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Whitney Houston - How Will I Know

Whitney Houston - How Will I Know Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Whitney Houston
Released: 1985

How Will I Know Lyrics

There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of
Looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above, mm mm
Oh I lose control, can't seem to get enough, uh huh
When I wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love, ooo

How Will I Know (Don't trust your feelings)
How will I know
How will I know (Love can be deceiving)
How will I know
How will I know if he really loves me

I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I'm asking you what you know about these things
How will I know if he's thinking of me
I try to phone but I'm too shy (can't speak)
Falling in love is so bitter sweet
This love is strong why do I feel weak

Oh, wake me, I'm shaking, wish I had you near me now, uh huh
Said there's no mistaking, what I feel is really love, ooo tell me

How will I know (Don't trust your feelings)
How will I know
How will I know (Love can be deceiving)
How will I know

How will I know if he really loves me
I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I'm asking you what you know about these things
How will I know if he's thinking of me
I try to phone but I'm too shy (can't speak)
Falling in love is so bitter sweet
This love is strong why do I feel weak

If he loves me, if he loves me not
If he loves me ooo, if he loves me not
If he loves me, if he loves me not

How will I know
How will I know
How will I know
Hey how will I know
How will I know

How will I know if he really loves me
I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I'm asking you 'cause you know about these things
How will I know if he's thinking of me
I try to phone but I'm too shy (can't speak)
Falling in love is so bitter sweet
This love is strong why do I feel weak

How will I know
How will I know
How will I know
How will I know, ooo
How will I know, how will I know, hey how will I know, how will I know

Writer/s: NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, GEORGE ROBERT MERRILL, SHANNON RUBICAM
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

How Will I Know

This was written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who record as Boy Meets Girl and had a hit in 1988 with "Waiting For A Star To Fall." George and Shannon were a romantic couple, and secured a record deal with A&M Records after writing a batch of songs together and playing the Seattle club scene. They spoke with us about this song.

George: "They asked us to write for Janet Jackson's next record, so Shannon and I went to work and came up with our song How Will I Know, which was sent to Janet Jackson's people. They passed on it because it wasn't right for her at the time - she was in the midst of doing her Control album.

Shannon: "It wasn't right for that, but then our publishing company played it for Gerry Griffith when he was in Los Angeles gathering material for the unknown Whitney Houston. He loved it, sent it to Clive (Davis), and Clive said, 'We must have it.' And we said, 'Whitney who? Clive who?'

George: "Shannon and I had our first record deal, so we were caught up in Boy Meets Girl land, and the idea of writing for other people, this is pre-Whitney Houston and pre- our understanding of songwriting for other people, so it was really a big deal when they wanted to hold onto this for Whitney Houston. Then we started checking into it and thought, well, this could be kind of a neat deal. Our good friends, brother team Alan and Preston Glass, called us where they were working with Narada Michael Walden. They were recording Whitney Houston on 'How Will I Know' and they said, 'Guys, you've got to hear this.' They played it over the phone, and I swear, her voice, hearing the first take of 'How Will I Know' on the phone we knew we were on to something special, too."

This is a very innocent song where Houston sings about trying to decide if a boy she likes will ever like her back. It went well with her wholesome image early in her career.

Shannon sang the demo, which was done in a sweet, light, R&B style suited for what Janet Jackson was recording before her Control album. Narada Michael Walden, who has also produced for Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey and Lisa Fischer, went to work.

Shannon: "Narada added his very punchy track and he did some rearranging on it and got us involved in some writing on the song. So it really was far more powerful than the demo we did and it sounded gorgeous and fun."

George: "He had an idea for taking some of the music of the chorus and making a verse out of some of it, and as Shannon and I heard it, we thought that sounded like a cool idea, and Shannon jumped right in on the lyrics."

Walden almost didn't take the gig. He told us: "I got a call from Arista and I said, First of all, I'm right in the middle of making this album for Aretha. I can't take my attention off that. But they said, You've got to make time for this girl because she's going to be incredible. So they sent me the demo on 'How Will I Know.' I said, the song's only half done, will it be okay if I mess with it? Eventually, the writers said it would be okay. So I rewrote it and cut it on the same session as 'Freeway of Love.' It didn't come out until December, but it was a monster hit. And it was all because when I met her, she was just mind-blowing. All that range and power and beauty and sex appeal coming at you with a kind of confidence you've never known before. I said, oh my Lord, you are really too much. She said, yeah, I know. After that a bunch of things came down the pike." (Here's our full interview with Narada .)

The backing vocals are by Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston.

George and Shannon also wrote Houston's hit "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." They describe what it's like writing for other artists:

Shannon: "When we're writing a song for other people, we tend to do more stringent editing. In some cases that's for the better, and in other cases it just ends up making the song sound a little too mental and not emotional enough. So I think that's just the thing that we keep an eye on when we're writing for other people, to not overthink it, really keep it emotional. Not really so much about what they're going to think, just feel how the song is going.

George: "You want to make sure that the idea is clear and that you haven't put every idea into one song."

George and Shannon continue their musical partnership and released an album in 2003 called The Wonderground. Learn more about Boy Meets Girl at www.boymeetsgirlmusic.com.

The video was directed by Brian Grant, who also did Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" and Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money." Houston is playful and coy in the clip, where she is surrounded by energetic dancers.

Grant recalls Houston being very grounded, showing up at the shoot with just a friend and a rep from her record company. He told her to relax and have fun with it, which she did despite being apprehensive at first about the bevy of dancers popping out at her.

