Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Tracey Thorn

Producer: Robin Millar

[Verse 1]
Frances keep your mouth shut dear
We don't want the neighbors 'round
With their ugly little schemes
That make the pretty world go 'round
And there's a place in it for every one of us
I'll keep the home fires burning
Only don't make a fuss

[Verse 2]
And if you're not impressed
With the wares life has to show
You can take them or leave them
They choose their own fate who say no
There's some ugly little dreams
For pretty girls to buy
And it's enough to make you mad
But it's safer just to break down and cry

[Bridge]
Oh, it's a battlefield Frances
You fight or concede
Victory to the enemy
Who call your strength insanity

[Verse 3]
What chance for such girls
How can we compete?
In a world that likes its women
Stupid and sweet
I bet you rue the day
The angels gave you your share
Of bright cornflower blue eyes
And golden hair
And there's a lot of ugly little dreams
For pretty girls to buy
And it's enough to make you mad
But it's safer just to break down and cry
It's safer just to break down and cry

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

Ugly Little DreamsEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Love Not Money