02-75
Lyrics
I got your letter
And I read what it said
And I blushed with recognition
At every word you said
And you are my best friend
And I have always known you
I dreamed of your house
And I looked around
And I saw the real rain, real power rolling down
And you, you are my best friend
And I, I have always known you
Banter
- This is the first love song that I wrote for my girlfriend. (1997-06-22)
- This is the first love song I ever wrote for my wife. It's called 02-75, because those are romantic numbers. You wanna know the secret of 02-75? I bet you do. (2001-06-23)
- This is the first love song I ever wrote for my wife, before I had ever laid eyes on her face. [woo!] It's named after her post office box in Grinnell, Iowa, where we used to exchange letters before we knew what one another looked like. (2003-06-27)
- This is called 02-75. It was a love song I wrote for my wife before she was my wife. (2008-05-26)
Live Performances
1996-09-03 - Fletcher's, Baltimore (audio)
1996-11-10 - Kikker, Utrecht (partial performance, audio)
1997-06-22 - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
1998-04-23 - Black Watch Pub, Claremont (audio)
1999-01-23 - High Hat Blues Club, Athens GA (video)
1999-01-27 - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro (audio)
2001-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (audio)
2002-11-06 - Knitting Factory, NYC (audio)
2002-11-08 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Carrboro
2003-02-06 - Spitz, London (audio)
2003-06-27 - Mains d'Oeuvres, Paris (audio, video)
2003-08-23 - Breadstretchers, Springfield (audio)
2008-05-26 - Daytrotter Studio, Rock Island (audio)
2010-05-16 - American Theater Company, Chicago
2010-06-02 - Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver BC
2010-06-07 - Macewan Hall, Calgary
Notes
There’s a whole story behind this song, and what it means, and it’s a true story and a personal one, which is why I’m averse to telling it. You know those tiresome old cranks who bemoan the death of the private sphere on the editorial page of the Sunday Times? I am one of them. At the same time, I have blurry personal boundaries just like pretty much every other musician I’ve ever known, with the exception of Erik Friedlander, who seems not to have been touched by the “we’re all kinda stupid and also crazy” bug that got the rest of us when we were still young and helpless. Bless the Holy Name of God for your good fortune, Erik! Anyhow. My girlfriend’s post office box when she went to Grinnell College in Iowa was box number 02-75. I used to write her there before we had met. She used to write me back. Once she sent me a papier-mache’d cow that was totally cool and awesome. She is not my girlfriend any more; she’s my wife. As of 2008 we will have been together for thirteen years. Knock wood, right? This was the first song I wrote for her. (Daytrotter, 2008-05-26 - Internet Archive)