The choreographer was Arlene Phillips, who was later a judge on the British show Strictly Come Dancing. She and Grant were asked back to work on Houston's video for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," which had even more of a dance focus, this time with Houston doing some light hoofing.

Sam Smith recorded a slowed-down version of this song in 2014 that was featured on the Season 10 episode of Grey's Anatomy, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place."

Mike + the Mechanics - All I Need Is A Miracle

Mike + the Mechanics - All I Need Is A Miracle Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Mike & The Mechanics
Released: 1985

All I Need Is A Miracle Lyrics

I said go if you want to go
Stay if you want to stay
I didn't care if you hung around me
I didn't care if you went away
And I know you were never right
I'll admit I was never wrong
I could never make up my mind
I made it up as I went along

And though I treated you like a child
I'm gonna miss you for the rest of my life

All I Need Is A Miracle, all I need is you
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you

I never had any time
And I never had any call
But I went out of my way just to hurt you
The one I shouldn't hurt at all
I thought I was being cool
Yeah, I thought I was being strong
But it's always the same old story
You never know what you've got 'til it's gone

If I ever catch up with you
I'm gonna love you for the rest of your life

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a miracle, all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a miracle, all I need is you

And if I ever catch up with you
I'm gonna love you for the rest of your life

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a miracle, all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a miracle, all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a, all I need is a
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is you
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
(All I need is a miracle, all I need is a miracle
(All I need is a miracle) all I need is a miracle
(All I need is a miracle)

Writer/s: MIKE RUTHERFORD (GB), CHRISTOPHER NEIL
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, IMAGEM MUSIC INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

All I Need Is A Miracle

The "Mike" in Mike + the Mechanics is Mike Rutherford, best known for his work with Genesis. Every member of Genesis embarked on other projects, with the solo efforts of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins getting the most attention, but Rutherford did very well with with Mike + the Mechanics, whose biggest hit came in 1989 with "The Living Years."

"If you write a great song, you want a great voice, and that voice isn't me," Mike Rutherford said in explaining why he didn't sing in the band.

Rutherford used ex-Sad Cafe singer Paul Young (not to be confused with the Paul Young who sang "Every Time You Go Away"), for lead vocals on this track and three others from the album. Paul Carrack, known for his solo recordings and his work with Squeeze, sang on three other tracks. Young died in 2000 at age 53.

A track from Mike + the Mechanics first album, Mike Rutherford, who played guitar and bass on the song, wrote it with Christopher Neil, who produced the album. The song is about a guy who treated his girl horribly, and now wishes he had her back. It's a case of lyrical dissonance, as the jaunty beat belies the anguished storyline.

The video contains dialogue and follows a story arc where the band's manager needs a miracle to raise some cash so he can pay off a club owner. His shots are intercut with footage of the band performing at said club.

The clip was directed by Jim Yukich, who did many of the Genesis videos.

In the UK, this made #53 when it was first released, but did better when it was re-released in 1996, placing at #27.

Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love

Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Best of Jennifer Rush
Released: 1985

The Power Of Love Lyrics

The whispers in the morning
Of lovers sleeping tight
Are rolling like thunder now
As I look in your eyes

I hold on to your body
And feel each move you make
Your voice is warm and tender
A love that I could not forsake

'Cause I am your lady
And you are my man
Whenever you reach for me
I'll do all that I can

Lost is how I'm feeling lying in your arms
When the world outside's too
Much to take
That all ends when I'm with you

Even though there may be times
It seems I'm far away
Never wonder where I am
'Cause I am always by your side

We're heading for something
Somewhere I've never been
Sometimes I am frightened
But I'm ready to learn
Of The Power Of Love

The sound of your heart beating
Made it clear
Suddenly the feeling that I can't go on
Is light years away

Writer/s: C. DEROUGE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Power Of Love

This was the first ever million seller by a female soloist in Britain and the biggest selling single in UK in 1985. It held the record for the largest-selling single ever by a woman until Whitney Houston's 1992 smash "I Will Always Love You." At the time it held the record for the longest ever climb to no 1 in UK- 16 weeks.

Rush wrote this song along with Gunther Mende, Candy DeRouge and Mary Susan Applegate. The producer and songwriter David Foster, who helped her on her road to stardom, arranged the piece. The song was recorded in Germany, where Jennifer had relocated.

In the US Rush's version reached #57 but it was later a hit for Laura Branigan (#26 in 1987) and Celine Dion (#1 in 1994 and also #4 in the UK). A rival version by Australian duo Air Supply released the same time peaked at #68 on the Hot 100.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson chose this for their first dance at their 1986 wedding. Many less famous couples did as well.

Huey Lewis & The News and Frankie Goes To Hollywood also had Top-10 UK hits in 1985 with different songs called "The Power Of Love."

New Yorker Jennifer Rush (real name Heidi Stern) is the daughter of opera singer Maurice Stern. This was her first hit in the UK. Her only other UK top 20 hit was her follow up "Ring Of Ice," which reached #14. In 1987 she made the US top 40 with a duet with Elton John entitled "Flames Of Paradise."

David Bowie and Mick Jagger - Dancing in the Street

David Bowie and Mick Jagger - Dancing in the Street Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Best Of Bowie
Released: 1985

Dancing in the Street Lyrics

Dancing in the Street

This was originally a hit for Martha & the Vandellas in 1964. Bowie and Jagger covered it for the Live Aid charity at the insistence of Bob Geldof, who also put together the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single. Bowie and Jagger's cover features some lyrical changes. Their version begins with an announcement to the world (to reflect the universality of the charity's message): "OK, Tokyo South America, Australia, France, Germany, UK, Africa!" They also slip in a reference to The Beatles' track, "Back In The U.S.S.R".

