Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Ben Watt

Producer: Tommy LiPuma

[Verse 1]
(Oh, and how he loved you)
Oh, and how he loved you
(Oh, and you believed him)
Oh, and you believed him
(You said you both deserve better)
You deserve better
(And he could make it a real thing)
Make it a real thing

[Pre-Chorus]
On a clear day
You can see the sea from your place
On a fine day
You can still remember his face

[Chorus]
And he just kept right on
Imagining America
And he just kept right on
Imagining America

[Verse 2]
(And he was so handsome)
And he was so handsome
(It was 1919)
It was 1919
(Sailing to New York)
Sailing to New York
(Just for you)
Just for you

[Pre-Chorus]
It was a clear day
Waving from the quay, you saw him
It was a fine day
Standing with the world before him

[Chorus]
And he just kept right on (Oh he kept right on)
Imagining America (Oh)
And he just kept right on (Oh he kept right on)
Imagining America

[Bridge]
"Darling have no fear
The air is always clear
There are mountains and deserts and stars
The cities have been tamed
And they all know your name
They have money and houses and cars"

[Verse 3]
(And so I stand here)
So I stand here
(In his footsteps)
In his footsteps
(We deserve better)
We deserve better
(And I can make it a real thing)
Make it a real thing

[Pre-Chorus]
It's a clear day
Only in a final embrace
It's a fine day
Will the world remember our face?

[Chorus]
And I just keep right on (Keep right on)
Imagining America (Imagining)
And I just keep right on (Keep right on)
Imagining America (Keep right on)

[Outro]
We keep on, we keep on
We keep imagining America, America, America
We keep on, we keep on
We keep imagining America, America, America
We just keep right on

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

The Language of Life

From the album

The Language of Life (1990)

Everything But The Girl popular songs

Imagining AmericaEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

The Language of Life