Slave

"Slave"
Album track by Weezer
Album	Maladroit
Released	May 14, 2002
Recorded	December 2001—February 2002
Length	2:53
Label	Geffen
Writer(s)	Rivers Cuomo
RC#	694
COR#	354
Producer(s)	Weezer, Rod Cervera, Chad Bamford
Status	Released
Live debut	May 23, 2002 in Osaka, Japan
Maladroit track listing
"Space Rock" (8) "Slave" (9) "Fall Together" (10)
Rivers Cuomo song chronology
"Sacrifice" (RC# 693) "Slave" (RC# 694) "?" (RC# 695)

"Slave" is the ninth track on Maladroit.

Appearances

• Songs from the Forthcoming "Maladroit" (2002)
• Maladroit (2002)
• Spotify Sessions (2016)
• Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years (2020)

Overview

"Slave" was written by Rivers Cuomo in 2001. Cuomo recorded the initial demo to an Olympus handheld digital recorder. Cuomo's original demo was released as part of the digital demo compilation Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years in 2020. "Slave" is first known to have been demoed by Weezer at Cello Studios in early November of 2001. The song first came to the attention of Weezer fans as a recording from the November 14 sessions at Glenn Sound Studios, originally intended for the Seattle-area radio station 107.7 The End. When it became apparent that the songs would not be aired on the radio, the band released them for free online. Numerous in-progress recordings of the song were released during the sessions for Maladroit from late 2001 through early 2002.

The original sticker on pressings of Maladroit touted the song: "Featuring 'Dope Nose' and 'Slave'". It is unknown if this indicates that the song was considered for release as a single.

"Slave" was covered live by Juliana Hatfield in 2002.

"Slave" has been played live only a handful of times, including only four performances in 2002 during the band's tours in support of Maladroit. Rivers Cuomo played a partial rendition of the song acoustically via webcam during a USTREAM session online on September 10, 2011. In 2016, the song had a brief resurgence when a poll on the band's official fan club asked what deep-cut song fans would like to see on a Spotify Sessions release. "Slave" won and made an acoustic appearance as the final track on the EP. It was also played live and acoustic at Rough Trade records on April 1, 2016, and again that December at an acoustic concert in Boston, MA for the radio station Alt 92.9, wherein the band was accompanied by members of the Harvard Orchestra.

Personnel

• Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
• Patrick Wilson – percussion
• Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Scott Shriner – bass guitar

Live performances

• Weezer concert: 05/23/2002
• Weezer concert: 05/26/2002
• Weezer concert: 07/06/2002
• Weezer concert: 07/14/2002
• Weezer concert: 04/01/2016
• Weezer concert: 12/02/2016

Lyrics

Love, barely alive
In your arms, slave
Dreams, taken too far
Every night, slave

Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
'Cuz I can't change, no

When you're on your own
You can see things
Clear, clear as a bell
And you're free, slave

Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
'Cuz I can't change, no

And my girl will say goodbye
To the things we'll never try

Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
Who put on your heart
'Cuz I can't change, no

Love, barely alive
Love, barely alive
Love, barely alive
Slave

Known recordings

about this table

Performer(s)	Title	Filename	Date of recording	Recording location	Length	Appeared on	Notes
Rivers Cuomo	Slave	354 Slave.mp3	2001		3:10	Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2001-11-14GlennSound-Slave_354.mp3	November 14, 2001	Glenn Sound, Seattle, WA	3:03	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave		2001	Steakhouse Studios and/or Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2001-12-22_10Slave_354.mp3	December 22, 2001	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	2:51	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2002-01-01_01Slave_354.mp3	January 1, 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:10	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2002-01-02_04Slave_354.mp3	January 2, 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:11	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2002-01-04_08Slave_354.mp3	January 4, 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:09	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2002-01-05_09Slave_354.mp3	January 5, 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:13	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave	WEEZER-2002-01-12_08Slave_354.mp3	January 12, 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:22	Released on weezer.com
Weezer	Slave		December 2001—February 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:01	Songs from the Forthcoming "Maladroit"	BJM #11946
Weezer	Slave		December 2001—February 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	3:01	Songs from the Forthcoming "Maladroit"	LIGHTING HILL/11982
Weezer	Slave		December 2001—February 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	2:55	Songs from the Forthcoming "Maladroit"	LIGHTNING HILL 12020
Weezer	Slave		December 2001—February 2002	Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA	2:53	Maladroit
Weezer	Slave		April 2016	Spotify offices, New York, NY	2:43	Spotify Sessions

See also

• List of Weezer songs
• List of Rivers Cuomo songs