Bowie and Jagger recorded this song in just four hours. In 2007, Mick Jagger toldRolling Stone: "We banged it out in just two takes. It was an interesting exercise in how you can do something without worrying too much."

The producer Clive Langer told 1000 UK #1 Hits : "We were working on 'Absolute Beginners' with Bowie. We were doing the backing track and David said, 'Do you mind if we do a charity single tonight?' I said, not at all, we'll help you. David said, 'Mick will be coming down.' Mick came into the studio and was twiddling his arms around and everything and we knocked the backing track down. We recorded most of it. I think they did the horns in America and somebody else mixed it. It was nice of David to put our names on it because it was really produced by a lot of people."

Bowie's musicians performed on the track. One of them was drummer, Neil Conti, who told 1000 UK #1 Hits: "It was a huge ego trip for Mick, he kept trying to upstage David."

When recording wrapped up at Abbey Studios, Bowie and Jagger headed straight to the London Docklands to film the song's official video, which has since become somewhat infamous for its cheesy choreography. This video was shown twice during the UK Live aid concert on July 13, 1985.

Bowie and Jagger had originally planned to perform the song together at the 1985 Live Aid concerts via a satellite link-up, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium in London and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. It was later realized the satellite link-up would cause a delay that would make the performance impossible unless Bowie or Jagger mimed, which neither was willing to do.

Bass player John Regan contributed to this track. He talked about the experience in a Songfacts interview : "That song had long been favorite of mine, but when I arrived at the studio to find Mick Jagger greeting me, it was something I will never forget. My most vivid memory of that day was that it happened to be one of those rare occasions that the part that made the final recording was a first take for me, but as I was laying down the bass track I could see Mick dancing around the studio, just getting into the music as if he were onstage. Powerful moment in time for me, and it hit home how much Jagger was moved by the power of the song, and how sincere his love of music must be."

The Clash - Cool Under Heat

The Clash - Cool Under Heat Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut The Crap
Released: 1985

Cool Under Heat Lyrics

Rebels on the corner
Rebels to the core
Got a million dollar question
What is livin' for?

Hey! Man can scratch a livin'
In a fat man's city class
The teacher is survival
But soon the present will be the past

So!
Be Cool Under Heat
Be cool under heat
Be cool on the street
Be cool under heat

When you're rockin' down
On a cold hard night
Pitiless eyes of the cityless souls
Narrow in the lights

Sorrow upon sorrow
Go ganging up in your head
You can leave it till tomorrow
If you can balance on the edge

Hey!
Be cool under heat
Be cool under heat
Be cool on the street
Be cool under heat

When the baby and you got to fight
Go cool your love in the rain
When the match refuses to strike
Show that you really are in pain

I'm giving you a warning
Gonna burn those blue suede shoes
Swagger in the mornin'
Prints up front page news

Be cool under heat
Be cool under heat
Be cool on the street
Be cool under heat

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Cool Under Heat

This was of many songs on the much-maligned Cut the Crap record which was heavily criticized by music reviewers at the time of its release. The lyrics are much more swaggering and one-dimensional from singer Joe Strummer, who appears to be trying too hard to come across as a cool Punk rocker and recapture the anger of his earlier lyrics for The Clash. "Where's his knack for a well-turned phrase?" asked critic Mat Snow in his NME review of the record.

Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson - I Know Him So Well

Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson - I Know Him So Well Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Chess
Released: 1985

I Know Him So Well Lyrics

Nothing it so good it lasts eternally.
Perfect situations must go wrong.
But this has never yet prevented me,
Wanting far too much for far too long.

Looking back, I could have played it differently,
Learned about the man before I fell,
But it took time to understand the man,
Now at least I know I know him well.

Wasn't it good
(Oh so good)
Wasn't it fine
(Oh so fine)
Isn't it madness
He can't be mine.
But in the end he needs a little bit more than me
(More security)
He needs his fantasies and freedom
I Know Him So Well.

No one in your life is with you constantly
No one is completely on your side,
And though I move my world to be with him,
Still the gap between him is too much.

Looking back I could have played it differently,
One or a few more who can tell,
But I was ever so much younger then,
Now at least I know I know him well.

Wasn't it good
(Oh so good)
Wasn't it fine
(Oh so fine)
Isn't it madness
He can't be mine.

Didn't I know,
How it would go from the start If I knew,
Why am I falling apart.

Wasn't it good
Wasn't it fine
Isn't it madness,
He can't be mine.
But in the end he needs a little bit more than me.
(More security)
He needs his fantasies and freedom.
I know him so well.

It took time to understand him.
I know him so well

Writer/s: TIM RICE, BJOERN K. ULVAEUS, BENNY GORAN BROR ANDERSSON
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Know Him So Well

Although they each had hits as solo artists, this was the only UK #1 for Paige and Dickson. Paige had previously starred in Evita and Dickson was a former folk singer.

The song is from the musical Chess. It was written by Tim Rice with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus from Abba. It gave Benny and Bjorn their 10th #1 as writers.

Chess took 2 years to write. Bjorn says, "We were very pleased as we had something longer to work on, both the bigger format and the concept of drama and music together. I can see now that there is quite a lot of that in the later Abba songs, so we were working towards that. "One Night In Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well" could well have been Abba songs. We had Elaine Paige in mind from the start. She was with Tim at the time and she was the best theater singer in the world. When we heard Barbara Dickson, we realized that she was wonderful too. She retained that folksy quality even when she did Chess and that really attracted me."

