Across the Sea: Difference between revisions

{{Small quote box|I didn't shave my head but I asked my mother if I could, and I said I wanted to be a monk, but my parents talked me out of it. And technically I was asking to be a sannyasa, not a Catholic monk|Rivers Cuomo, 2014 ''Reddit'' Q&A<ref name="reddit">[[Reddit Q&A with Rivers Cuomo - November 2014]]</ref>}}[[Rivers Cuomo]] wrote "Across the Sea" in [[1996]] while attending [[Harvard]].<ref name="thepinkertondiaries">Cuomo, Rivers. ''[[The Pinkerton Diaries]]''. 2011. Self-published</ref> The previous spring, Cuomo had undergone a painful surgical procedure to lengthen his leg, which had grown shorter than the other due to a congenital femoral deficiency,<ref name="thepinkertondiaries" /><ref name="ilizarov">[https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Ilizarov%20Procedure Ilizarov Procedure], ''[[Riverpedia]]''.</ref> requiring him to maneuver with the aid of a cane. While at Harvard, Cuomo went unrecognized by fans, to his delight, but he found himself lonely and struggled to write new songs. "I don't have any meaningful relationships here at school" Cuomo wrote to fans in February of 1996,<ref name="thepinkertondiaries" /><ref name="weezine6">[[Weezine Issue 6 - Spring 1996]], pg. 4</ref> "and, unfortunately, relationships are the only thing I know how to write about."

In the spring of 1996, Cuomo received a letter from a Japanese fan asking questions about his life. "I had fantasies over this letter," said Cuomo,<ref name="ap" /> "I realized that I’d completely shut myself off from life, but I was still aware of Eros inside me. I hadn’t eliminated that part of me at all. I wasn’t a monk. I was just a perverted hermit." Cuomo subsequently used the contents of the letter to write a song, "Across the Sea." "She basically wrote the lyrics to the first verse and part of the chorus, too," Cuomo later said of the girl.<ref name="courant">Catlin, Roger. "[[Hartford Courant interview with Rivers Cuomo - December 4, 1996|Weezer's worry]]" ''The Hartford Courant''. 4 December 1996.</ref> She has since, reportedly, received royalties for her contribution.<ref name="courant" /><ref name="ap">Daley, David. "[[Alternative Press interview with Weezer - January 1997|Happy [cancelled] Days]]". ''Alternative Press'', January 1997.</ref> When [[Weezer]] later toured Japan, Cuomo considered meeting her, but ultimately decided it would have been too embarassing.<ref name="courant" /><ref name="newjersey">Michele, Amabile. "[[The Central New Jersey Home News article - June 20, 1997|Setting the record straight]]" ''The Central New Jersey Home News'' 20 June 1997.</ref> "I don't know anything about her and I've never contacted her." said Cuomo.<ref>[[Rivers Cuomo Fan Interview 2006]]</ref>

The lyrics also allude to Cuomo's adolescent consideration of becoming a Buddhist ''sannyasi''<ref name="reddit" /> before ultimately deciding to pursue music. "I went to my parents' Zen master and I said, 'Life is shit, I want to shave my head and do this,'" Cuomo recalled in a 2001 [[Los Angeles Times article - May 12, 2001|interview]],<ref>Cromelin, Richard. "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/188592869/ Where's Weezer Been?]" ''Los Angeles Times''. 12 May 2001. [[Los Angeles Times article - May 12, 2001|Transcript]]</ref> "He's like, 'You know what? Being a monk is shit too, so I can't advise that for you. What you should do is really listen to yourself and see what path would make you the most excited and just go do that, however crazy it seems.'[...]And it took me about five seconds and I was like, 'I want to be a rock star.'"

The song's piano instrumental has been said to symbolize Cuomo's depression while attending Harvard.<ref name="ap"></ref> In 2010, an isolated take of the intro was released as part of the Deluxe Edition of ''Pinkerton'' (dubbed "Across the Sea (Piano Noodles)." The song's guitar solo contains a relatively complex chord progression, during which the key modulates from G major to E major (the parallel major of the original key's relative minor). The following bridge remains in the key of E major, then modulates back to G for the final verse and chorus.

You heard me on the radio about one year ago

At ten I shaved my head and tried to be a monk

*[[List of Weezer songs]]

[[Category:Weezer songs]]

[[Category:Rivers Cuomo songs]]