Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Ben Watt

Producer: Mike Hedges Everything But The Girl

Sorrow is a lonely road
Where the rain like your tears
Beats heavy on the roof above your head
Tomorrow is a lovers' town
That's been beaten down
And the hands of winter holds the life we've led

Instead of drowning in despair
For I find small comfort in a bottle
When we're apart
Don't let the teardrops rust your shining heart

I used to drive all night for you
While the children were asleep
And as the dawn broke on your room
Back into my house I'd creep
Where my husband slept alone
Of course he must have known
But we always hide the truth
For fear of losing what we own

So don't forget the words that we choose
And constantly misuse
They were written down every time we were apart
Don't let your teardrops rust your shining heart

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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Don’t Let the Teardrops Rust Your Shining HeartEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright