Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Ben Watt

Producer: Ben Watt Tracey Thorn

[Verse 1]
Well, it's not for me to say
But I can't see what you see in him anyway
But such righteousness in me
Is not a nice thing to display
And who am I for Christs's sakes anyway
Oh, to judge a life this way

[Chorus]
When my own's in disarray?
My own's in disarray?
My own's in disarray? (Hey)

[Verse 2]
And I watch Saturday kid's TV
Yeah, with the sound turned down
And I leave food on the eiderdown
All my thoughts pushed underground
Maybe you're happy, everyone says you are
You drive around on two star
You leave your life ajar
And God knows you deserve it
Bad luck follows everyone

[Chorus]
So go on and stop listening to me
Stop listening to me
And don't ask me how I feel
Don't ask me how I feel

[Verse 3]
So it's not for me to say
Because I change my mind from day to day
Oh, and when I look at you
I only see bits of myself anyway

[Chorus]
So go on and stop listening to me
Stop listening to me
And don't ask me what to say
Or to judge a life this way
When my own's in disarray
My own's in disarray
My own's in disarray (Hey)

Originating at the turn of the 1980s as a leader of the lite-jazz movement, Everything but the Girl became an unlikely success story more than a decade later, emerging at the vanguard of the fusion between pop and electronica.

Founded in 1982 by Hull University students Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, the duo took their name from a sign placed in the window of a local furniture shop, which claimed “for your bedroom needs, we sell everything but the girl.” At the time of their formation, both vocalist Thorn and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Watt were already signed independently to the Cherry Red label; Thorn was a member of the sublime Marine Girls, while Watt had issued several solo singles and also collaborated with Robert Wyatt.

Everything but the Girl debuted in 1982 with a samba interpretation of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”; the single was a success on the U.K. independent charts, but the duo nonetheless went on hiatus as Thorn recorded a solo EP, A Distant Shore, while Watt checked in with the full-length North Marine Drive in 1983. EBTG soon reunited to record a cover of the Jam’s “English Rose” for an NME sampler; the track so impressed former Jam frontman Paul Weller that he invited the duo to contribute to the 1984 LP Cafe Bleu, the debut from his new project, the Style Council.

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