyer... (Me & You)" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, and is the fourth and last single from their fourth studio album, Infinity on High (2007). With music composed by Fall Out Boy vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump and lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, the song was one of the two tracks produced by Babyface (who was referenced in the song), the other being single "Thnks fr th Mmrs".[1]
This song was played on VH1's V-Spot acoustic sessions along with "Thnks fr th Mmrs", "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", and "Sugar, We're Goin Down", all of which were successful singles. Wentz characterized Stump’s vocal performance on the song as "straight-up Motown," continuing to say "If there wasn't a rock band playing, it'd be straight R&B, and he'd go on tour with just an upright bass and a drum and open up for R. Kelly."[2] Lyrically, the song has been described as "about as close to a love song as you'll get from this band, a rare moment of tenderness among songs about blog entries, guest lists, and therapy sessions.[3]
In Australia, the single reached No. 28 on the Australian ARIA singles chart, becoming the fourth consecutive top 30 single from the album in that region. In the US it was much less successful and only managed to reach No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Contents |
All lyrics written by bassist Pete Wentz (of Fall Out Boy), all music composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump (of Fall Out Boy).
As the band collaborated with longtime R&B producer Babyface, initial reviews of the song and its breach into another genre were mixed. Corey Apar, a writer for Allmusic, was more malignant towards the song, calling it Maroon 5-ish, with "a vocal hook uncomfortably close to Phil Collins' cover of "A Groovy Kind of Love".[4] On the contrary, Rolling Stone magazine lauded the song,[5] and IGN approved of the song, assuring long-time fans that they indeed had nothing to fear about the band permanently branching into R&B.[6]
In an interview with MSNBC, bassist Pete Wentz told Chicagoan/Today Staffer Devin Johnson, that the band was to film the video for the song in Uganda, and further noted, "...we're going to shoot it on 24p cameras and donate the money that we were going to use in the video for the film or the video to a project over there..."[7] According to Billboard, the band shot the video for the single after having performed their first show in South Africa.[8] The music video was directed by Alan Ferguson. A sneak peek of the video aired on TRL on September 12th, and the music video for "Me + You" can now be seen in its entirety on AOL.com. FUSE TV premiered the video on September 14.
A clip of the video showed the band performing in a field in Uganda between shots of people doing their daily routines in Africa and a group of people watching the video band's previous music video for their song "Dance, Dance".
The plot focuses on the lives of two children from Uganda, who fall in love and work hard to be able to go to school. But one day, their village is raided, and the young boy is taken. However, in a portion with no music, the boy escapes. As the boy returns home, the music starts playing again and the two reunite. The video ends with a message saying that there are still thousands of children soldiers who have not returned to their family, along with the URL to Invisible Children Inc.'s official website. In this video, apart from the scenes with the children, there are only a few shots of the band, far less than in prior videos.
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
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Australian Singles Chart | 28 |
New Zealand Singles Chart | 33 |
UK Singles Chart[9] | 91 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 68 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Videoclip Tracks | 14 |
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 31 |
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 26 |
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