Barbara Dickson recalls, "It sounded to the average person in the street like a fantastic new Abba record and they loved the chance of buying an Abba record again. It was a sophisticated song- two women singing different things about the same man. We didn't record it together. Elaine had been to Stockholm and done the recording and I was brought in much later. When the record came out, we promoted it together of course." (Both the above quotes are taken from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh.

This is the all time best selling song for a female duo in the UK.

The song has reached the UK Top 20 on two further occasions. In 2001 it featured on the double A-side of the last ever Steps single, reaching #5 as the flip to "Words Are Not Enough." Ten years later, a cover by Susan Boyle and comedian Peter Kay recorded for Comic Relief peaked at #11.

Aerosmith - Let the Music Do the Talking

Aerosmith - Let the Music Do the Talking Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Done with Mirrors
Released: 1985

Let the Music Do the Talking Lyrics

Rock-a-bye baby if you want to dance
Grab yourself a body and take a chance
They say one time around is all you get
But I'm still dancin' so you lost your bet
I got a hardcore mama with a hot hoochie coo
Make my wheels start spinnin' like a formula two
I got one for the money
Two for the show
Three for my honey
And four to let you know that I
Let the Music Do the Talking
Let the music do the talking
Let the music do the talking
Let the music do the talking
Cheesecake maybe if I take another bite
I'm a real fat city I'm an aero delight
Threw out my pipe and my alcoline
Got a squeaky clean body and a dirty mind
I'm a real fine dancer I'll be cutting rug
Got my brand new baby she's my brand new drug

Writer/s: JOE PERRY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Let the Music Do the Talking

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry wrote this song after leaving the band in 1979. He recorded it with his own group, The Joe Perry Project, making it the title track of their 1980 album. When Perry returned to Aerosmith in 1984, the band signed a new record deal with Geffen Records and began to sober up, leading to their wildly successful comeback.

Done with Mirrors was their first Geffen album, and a newly recorded "Let the Music Do the Talking" was the first single. This success would have to wait, however, as both the single and album sold poorly, mostly consumed by fans loyal to the band from their '70s heyday. Their resurgence would come two years later with the release of the Permanent Vacation album.

The Done with Mirrors album had an interesting packaging gimmick: the letters were printed backward so you had to hold it up to a mirror to read it. The single cover for this song was also printed this way.

Along with the rest of the album, this song was produced by Ted Templeman, best known for his work with Van Halen. It was Aerosmith's record company that paired them with Templeman, hoping he would deliver something along the lines of his previous Van Halen effort, 1984. Templeman and Aerosmith didn't click, and for their next album, Bruce Fairbairn was at the controls.

This is one of the few Aerosmith songs with no writing contribution from Steven Tyler. The entire song was written by Joe Perry; without Tyler's words, he simply wrote about how his music does the talking for him.

The band shot a video for this song, which was directed by Jerry Kramer, who had done a few Jefferson Starship videos and the Rod Stewart clip for "Some Guys Have All The Luck." Steven Tyler wanted to capture the live feel of the band, so the concept was footage show by a kid who sneaks a video camera into a show and films them performing this song.

The clip was ignored by MTV, who only warmed to Aerosmith after Tyler and Joe Perry appeared in the Run-D.M.C. "Walk This Way" collaboration. Within a few years, Aerosmith would become one of the hottest bands on the network, thanks in part to Alicia Silverstone's appearances in their videos.

The Velvet Underground - Stephanie Says

The Velvet Underground - Stephanie Says Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: VU
Released: 1985

Stephanie Says Lyrics

Stephanie Says
That she wants to know
Why she's given half her life,
To people she hates now

Stephanie says
When answering the phone
What country shall I say
Is calling from across the world

But she's not afraid to die,
The people all call her Alaska
Between worlds so the people ask her
Cause it's all in her mind
It's all in her mind

Stephanie says
That she wants to know
Why it is though she's the door
She can't be the room

Stephanie says
But doesn't hang up the phone
What sea shell she is calling
From across the world

But she's not afraid to die,
The people all cal her Alaska
Between worlds so the people ask her
Cause it's all in her mind
It's all in her mind

They're asking
Is it good or bad
It's such an icy feeling
It's so cold in Alaska,
It's so cold in Alaska,
It's so cold in Alaska

Writer/s: LOU REED
Publisher: SONY ATV MUSIC PUB LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Stephanie Says

This song demonstrates a sensitive side of Lou Reed's songwriting. Like many of Reed's songs, the lyrics are rather complicated, but they seem to be about a girl who was once very restricted, but escaped and moved on to another life. As she reflects on what once was, she becomes depressed about her life.

As written in The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side , this is one of three final songs recorded by the Velvet Underground's seminal line-up of Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker. Tucker had taken maternity leave and came back with family commitments interfering with her career; Reed and Cale continued to feud, and the group members also had clashes with their manager, Sesnick. Combined tensions with the lack of radio support in New York, lack of chart recognition, and lack of money spelled the last days of the Velvet Underground. The three final songs recorded were "Stephanie Says" and "Temptation Inside Your Heart," in February of 1968 at New York's A&R Studios, and "Hey Mr. Rain" at T.T.G. Studios in Los Angeles, in May of 1968.

This song was covered by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, in the 1994 album Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground.

