Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Tracey Thorn Ben Watt

Producer: Robin Millar

[Verse 1]
Let him spend all his money on you
Ease the guilt of the things he won't do
For he believes there's no such thing as greed
A yearly payment is all that you need

[Verse 2]
In poverty may your goodness prevail
While your vaulting ambitions fail
A rich man sticks in heaven's door
But you my love will live happy for evermore

[Chorus]
So naturally he sends you no more than this
Lest he ruin your chance of eternal bliss
What d'you mean you need love not money?
You expect to live in a land of milk and honey

[Verse 3]
Let him send his money to you
Ease the guilt of the things he won't do
A rich man sticks in heaven's door
But you my love will live happy for evermore

[Chorus]
So naturally he sends you no more than this
Lest he ruin your chance of eternal bliss
What d'you mean you need love not money?
You expect to live in a land of milk and honey

[Bridge]
He can spare just a little to see you right
Even he has a conscience that cries at night
"May the bad things in life come in two's and not three's"
Such a prayer works wonders for keeping the heart at ease

[Chorus]
So naturally he sends you no more than this
Lest he ruin your chance of eternal bliss
What d'you mean you need love not money?
You expect to live in a land of milk and honey
Naturally he sends you no more than this
Lest he ruin your chance of eternal bliss
What d'you mean you need love not money?
You expect to live in a land of milk and honey

[Outro]
Hey, are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Hey, are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
(Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
(Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny? (Love not money)
Are you trying to be funny?

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.

more tracks from the album

Love Not Money

From the album

Love Not Money (1985)

Everything But The Girl popular songs

Are You Trying to Be Funny?Everything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Love Not Money