Clumsy (Our Lady Peace song)

"Clumsy" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released in April 1997 as the second single from their second album, Clumsy. It was one of their most successful singles, reaching number-one in Canada.^[1] The song also became very successful in the United States reaching the Billboard top ten of the modern rock chart peaking at number 5 and remaining in the top ten for 15 weeks straight. It is one of the few tracks on the album not to feature vocalist Raine Maida's falsetto-controlled singing voice, although his trademark paranoid edged-voice is still used. This song is also the lightest on the album. The song was included on the soundtrack to the 1997 movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer.^[2]

"Clumsy" has become a staple in Our Lady Peace's live setlist. A live version of the song is featured on their first live compilation Live released in 2003.

Background and writing

Although the band has left most of their work interpretation up to the fans, guitarist Mike Turner and vocalist Raine Maida have said this about the song:

"You can be destructive without being malicious if you're clumsy. With the problems that I encounter, they're obviously not unique. Everyone goes through the same things I go through, so I think 'Clumsy' was just a word that would give those problems the benefit of the doubt and then enable you to get through them rather than seeing them just from one perspective [like], 'O.K., it's bad. It's not going to change from being bad.' Because things DO change. People change" ... "It's really honest.The lyrics really match the song in that there are a lot of different colours and stuff, just as [with] personalities."

They also said this in relating to the title of the album:

"We went back into that same studio [from Naveed] with our producer friend and made Clumsy. Clumsy is about making decisions. There is a connection between the song Clumsy and it being the title of the album. The lyric; 'I'll be waving my hand/watching you drown/ watching you scream' is about seeing something, but not seeing it for what it really is. You may decide to help... or to just wave back."

Music video

The video for "Clumsy" was filmed on March 18, 1997 and was directed by Matt Mahurin. It features a teenage boy in his room filmed in a green sepia-tone. Upon entering the room, he removes the door from the wall (leaving a blank space) and throws it out the window; he then takes the window (which also leaves a blank space on the wall) and shoves it under his bed. The boy then accidentally knocks over a glass of water, which endlessly empties into his room, flooding it. At the last moment, the boy grabs a giant breath and swims down, removing the window from under his bed, swimming through to safety. Unlike other singles, "Clumsy" had only one music video internationally.

Track listing

Radio Promo Single

Columbia CSK 2935

"Clumsy (Edit)" - 3:52
"Clumsy" - 4:28

European CD Single

Epic EPC 665131 2

"Clumsy" - 4:28
"Clumsy (Power acoustic version)" - 4:00
"Superman's Dead (Acoustic)"

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[1]	1
Canada Alternative 30 (RPM)	1
US Billboard Radio Songs	59
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	13
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	5

End of year charts

End of year chart (1997)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	14

End of year chart (1998)	Position
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	12

References

1 2 "Top Singles - Volume 65, No. 16, June 23, 1997". RPM. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
↑ Anon (1997). "News Archive" Ourladypeace.com at the Internet Archive. Retrieved September 18, 2009

External links

Our Lady Peace
Raine Maida Duncan Coutts Steve Mazur Jason Pierce Jeremy Taggart Mike Turner Chris Eacrett Jamie Edwards Paul Martin
Studio albums	Naveed Clumsy Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch Spiritual Machines Gravity Healthy in Paranoid Times Burn Burn Curve
Live albums	Live
Compilations	A Decade Playlist
Singles	"The Birdman" "Starseed" "Hope" "Supersatellite" "Naveed" "Superman's Dead" "Automatic Flowers" "4am" "Clumsy" "One Man Army" "Is Anybody Home?" "Thief" "In Repair" "Life" "Right Behind You (Mafia)" "Somewhere out There" "Innocent" "Angels/Losing/Sleep" "All You Did Was Save My Life" "The End Is Where We Begin" "Heavyweight"
Related articles	Discography The Age of Spiritual Machines Fair Ground Crash Karma

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