Everything But The Girl

Released: November 1, 1982

Songwriter: Tracey Thorn

Producer: Tracey Thorn Ben Watt

[Verse 1: Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt]
You got me feeling so happy
(Feeling so sad)
I only smile now when you're with me
(She got it bad)
I look around for someone new
(Wasting her time)
But no one can compete with you
(That's a bad sign)

[Verse 2: Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt]
My friends, I don't care what they say
(Talking to you)
My heart's a million miles away
(What can I do?)
And I don't know whether to laugh or cry
(Please don't ask me)
But I know I kiss my heart goodbye
(Well, that's easy)

[Chorus: Ben Watt with Tracey Thorn]
We tell her she's wasting her time
But still, she finds
You're on my mind
On my mind

[Verse 3: Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt]
And every day is just another
(Day without you)
And I don’t know why I bother
(Thinking about you)
I see you, should I run and hide?
When I get home and slam my door
And shut the world outside

[Chorus: Ben Watt, Tracey Thorn, Both]
We tell her she's wasting her time
But still, she finds
You're on my mind
On my mind
You're on my mind
On my mind
You're on my mind
On my mind
On my mind

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

On My MindEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Night and Day - Single