"Abuse Me" was the second single from Silverchair

Silverchair

Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...

's second album, Freak Show

Freak Show (album)

Freak Show is the second studio album from Australian rock band Silverchair. Freak Show was released on 3 February 1997. The album also gives listeners a glimpse into the band's experimental side, as can be heard in "Petrol & Chlorine" and "Cemetery"...

. In the United States, Sony chose "Abuse Me" as the first single from Freak Show despite protests by the band's manager. "Freak" was the Australian lead single and the preferred lead single from the album. It was also released on their The Best of Volume 1. The single peaked at number four on both the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, making it their second biggest hit in the United States (bested by 1995's "Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Silverchair song)

"Tomorrow" is a song by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair and was their breakthrough single from their debut album Frogstomp, which was released in 1994 in their home country and 1995 in the US...

").

The single contained the B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 "Undecided", (not to be confused with Undecided from Frogstomp) a Masters Apprentices

The Masters Apprentices

The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...

 cover, which featured Deniz Tek

Deniz Tek

Deniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up, for the last time, after their last European tour in 2007...

 of Radio Birdman

Radio Birdman

Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...

 playing lead guitar. Also included on the single was a remix of "Freak" produced by Paul Mac

Paul Mac

Paul Mac is a musician, producer and music remixer from Sydney, Australia. He was classically trained at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music. Paul Mac formed the bands Smash Mac Mac, Itch-e And Scratch-e, The Lab, and The Dissociatives, as well as releasing two records under his own name...

, marking the first time that Daniel Johns

Daniel Johns

Daniel Paul Johns is an Australian musician, vocalist, composer, guitarist, and pianist, best known as the frontman of the rock band Silverchair. He is also part of The Dissociatives...

 and Paul Mac worked together.

If the song is played in reverse, "little boy says yes it's true" can be heard as the alternate to "throw the sailors overboard."

Track listing

Australian CD single (MATTCD049)/ltd. 7" (MATTV049)

1. "Abuse Me"
2. "Undecided"
3. "Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)"
   • The song "Undecided" is not the Silverchair original song included in the Frogstomp album. This song was originally by The Masters Apprentices
     The Masters Apprentices
     The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
     
     .
     • The Ltd. 7" edition is now Deleted and VERY hard to find.

UK Single CD1 (6643681)

1. "Abuse Me"
2. "Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)"

UK Single CD2 (6647905)

1. "Abuse Me"
2. "Surfin' Bird
   Surfin' Bird
   "Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by the American surf rock band The Trashmen; it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single. It was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
   
   "
3. "Slab" (Nicklaunoise Mix)
   • Contains fold out Poster.

European CD Single (6647902)

1. "Abuse Me"
2. "Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)"
3. "Blind"

US Promo CD (ESK9310)

1. "Abuse Me"

• This promo version has the same cover of the "Freak" single.

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	9
Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	7
Canadian Rock/Alternative Chart Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie...	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	44
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	40
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...	4
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...	4