Free Lunch

"Free Lunch" (Album version)
"Free Lunch" (Album version)
Album track by Chopper One
from the album Now Playing
Released	July 15, 1997
Format	CD, cassette, vinyl
Recorded	1997
Studio	Water Music, Hoboken, NJ
Length	3:23
Label	Restless Records
Songwriter(s)	Jason Cropper, Amy Cropper
Producer(s)	Don Fleming
Status	Officially released
Now Playing track listing
	16 tracks "Free Lunch"; "Touch My Fuzz"; "Dynamite"; "Hescher with a Gym Bag"; "Mary's Clothes" (on Now Playing only); ; "A Punk Named Josh" (on Chopper One only); "Cantankerous"; "Frank N. Stein"; "My Star"; "I Like You"; "Get Up"; "Cherry Crush"; "Mr. Waldon"; "Boom Boom Betty"; "Silver Tongue"; (untitled hidden track); Japanese bonus track ; "A Punk Named Josh" (on Now Playing only);

"Free Lunch" (Single version)
"Free Lunch" (Single version)
Single by Chopper One
Released	1995
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1995
Studio	The Sandbox, Los Angeles, CA
Length	3:11
Label	USA Side 1 Recordings/Dummy Recordings
Songwriter(s)	Jason Cropper, Amy Cropper
Producer(s)	Recorded and mixed by Mike Bosley and Geoff Seigel
Status	Out of print
Track listing
	2 tracks Side A "Free Lunch"; Side B ; "Mr. Waldon";
Back cover
	back cover

"Free Lunch" is the debut 7"-vinyl single by Chopper One, the band formed by former Weezer guitarist Jason Cropper. The song was later re-recorded and released as the first track from the band's only studio LP, Now Playing (later re-issued as simply Chopper One).

Overview

The "Free Lunch" single was produced by Mike Bosley and Geoff Siegel at The Sandbox in Los Angeles and released exclusively on vinyl in 1995 by SideOneDummy Records. The song was inspired by the tough times kids have in school as they grow up.

Track Listing

A1: "Free Lunch" - 3:11
B1: "Mr. Waldon" - 3:25

Personnel

7"-vinyl single

Jason Cropper - lead vocals, guitar
Amy Cropper - bass, backing vocals
Tyrone Rio - drums
Mike Bosley - producer, recording/mixing engineer
Geoff Siegel - producer, recording/mixing engineer

Now Playing

Jason Cropper - lead vocals, guitars
Amy Cropper - bass, backing vocals
Tyrone Rio - percussion
Don Fleming - producer
Bil Emmons - recording engineer
Tim Palmer - mixing engineer
Matt Silva - assistant engineer
Howie Weinberg - mastering
Brad Vance - additional mastering
Tom Baker - additional mastering

Audio

Lyrics

I took a trip once, I was thirteen
I thought I was unlucky but I guess it doesn't mean much
I was the new kid, wasn't in the cool bunch
Rode the bus to school, and I had to eat the free lunch

There was the girls who said I was corroded
I didn't have the cooties but my ego just folded
Then one day I saw him, underneath the table
Little Larry Donahue was so unstable

Don't let him fade away
That kid from yesterday (From yesterday)
He was my only friend
And I'll wait up 'til the end ('til the end)
Yeah!

Took another ride, I was much older
Sometimes I wear a jacket 'cause the weather gets colder
I became a daddy, Larry is a doctor
Still got the memory of sharing that locker

After summer and we went back to school
One year older, still a bunch of fools
All the kids are cooler, class is really hard
They deal like drugs and we shuffle like cards

Don't let him fade away
That kid from yesterday (From yesterday)
He was my only friend
And I'll wait up 'til the end ('til the end)
Don't let him fade away
That kid from yesterday (From yesterday)
He was my only friend
And I'll wait up 'til the end ('til the end)

Those kids they love to hate
No one to contemplate
The teachers learned that well
Growing up can be hell
Yeah!

Don't let him fade away
That kid from yesterday (From yesterday)
He was my only friend
And I'll wait up 'til the end ('til the end)
Don't let him fade away
That kid from yesterday (From yesterday)
He was my only friend
And I'll wait up 'til the end
Yeah!
The end
Ooh