One of the sources of tension within the group was Cale's new girlfriend, designer Betsy Johnson, whom Reed resented interfering with the group's chemistry in a kind of imitation of the way Yoko Ono was said to drive a wedge between the Beatles. Speaking of Yoko Ono, she, too, was active in the New York avant-garde art scene, having been a member of Fluxus, worked with John Cage, and visiting the "art happenings" around the Bohemian sections of town. She was even part of the Theatre of Eternal Music, which also included John Cale, as well as Warhol-era personalities such as La Monte Young and Tony Conrad. So she just missed being a direct part of the Velvet Underground - oh, what might have been?

The Clash - Dirty Punk

The Clash - Dirty Punk Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut the Crap
Released: 1985

Dirty Punk Lyrics

(strummer/rhodes)

Gonna be a Dirty Punk
Gonna rock your neighborhood
Do the sound of rebel funk
Turn it up loud like it should

I could hear your momma scream
She's gonna waste herself away
When your daddy smashed that tv screen
I understand what he had to say

I'm going to get me a big, big, big
Big, big car
Then I'm gonna drive, drive, drive
I'm gonna drive so far
Up your boulevard
Up your boulevard
So far up your boulevard

Gonna be a dirty punk
While my brother dresses clean
He used to be the local hunk
The girls all ride in my machine(?)

How bout the time I made him drunk
And he insult my brotherhood
I shout out I am a dirty punk
Gonna rock your neighborhood

I'm going to get a big, big, big
Big, big car
Then I'm gonna drive, drive, drive
I'm gonna drive so far
Up your boulevard
Up your boulevard
So far up your boulevard

Gonna get a big, big, big
Go faster!
Then I'm gonna go! big!
Let's go to (???)
Up your boulevard
Up your boulevard
Go so far up your boulevard

Gonna drive my big, big, big
Big, big car
Then I'm gonna drive, drive, drive
I'm gonna drive so far
Up your boulevard
Up your boulevard
So far up your boulevard

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Dirty Punk

The lyrics are odd, in that the aim for The Clash coming into recording the Cut the Crap album was to take the band back to their 1977 UK Punk roots. The lyrics of "Dirty Punk" are very American-centric, featuring lines such as "rock up your neighborhood," "up your boulevard."

The song talks about a stereotypical dysfunctional suburban American family, including the arguing parents ("I could hear your momma scream, She's gonna waste herself away, When your daddy smashed that TV screen, I understand what he had to say") and the clean-cut hunky brother getting drunk, picking up women and going off the rails ("While my brother dresses clean, He used to be the local hunk, The girls all ride in my machine, How bout the time I made him drunk, And he insult my brotherhood").

The music is also oddly US-centric, sounding more like a brash '80s Hair Metal track not unlike the thrashier elements of Def Leppard or Bon Jovi, although most critics cited "Dirty Punk" as one of the few good moments on the Cut the Crap album (which may just be because the rest of the album was so terrible).

This song was only performed twice by The Clash, both times in 1984 at the Brixton Miner's Benefit gigs in December of that year.

The Clash - Three Card Trick

The Clash - Three Card Trick Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut The Crap
Released: 1985

Three Card Trick Lyrics

Patriots of the wasteland torching two hundred years
Dragging my spirit back into the dungeon again
Bring back crucification cry the moral death's head legion
Using steel nails manufactured by the slaves in Asia

You won't fall for that law and order is a baton in the rib
You won't fall for that just like your mummy and your daddy did

Blood inside a fountain pen wrote you out of life again
Who knows any better than to kick and scratch under English weather
From a chain gang to the mill.
The mill that sits on top of the hill
The fog drowned towns arr gonna have to fade
The wrong side of the a scissor blade

You won't fall for that law and order is a baton in the rib
You won't fall for that just like your mummy and your daddy did
I'll eat my hat I'm gonna be sick
They own the pack while we play the Three Card Trick

Don't you remember the place
Where we hid the ace?
Yeah not thick but slick
Now we all gotta play the three card trick

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Three Card Trick

"Three Card Trick" was, along with "This Is England" generally cited as one of the better songs on the Cut the Crap debacle, mainly because both songs actually sound like The Clash, using a Reggae rhythm and revisiting classic Clash themes of oppression, breakdown of society ("Patriots of the wasteland torching two hundred years, dragging my spirit back into the dungeon again") and protest ("You won't fall for that law and order is a baton in the rib, you won't fall for that just like your mummy and your daddy did"). In this case, singer Joe Strummer's lyrics relate to two core actions occurring at the time: many of the steel mills closing due to foreign imports ("Using steel nails manufactured by the slaves in Asia") and the Miners Strikes of 1984.

This is the only post-Mick Jones Clash song to remain in their live set right until their final festival performances in summer 1985, having been introduced on the Out of Control tour in early 1984.

The Clash - We Are The Clash

The Clash - We Are The Clash Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut The Crap
Released: 1985

We Are The Clash Lyrics

Punk rockers, hip-hoppers
Brit poppers, show stoppers
Beboppers, hair droppers
Are you ready to sing?

