Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Ben Watt

You are all I need, you are all I need
Oh no, no, here I am, oh no, no, 'cause here I am
You are all I need, you are all I need
Oh no, no, here I am, oh no, no, 'cause here I am

You're about the only thing I need
But then again I don't know who you are
Loneliness cries out for company
Company soon leads me into love
So pass the glass, I'll have another drink
Must escape the problem for awhile
I can see it dragging on for years
I can't see a remedy right now
I can't see a remedy right

You are all I need, you are all I need
Oh no, no, here I am, oh no, no, 'cause here I am

Why must reach always exceed our grasp?
Why is mind is all so seldom filled?
Curiosity, it killed the cat
Feel its daggers reaching out for me
Feel its daggers reaching out for

You are all I need, you are all I need
Oh no, no, here I am, oh no, no, here I am
You are all I need, you are all I need
Oh no, no, here I am, oh no, no, here I am

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

Night and Day - Single

From the album

Night and Day - Single (1982)

Everything But The Girl popular songs

Feeling DizzyEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Night and Day - Single