Do do do do doo...do do do do doo

You know that song? The one that goes do do do do doo...do do do do doo...? No, you know it. Have you ever seen Say Anything? John Cusack is all excited because he's falling in love with Ione Skye (who wouldn't have in 1989?) and he's giddily telling his friend, played by the amazing Lili Taylor, all about it in this guitar store. He picks up a guitar, and plays the opening lines to that song. Yeah, that one. You know, do do do do doo...do do do do doo...

During the first few weeks or so of freshman year of college, Kate and I ventured out late one night to the old Tower Records on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass Ave. to buy a copy of Say Anything. We were 18 and craving some Lloyd Dobler, or John Cusack circa 1989, or both. Sadly, we must have known that we would eventually part ways as roommates, because we both bought a copy on VHS.

We watched the movie in our cramped dorm room, 820C of Warren Towers, and became obsessed with that scene in the guitar store. For the next three years we could often be found half-muttering, half-humming do do do do doo...do do do do doo... or accosting random friends and strangers with do do do do doo...do do do do doo... The lyrics, or at least the chorus, always seemed to be on the tips our our tongues. We were certain someone must know what song it was. But in the movie, he doesn't sing a word -- he only plays the opening bars.

More than three years later, I was waitressing when the song came on the oldies station that someone had set on the satellite radio. I took out my notepad and frantically scribbled down whatever lyrics I could catch, so I could Google them when I got home.

Later that night -- at probably 3 a.m. after many beers at Solas on Boylston Street followed by a slice of greasy pepperoni pizza from Natalie's in my neighborhood in Allston, as was my lifestyle in early 2004 -- I Googled some lyrics and found the everloving goddamn song.

It came up on my iTunes playlist tonight: