Devotion
"Devotion" | |||||
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B-side by Weezer | |||||
Released | September 19, 1996 | ||||
Format | CD | ||||
Recorded | N/A | ||||
Length | 3:12 | ||||
Label | DGC Records | ||||
Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
RC# | 183 | ||||
COR# | N/A | ||||
Producer(s) | Weezer | ||||
Status | officially released | ||||
Live debut | January 23, 1997 in Milwaukee, WI | ||||
Last played | June 30, 2023 in Bangor, Maine | ||||
Rivers Cuomo song chronology | |||||
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El Scorcho (UK Retail CD #2) track listing | |||||
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"Devotion" is a song by Weezer. Originally released as a B-side to a various CD single releases of "El Scorcho," it was later released on the Deluxe Edition of Pinkerton.
Appearences
- "El Scorcho" (single)
- Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition) (2010)
- Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints (2009)
- Live In Tokyo, Japan (The Blue Album) (2011)
- Live on the Weezer Cruise - Palladium Lounge (2012)
- Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years (2020)
Overview
Rivers Cuomo demoed "Devotion" in the garage at 2226 Amherst Ave. An initial demo, later dubbed "proto-devotion," was followed by another demo the same month. The song later resurfaced as a song in contention for the aborted concept album Songs from the Black Hole. When that concept was scrapped in favor of Pinkerton, "Devotion" was ultimately relegated to being a B-side for various retail CD releases of "El Scorcho."
"Devotion" is in the key of B♭ major for the majority of the song, but modulates B♭ minor for the guitar solo. It is one of the slowest songs Weezer recorded in the 90s. The last line of the song's first stanza is direct quote from the 1977 song "All American Man," from the album Alive II by KISS.
"Devotion" is known to have been performed once in 1997. Rivers Cuomo performed the song with fans at a release party for the album Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. It would not be performed again until it was played by Weezer at a 2011 concert on the Memories Tour in Japan. It was performed one additional time as a band during a concert on the first Weezer Cruise. Cuomo performed an acoustic solo rendition of the song at a Weezer concert in Maine in 2023. Musician Daniel Brummel (of the band Ozma) covered the song, under the moniker Daniel Brummel and the Contraband, for the tribute album Making Noise: A Tribute to Weezer.
Live performances
- Weezer concert: 01/23/1997
- Weezer concert: 07/13/2011
- Weezer concert: 01/21/2012
- Weezer concert: 06/30/2023
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
- Patrick Wilson – percussion
- Brian Bell – rhythm guitar
- Matt Sharp – bass guitar
Audio
Lyrics
Suddenly our shortcomings
Don't seem to matter that much
Your IQ is twenty points low
And I'm no six foot, hot look, all-American man
Sad to say I pushed you away
Waiting for Mrs. Right
You never gave up devotion
Waiting for me
You'll always be my girlfriend
I too am waiting for you
I'll always be your friend
I commend your stubbornness
Without it we'd've never got this far
I am done with perfection
Chasing her leaves me with nothing but pain
Unlike you, she isn't true
She's got her own concerns
You never gave up devotion
Waiting for me
You'll always be my girlfriend
I too am waiting for you
I'll always be your friend
Devotion
Waiting for me
You'll always be my girlfriend
I too am waiting for you
I'll always be your friend
Known recordings
Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
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Rivers Cuomo | July 1994 | 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA | "Proto-Devotion" | ||||
Rivers Cuomo | Devotion | 02 Devotion.mp3 | July 1994 | 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA | 3:39 | Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years | |
Weezer | Devotion | 1995 | Fort Apache Studios, Boston, MA | 3:09 | Leaked online | Rough mix | |
Weezer | Devotion | 1995—1996 |
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3:12 |
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Rivers Cuomo | Devotion | November 25, 2008 | Fingerprints Music, Long Beach, CA | 3:05 | Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints (CD) | ||
Rivers Cuomo | Devotion | November 25, 2008 | Fingerprints Music, Long Beach, CA | 3:12 | Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints (DVD) | Video | |
Weezer | Devotion | July 13, 2011 | Zepp Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan | 3:22 | Live In Tokyo, Japan (The Blue Album) | ||
Weezer | Devotion | January 21, 2012 | Palladium Lounge, Carnival Destiny | 3:03 | Live on the Weezer Cruise - Palladium Lounge |