Instead, now and then, my baby sitter would walk me down to the video store so I could rent the system and a game (usually Mega Man 3).  Most of my friends had a Nintendo, and I remember befriending Ryan Marquardt over a game of Kid Icarus, Geoff Roughton over a game of Gyromite, and Charles Fevre over a game of Jungle Book.  Ian (who's been my friend since preschool) played Nintendo all the time and could always beat me.  When my parents gave me a Super Nintendo for my tenth birthday, I pleaded with Ian not to get one, so I could have a small area of superiority.  "Think how I would feel if I ran over to your house to tell you I beat Iggy Koopa, and you said you'd already beat him and it was easy!"  That's how important it was. 

When I couldn't play Nintendo, I was often reading Nintendo Power magazine or filling sketchpads with drawings of Nintendo characters or my own creations.  I had my own ideas for games: Legendaria, Elemental Land, Cycad, Anteater Adventure, Garfield, Mario 6...  Each required maps and conceptual art, so that some day I could mail my ideas to Nintendo of America, where the kindly programmers would surely recognize their potential and make my game.  It took me years to realize that no Nintendo Power contest would ever allow kids to make their own games.  But still my stupid childhood dream persisted, and I wasted many hours in high school attempting to program computer games.  Maybe with this song it will finally die, and I can pursue more realistic dreams, like being a rock star.
-Dan

Day three in my diary: 
I beat snake-man with only mega-buster. 
Stuck at the whistler, but making progress, 
I’m topping top-man and I learned how to slide. 
Rented Nintendo in hand and baby-sitter in tow, 
I can go anywhere that I want to go. 
No level too hard, no mountain too high, 
I can get an extra life if I die.

Planning a game called Legendaria, 
I’m making a list—the more monsters the merrier. 
I’m gonna win a Nintendo Power contest. 
I’m sure they’ll be a prize where you can make your own game. 
I’m gonna be a Nintendo programmer. 
I’m gonna call the shots, I’m gonna run my own show. 
I will make all the games that I have dreamed of. 
I can go anywhere that I want to go because 

Nintendo is my life. 
Mario and koopalings decorate my spelling tests. 
I’m patriotic about this foreign company. 
Forget Sega, Nintendo is the best!

I got a Super NES for my birthday: 
Gorgeous graphics, 16-Bit. 
It’s a triumph of modern technology, 
but when N-64 comes out, we all forget.

Technology may speed ahead, but I regress
I’ve rediscovered NES. 
Zelda 2, Kid Icarus, and Nightshade are a blast; 
Who cares if the screen’s a mess? 

Besides, Nintendo is my life. 
Captain N is captain of my Saturdays. 
Nintendo Power magazine gives tips to help me play. 
The codes don’t work but the jokes are great. 

I’m playing Blaster Master and I’m doing fab: 
I just beat that boss who are look like a crab. 
But now the screen goes all a-crazy and the game goes on the fritz. 
I’ve been playing too long and am tired of this stuff. 
Why does Nintendo do this?  I don’t know what to do. 
I blew on it with a straw till my face turned blue. 
But hey, I like to play it. 
Nintendo relieves the stress. 
Actually hard jumps and malfunctions just make me pissed. 

Now those glory days are gone (Good riddence!) 
I destroy Nintendo Powers for fun. 
My friend DK (Donkey Kong) looks mighty hot when he’s on fire. 
I laugh in triumph; I know that I’ve won. 
Then why do I possess a Chrono Trigger craving? 
Why do I download Castlevania music from the internet? 
Why do I dream of playing Zelda 64? 
I mustn’t forget the fact that 

Nintendo is my life. 
Mario Kart races through my head when I’m in bed at night. 
How can Nintendo be a mindless waste of time, 
When stomping goombas feels so right?