Cover art for Welcome to Japan by The Strokes

Welcome to Japan

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Mar. 26, 20131 viewer173.9K views

Welcome to Japan Lyrics

[Pre-Chorus]
I didn't want to notice
Didn't know the gun was loaded
Didn't really know this
What kind of asshole drives a Lotus?
I didn't want to bore you
Didn't wanna pick up your shit for ya

I've been ready to do this
I'll be there

[Chorus]
Come here and go get with me
I wanna see you Wednesday

Come on, come on, come over
Take it off your shoulder

Come on and pull me over (I don't mind)
We gotta get to work now
Sliding it off your shoulder (I don't mind)
As we're falling over

[Bridge]
You did it alone, you did it for fun
You did it for everyone who's on the run
You're not just a friend, you're me born again
We'll be in this race until the very end
He lives on the phone, he cheats on his clone
You'll never believe me 'til you're on your own
[Outro]
Comes in once a month
And he never leaves
He said he is broken
That they're lost friends

Didn't wanna floor ya
I didn't wanna be there for ya

Didn't wanna warn ya
I'll be there

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About

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Genius Annotation

(Album; released in 2013)

All though this song is pre-divorce of Julian and his now ex-wife, it does not seem to come from his point of view.

At the time, RCA seemed to expect a new album from them and the annoyance of the band itself somewhat shows in this track. The song hints at the story line of a man going on a trip to Japan and having an affair with another woman there. Whether it was casual sex or a full on relationship, it seems to backfire when he’s realizing he has become the douche bag that he always stereotyped cheating people to be.

As RCA wanted another album from them, they produced it and it failed to receive the wanted popularity, at the time. It has since brought some of their more popular tracks such as “Call It Fate, Call It Karma” and “One Way Trigger”.

The band left RCA soon after the release of the album and proceeded to sign with other labels. The band released an EP 3 years later, with a different label. The band released their hit album “The New Abnormal” in 2021 with Cult Records and RCA as the band signed with them again.

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