Everything But The Girl

Songwriter: Randy Newman

Producer: Everything But The Girl

[Verse 1]
No one likes us, I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

[Verse 2]
We give them money, but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

[Verse 3]
Asia's crowded, Europe's too old
Africa's far too hot, and Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one, there'll be no one left to blame us

[Bridge]
We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an all-American amusement park
Hey, they got surfing too!

[Verse 4]
Boom goes London, boom Paris
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world 'round
Could just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it would be
We can set everybody free
You'll have a Japanese kimono, babe
It'll be Italian shoes for me

[Outro]
They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now

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

Worldwide (Deluxe Edition)

From the albums

I Didn’t Know I Was Looking for Love - EP (1993)
Worldwide (Deluxe Edition) (2013)

Everything But The Girl popular songs

Political ScienceEverything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl

Worldwide (Deluxe Edition)