Right wing, left wing
I want something
To see me through (???)
Bout what do you think

We ain't gonna be treated like trash
We got one thing
We Are The Clash
What?
We are the Clash
It's like a patch
You can strike that match

With my guitar now
(???) last dance
I see them where they (???)
How they usually stay

Beating on a drum
Did they tell them 'take it in'
Got the (???)
Where the fat boy blew

We ain't gonna be treated like trash
We got one thing
We are the Clash
That's right
We are the Clash
It's like a patch
You can strike that match

Home fires burnin'
In motorcycle city
The rockin' gods will choose
If I'm worthy to live
The first (???) engine
(???) forty-six
And there's no more (???)
To imitate respect

We ain't gonna be treated like trash
We got one thing
We are the Clash
Don't take no shit
We are the Clash
Do ya hear me?
It's like a patch
You can strike that match

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

We Are The Clash

This song was written in the aftermath of the sacking of founding member Mick Jones from The Clash, who threatened to form a new band with fellow fired Clash member Topper Headon and use The Clash name. Singer Joe Strummer was infuriated, and wrote "We Are The Clash" as an angry response to make it clear to fans who the "real" Clash were. In the end, Mick's threat was empty, and he instead formed the entirely new band: Big Audio Dynamite.

"We Are The Clash" is the sign of a general anti-Mick Jones attitude in the Clash camp after his firing. As well as playing the song live in the post-Jones lineup, singer Joe Strummer would change the lyrics to previous songs to attack Jones. For example, "Complete Control" saw the "You're my guitar hero!" lyric changed to "F--k off guitar hero!").

The Clash played this song regularly throughout 1984, presumably to make the point known to their fans that this was still the true Clash despite the firing of half of their core members in 1982-3. Part of the reason the band toured so extensively in 1984 before recording the Cut the Crap record was to gel the new lineup (new drummer plus TWO new guitarists to replace Mick Jones), and to demonstrate their commitment to their fans.

The Clash - Play to Win

The Clash - Play to Win Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut the Crap
Released: 1985

Play to Win Lyrics

Spoken

Voice: Hey (???) piranah
Joe: Yup and the piranah got it
V: Yeah, well if it's hooligan you want
J: We British will tear upon the street
V: (???)
J: I see you've lived in Germany.
V: Yankee (???)
J: (???)
V: (???)

Sung
I long for the prairie
Of the wild frontier
We got to take it to the space age
(???) back at pioneers

V:I thought I'd call a taxi
J: Well what you got is a police car
V: Are you gonna (???) cleanin'?
J: (???) use a burglar
V: (???)
J: I'll say to give you a kiss
V: No (???)
J: Come on lets go out get smashed

I long for the prairie
Of the wild frontier
We got to take it to the space age
(???) back at pioneers

V: What kind of food for the picnic
J: Hey don't worry about our (???)
V: (???) obviously then
J: Well everyday seems the same
V: No. I don't want (???)
J: Look at you. Turn your plastic into gold.
V: (???)
J: Just get your face in a centerfold
V: 2,3,4

I long for the prairie
Of the wild frontier
We got to take it to the space age
(???) back at pioneers

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Play to Win

"Play to Win" is an interesting attempt at something different musically on the Cut the Crap album, with the verses structured over a loose percussion backing in the form of a conversation between singer Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon.

Probably because of it's very loose structure and odd conversational vocals, this song was never played live by The Clash.

The Clash - Movers And Shakers

The Clash - Movers And Shakers Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Cut The Crap
Released: 1985

Movers And Shakers Lyrics

The boy stood in the burning slum
Better times had to come
Fate lay in the hands that clap
The muscles that move and the power that raps
He went up on money street
Waving an popping to the beat
Off his wits an on his feet
He worked a coin from the cold concrete

Movers And Shakers come on you got what it takes to make it
Movers an shakers come on even if you have to fake it

Where the highway meets the lights
With a red bandanna and rapid wipes
He shines Glass and he cleans chrome
He'll accept what he gets thrown
This man earns 'cause its understood
Times are bad and he's makin' good
Down on him but he's got it beat
He's working coin from the cold concrete

Movers and shakers come on....etc
And when I see you down and I say
That ain't no way through that ain't no way through
Movers and shakers come on...etc

Way back in some city heat
When a friend was anybody with food to eat
It was lousy life with a leaking roof
We got up to find that truth
Make a drum from a garbage can
Allow your tongue to be a man
When the beat propels you off your seat
You got it made in the cold concrete

Movers and shakers come on!

Writer/s: BERNARD RHODES, JOE STRUMMER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Movers And Shakers

This song came in for particularly heavy criticism from Clash fans for its lyrical content, which contradicts one of The Clash's core messages of striving to make the most of life and not accepting a bottom-rung job. The song seems to suggest that doing menial jobs like washing cars is worthwhile because it's at least something to do ("He shines glass and he cleans chrome, he'll accept what he gets thrown, this man earns 'cause its understood, times are bad and he's makin' good").

Journalist Marcus Gray noted in the Last Gang in Town biography that lyrics such as these sounded remarkably hypocritical. Of course, this being Joe Strummer, a man known for sardonic commentaries, it could be a wry and sarcastic take on it to make a point that actually washing cars isn't a worthwhile career move.

Musically, "Movers and Shakers" is somewhat of a mess, with the main guitar riff being very similar to the main riff from Sham 69's "Hurry Up Harry (Come On)." Poorly-mixed gang vocal choruses and an out-of-place keyboard riff badly added into the mix.

This was only ever performed live by The Clash on their acoustic Busking tour in 1985, in a more stripped-down arrangement which perhaps suits the song better than the lumpen studio mix.

Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero

Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Released: 1985

We Don't Need Another Hero Lyrics

Out of the ruins, out from the wreckage
Can't make the same mistakes this time
We are the children, the last generation
We are the ones they left behind
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change?
Living under the fear, till nothing else remains

We Don't Need Another Hero,
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome

Looking for something we can rely on
There's got to be something better out there.
Mmmm, love and compassion, their day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change?
Living under the fear, till nothing else remains.

