[INTRO — sparse beat, bass, voices almost talking]
HER:
You got bad ideas.
HIM:
You keep showing up.
HER:
Yeah, well—
BOTH:
That sounds like your problem.
[VERSE 1 — loose, conversational]
HIM:
Your shoes are in the backseat
My shirt is on your floor
We said we’d keep it simple
That was three mistakes ago
HER:
You drink mine without asking
I steal your cigarettes
You know exactly where I’m going
Before I know it yet
[PRE-CHORUS — tension rising]
HER:
Maybe I’m a little worse with you
HIM:
Maybe I’m a little better too
BOTH:
Either way, I like the view
[CHORUS — huge, sunny, instantly memorable]
You’re a side effect
I don’t wanna cure
Little bit reckless
Little more sure
I get in your blood
You get under my skin
Don’t know where you stop
Don’t know where I begin
Let the whole damn world
Try doing it alone
We got two cold drinks
And one way home
You’re a side effect
Yeah, you’re sticking around
Turn it up, turn it up
Till the sun goes down
[POST-CHORUS — rhythmic, addictive]
Ooh — keep that
Ooh — don’t fix that
Ooh — if it works like this
Why would we quit that?
[VERSE 2 — percussion opens up]
HER:
You talk me off the ledge and
Then dare me off the roof
HIM:
You make a bad excuse sound
Dangerously like the truth
HER:
We’re terrible at leaving
HIM:
We’re excellent at late
BOTH:
Everybody wants a clean line
Baby, we contaminate
[PRE-CHORUS]
HIM:
Maybe I’m a little strange with you
HER:
You were strange before me, don’t get cute
HIM:
Fair.
BOTH:
But I like what strange can do
[CHORUS]
You’re a side effect
I don’t wanna cure
Little bit reckless
Little more sure
I get in your blood
You get under my skin
Don’t know where you stop
Don’t know where I begin
Let the whole damn world
Try doing it alone
We got two cold drinks
And one way home
You’re a side effect
Yeah, you’re sticking around
Turn it up, turn it up
Till the sun goes down
[POST-CHORUS]
Ooh — keep that
Ooh — don’t fix that
Ooh — if it works like this
Why would we quit that?
[BRIDGE — beat drops down; intimate, almost whispered]
HER:
You want half?
HIM:
No.
HER:
Good.
HIM:
I want yours too.
[beat kicks back in]
HER:
Greedy.
HIM:
Obviously.
BOTH:
Look what you made me do.
[FINAL CHORUS — biggest, additional harmonies]
You’re a side effect
I don’t wanna cure
Little bit reckless
Little more sure
I get in your blood
You get under my skin
Don’t know where you stop
Don’t know where I begin
Let the whole damn world
Keep sleeping alone
We got salt on our lips
And nowhere to go
You’re a side effect
Yeah, you’re sticking around
Turn it up, turn it up
Till the sun burns out
[OUTRO — laughing/ad-lib feel over bass groove]
HER:
That’s dramatic.
HIM:
It’s a chorus.
HER:
Fair.
BOTH:
Turn it up.
[END]