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Roy Orbison - (Oh) Pretty Woman

Roy Orbison - (Oh) Pretty Woman Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Greatest Hits
Released: 1964

(Oh) Pretty Woman Lyrics

Pretty woman, walkin' down the street
Pretty woman the kind I like to meet
Pretty woman I don't believe you, you're not the truth
No one could look as good as you, mercy

Pretty woman won't you pardon me
Pretty woman I couldn't help but see
Pretty woman that you look lovely as can be
Are you lonely just like me

Pretty woman stop awhile
Pretty woman talk awhile
Pretty woman give your smile to me
Pretty woman yeah, yeah, yeah
Pretty woman look my way
Pretty woman say you'll stay with me
'Cause I need you, I'll treat you right
Come with me baby, be mine tonight

Pretty woman don't walk on by
Pretty woman don't make me cry
Pretty woman don't walk away, hey, okay
If that's the way it must be, okay
I guess I'll go on home, it's late
There'll be tomorrow night, but wait
What do I see?
Is she walkin' back to me?
Yeah, she's walkin' back to me
Oh, oh, pretty woman

Writer/s: DEES, BILL / ORBISON, ROY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Barbara Orbison Music Company, Orbi-Lee Music, R-Key Darkus, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

(Oh) Pretty Woman

Roy Orbison was writing with his songwriting partner Bill Dees at his house when he told Dees to get started writing by playing anything that came to mind. Orbison's wife Claudette came in and said she was going to go into town to buy something. Orbison asked if she needed any money, and Dees cracked, "Pretty woman never needs any money." Inspired, Orbison started singing, "Pretty woman walking down the street." Bill Dees recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "He sang it while I was banging my hand down on the table and by the time she returned we had the song. I love the song. From the moment that the rhythm started, I could hear the heels clicking on the pavement, click, click, the pretty woman walking down the street, in a yellow skirt and red shoes. We wrote Oh Pretty Woman on a Friday, the next Friday we recorded it, and the next Friday it was out. It was the fastest thing I ever saw. Actually, the yeah, yeah, yeah in Oh Pretty Woman probably came from The Beatles."

In the same book Bill Dees recounts how the distinctive growling cry of "Mercy" came about: "I can't do that growl like Roy, but the "Mercy" is mine. I used to say that all the time when I saw a pretty woman or had some good food. Still do."

Orbison and his wife Claudette had recently reconciled after some tough times, but as this song was climbing the charts, Roy found out she had been cheating on him and filed for divorce. In 1966, they remarried, but two months later Claudette was killed when the motorcycle she was riding was hit by a truck. Orbison faced tragedy again when his two oldest sons died in a fire at his home in 1968. He was on tour at the time.

This was Orbison's last big hit. His career faded fast, but was revived in the '80s when prominent musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and George Harrison cited him as an influence and invited him to join various projects. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and joined The Traveling Wilburys with Dylan, Tom Petty, Harrison and Jeff Lynne. As he was enjoying this career revival, he died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988 at age 52.

With his dark sunglasses and plaintive voice, Orbison gave the impression that he was always longing and sometimes miserable, which was not the case. Speaking with the NME in 1980, he explained what's going on in this song: "There's a ballad in the mid-section of it there: he's very sure of getting the girl when he first sees her, and then he's not so sure, and then he gets desperate, and then he says forget it, and then she comes back. It's quite complicated, but it's probably in the presentation, or if I'm really singing like I know I can and I'm doing the job that I should be doing, then it could be that the voice quality in parts has a melancholy something."

This was used in the 1990 movie of the same name starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. It also featured in the films Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Au Pair (1999).

In 1989, the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew recorded a parody of this song, using the alternate title "Pretty Woman" for their album Clean As They Wanna Be. The Crew sampled the distinctive bassline, but the romantic lyrics were replaced by talk about a hairy woman and her bald-headed friend and their appeal to the singer. Orbison's publisher, Acuff-Rose Music, sued 2 Live Crew on the basis that the fair use doctrine did not permit reuse of their copyrighted material for profit. The case, Campbell vs. Acuff-Rose Music, went all the way to the US Supreme Court. In 1994, the Court ruled that 2 Live Crew's parody did not violate federal copyright laws. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France and Graham - Perth, Australia)

In 1964, Orbison was the only American artist to have a #1 UK hit, and he did it twice - with "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and "It's Over." (thanks, David - Akron, OH)

Van Halen - (Oh) Pretty Woman

Van Halen - (Oh) Pretty Woman Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Diver Down
Released: 1982

(Oh) Pretty Woman Lyrics

Who!

Pretty woman, walking down the street!
Pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet!
Pretty woman, I don't believe you, you must be true
No one can look as good as youuu

Mercy!!

Pretty woman, won't you pardon me??
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
Pretty woman. Oh you look lovely as you can be
Are you lonely just like me!!???

Ahhrrrr!

Pretty woman, stop awhile
Pretty woman, talk awhile
Pretty woman, give your smile to me

Pretty woman, yeah yeah yeah!!
Pretty woman, look my way!!
Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me!

Cause I need you,
I'll treat you right!
Come with me baby
Be mine tonight!

Pretty woman, don't walk on by!!
Pretty woman, don't make me cry!!
Pretty woman. Don't walk away-yay. Okay.

If that's the way it must be, okay
I guess I'll go on home, it's late
There'll be tomorrow night, but wait, what do I see?
Is she walking back to me?
Yeah she is walking back to me

Whoa, whoa, pretty woman

Writer/s: DEES, BILL / ORBISON, ROY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Barbara Orbison Music Company, Orbi-Lee Music, R-Key Darkus, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

(Oh) Pretty Woman Song Chart

Roy Orbison first recorded this in 1964. Along with "Where Have All The Good Times Gone," "Dancing in the Street," "Big Bad Bill," and "Happy Trails," this was one of 5 covers on the album. Van Halen made an album a year from 1978-1983, and their constant touring made it difficult to write new songs.

The promo clip from this song was the first concept video Van Halen made. With MTV launching on August 1, 1981 and desperate for new rock videos, the network convinced the band's label to make a clip for "Unchained." The band had no interest in videos, but when the producer Robert Lombard put together concert footage to make the "Unchained" clip, the band loved the results and had Lombard to the video for "(Oh) Pretty Woman," which was a tawdry affair. It was very costume intensive, with David Lee Roth dressed as Napoleon, Eddie Van Halen as a cowboy, Alex Van Halen as Tarzan, and Michael Anthony a Samurai Warrior. The band wanted to be as outrageous as possible, and Lombard obliged, enlisting two midgets and a drag queen to appear in the video, and making sure the band had access to their drugs and alcohol of choice. At the end of the video, the midgets are seen fondling the "woman," who flips her wig to reveal that she is a he. MTV aired the video sparingly, as they didn't want to scare cable companies away with anything too lascivious.

Van Halen recorded this after completing their 1981 "Invasion" tour. They put it out as a single a few months before the album was released.

This was released at a time when the band was not touring or recording. It was the first break they took since hitting the road in 1978 to support their first album, and they put this out so people wouldn't forget them.

After this came out, Sasson jeans (it was the '80s, designer jeans were cool) used the original Roy Orbison version in a TV commercial.

An a cappella version of the Dale Evans classic "Happy Trails" was released as the B-side. Van Halen wanted something easy to record so they could start their vacations.