All the children say,
We don't need another hero,
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome

So what do we do with our lives?
We leave only a mark.
Will our story shine like a light,
Or end in the dark?
Give it all or nothing!

We don't need another hero,
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome

All the children say,
We don't need another hero,
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome

Writer/s: BRITTEN, TERRY/LYLE, GRAHAM HAMILTON
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

We Don't Need Another Hero

This was the theme tune to the film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Turner starred in the movie with Mel Gibson.

The choir from King's House School in Richmond, south London provided the children's chorus. According to The Sunday Telegraph (October 9th, 2005), one of the members of the choir was a 12-year-old Lawrence Dallaglio, the future captain of the England rugby team and a rugby World Cup winner. The choir went to the Abbey Road studios to record their backing vocals. Tina Turner was not there and her vocals were added at a later date.

Raven - On And On

Raven - On And On Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Stay Hard
Released: 1985

On And On Lyrics

On And On

Raven is a British Heavy Metal band that released four albums on the independent UK label Neat Records before signing a deal with Atlantic that was supposed to be their entry into the American market. Raven had built a vociferous fan base and found themselves in the vanguard of the genre - their 1983 opening act Metallica cites them as one of the best there was.

The Stay Hard album marked a stylistic turning point for the band, however, as they softened their sound and image in an attempt to get on popular radio and MTV. But where Def Leppard and Quiet Riot succeeded, Raven could not. The crossover never came, and it eroded their core fan base. "Being that goal of coming into America, there was a lot of pressure and a lot of bad influence," their frontman John Gallagher said in our 2013 interview. Raven soldiered on, but never really recovered from this foray into Pop Metal.

The video for this song was never big on MTV, but has racked up plenty of views on YouTube. Curiously, the band is wearing football gear - the American kind. This was a bit of pandering by these Brits, but the original idea was to incorporate footage from NFL films, which would have tied it all together. "We went to the facility in Jersey, met all the guys, had all these great ideas," John Gallagher explained. "It wasn't an outrageous amount of money we asked for the video, but the record company said, 'Nope. We're not giving you that.' They basically dressed us up as clowns and then refused to support that."

Some songs come quickly to the writer and seem to write themselves. This isn't one of them. John Gallagher, who wrote the song with his guitarist/brother Mark and drummer Rob "Wacko" Hunter, told us the story:

"We knew it was magic, the song. It was one of the hardest ones we've ever had to do. A lot of technical problems. Mark [guitarist Mark Gallagher] was playing a guitar with bad intonation, and there were a lot of suspended chords on that. It got to the point where he just threw it across the room and Mark said, "That's it, I'm going to the bar! I'm done."

That first time we'd done so many vocals; there were about 18 to 20 tracks of vocals, and it was all me - it was all done in the old fashioned way of singing it, three part harmony or what have you. Just double, triple, quadruple, over and over again. It took a long time compared to everything else, but we just knew the song was that good.

Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away

Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Secret Of Association
Released: 1985

Everytime You Go Away Lyrics

Hey!, if we can solve any problem
Then why do we lose so many tears
Oh, and so you go again
When the leading man appears
Always the same thing
Can't you see, we've got everything goin' on and on and on

Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you
Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you

Go on and go free, yeah
Maybe you're too close to see
I can feel your body move
It doesn't mean that much to me
I can't go on sayin' the same thing
Just can't you see, we've got everything do you even know we know

Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you, oh
Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you

I can't go on sayin' the same thing
'Cause baby, can'tcha see, we've got everything goin' on and on and on

Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you
Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you

Looking at the pieces (Every time you go away)
Be careful (You take a piece of me with you)
(Every time you go away) Every time you go, every time you go
(You take a piece of me with you) You take a piece of me!
(Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you) Every time you go!

Writer/s: HALL, DARYL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Everytime You Go Away

This was written by Daryl Hall and originally recorded by Hall & Oates for the duo's 1980 album, Voices, but was not released as a single; Young's version became a hit nearly five years later. In the October 16, 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Daryl Hall listed this as one of his favorite Hall & Oates songs and explained: "Paul Young had a pop hit with it a few years after we released it. It's just one of those songs. I feel very proud of its craftsmanship."

This was the biggest hit for Young. He contributed to Band Aid in 1984 and had hits with covers of R&B classics "Oh Girl" and "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted."

This song became one of the biggest hits with a grammar gaffe in the title. "Everytime" is not a word, so it should read "Every Time You Go Away." Young could point the finger at songwriter Daryl Hall or just enjoy the company of other grammatically questionable songs .

The video was one of the first directed by Nick Morris , who soon after did the iconic video for Europe's "The Final Countdown." In our interview with Morris, he explained: "Paul Young, I'd seen him loads of times as a student because he used to play all these club nights at universities and so on. I knew he was a really good live, sweaty, rock and roll guy, and I wanted to capture that. That's why we used the slow motion, that's why we used the backstage stuff."

Creating a video for a mid-tempo song that showcases the artist was not an easy task, but the slow motion, desaturated look with lots of candid shots worked very well. This style was copied by a number of other artists, notably Bon Jovi in their video for "Wanted Dead Or Alive."

Clay Aiken covered this on his 2006 album, A Thousand Different Ways.

Young's success with the song didn't produce any sour grapes for Daryl Hall, who credited him with tapping into the commercial potential he failed to see the first time around. Hall told Music Connection: "I never thought of it any other way than the way it was 'til Paul Young did it ... I was just doin' a kind of gospel/soul song; that was all I had in mind for it. I was really surprised to hear the production they did because it kept the elements but commercialized it - made it sound like a pop record."

Hall and Young performed this as an extended duet at a New York show in 1985.

In a 2014 Songfacts interview , Daryl Hall said he still counts this as one of his favorite covers of a Hall & Oates song.

The Hall & Oates version of this song is featured in the 2009 romantic comedy The Rebound, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha.

Wang Chung - To Live And Die In LA

Wang Chung - To Live And Die In LA Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: To Live And Die In LA
Released: 1985

To Live And Die In LA Lyrics

To Live And Die In LA

This is the title track to William Friedkin's 1985 crime drama To Live and Die in LA Wang Chung wrote the original score for the film (which included this song).

According to the DVD commentary on To Live and Die in L.A., director William Friedkin didn't want a theme song for the movie, but Jack Hues and Nick Feldman of Wang Chung wrote one anyway, which was this song. Friedkin liked it and decided to use it in his movie.

In an interview with Eric Greenberg on the Just My Show podcast, Jack Hues of Wang Chung explained: "It all has to do with the opportunity to explore a new genre. I started out just a kid in love with the Beatles music and learning to play guitar, but when I got around 18, I wanted to go to university. And at that time you had to do classical music if you wanted to do music in university. So I got into classical music, and that whole thing of long form composition - outside of a three-minute pop song - was something I really, really wanted to do. So the opportunity for To Live and Die in LA was ideal for me creatively. It gave me the chance to really expand ideas instead of always having to pare them down and try and fit them into that three-minute format."

Alcatrazz - God Blessed Video

Alcatrazz - God Blessed Video Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Disturbing the Peace
Released: 1985

God Blessed Video Lyrics

Lets take a plane and go somewhere exotic
To play with a non-descript song
We'll shoot all the crotch shots for 12 year old hopefuls
To make you a real man my son

Some cheap kid from Birmingham
Blessed with an accent
That pours like the darkest brown ale
Just one more puppet, piss elegant marionette
He's just a fast buck for sale

Don't you know that God Blessed Video
We know that God blessed video

Break out the cameras that re-shape my face
And get someone to carve up my hair
If you can't beat them, you might as well join 'em
And be glad to say you were there

Writer/s: BONNET, GRAHAM / VAI, STEVE S.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

God Blessed Video

The Hard Rock band Alcatrazz got some airplay with the videos for their songs "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and "Island In The Sun," but nothing like what their photogenic New Wave counterparts were getting. Lead singer Graham Bonnet was watching a Duran Duran video one day when it struck him that a good video could compensate for a terrible song. "It was a gift that video came along and made these great videos of nice looking women in exotic places, but the song wasn't that good, and that's basically what it's about," he told us. "It's like 'Video Killed The Radio Star,' if you remember that song. It was my sort of version of that, just saying, 'Well, if you've got a great video, doesn't matter what the song's like. It'll help you a helluva lot.'"

The band made a video for this song, with the first minute taken up with a skit where an angel and devil discuss music videos. MTV has a history of embracing videos that deal with the medium itself ("Video Killed The Radio Star," "Money For Nothing"), but they passed on this one, which may have hit too close to home with lyrics like "We'll shoot all the crotch shots for 12 year old hopefuls."

Steve Vai, who was the band's guitarist for the Disturbing the Peace album, wrote this song with Graham Bonnet. Vai, who replaced Yngwie Malmsteen in Alcatrazz, left to join David Lee Roth's band. If there was ever a man who blessed video, it was Roth; while Vai got plenty of screen time in the "God Blessed Video" clip, he ceded most of the camera time to Roth in his videos.

The Replacements - Bastards of Young

The Replacements - Bastards of Young Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Tim
Released: 1985

Bastards of Young Lyrics

God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, Bastards of Young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Clean your baby womb, trash that baby boom
Elvis in the ground, there'll ain't no beer tonight
Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Unwillingness to claim us, ya got no word (war?) to name us

The ones who love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Young...take it, it's yours...

Writer/s: WESTERBERG, PAUL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Bastards of Young

Fitting with the rebellious nature of The Replacements, this song is about a lost generation. The references to "Elvis" and the "Baby Boom" imply their parents, who see them as nothing more than tax deductions. "Bastard" is a derogatory term for a child born out of wedlock.

Some have speculated that the chorus is actually, "We are the sons of Norway" (somewhat fitting, given the Minnesota birthplace of all members) but, (famously) as no lyric sheet was ever provided by the band, it remains speculation.

The video is a black-and-white, single shot of a stereo system playing the song. He see a guy enter the frame, lie on the couch and smoke a cigarette, but we never see his face. At the end of the clip, he kicks over a speaker and leaves.

Misfits - Where Eagles Dare

Misfits - Where Eagles Dare Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Legacy Of Brutality
Released: 1985

Where Eagles Dare Lyrics

We walk the streets at night
We go Where Eagles Dare
They pick up every movement
They pick up every loser
With jaded eyes and features
You think they really care

I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby
I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby, babe

An omelet of disease awaits your noontime meal
Her mouth of germicide seducing all your glands

I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby
I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby, babe

Let's test your threshold of pain
Let's see how long you last
That's happened in your rape
On bosoms of your past

With jaded eyes and features
You think they really care
Let's go where eagles dare
We'll go where eagles dare

I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby
I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby
I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby
I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch
You better think about it baby, hey
Writer/s: GOODWIN, RON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Where Eagles Dare

This song is based on the movie Where Eagles Dare, starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton. Most of the Misfits' songs were based on movies, especially horror movies.