Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Released: November 20, 1995

Songwriter: Tom Petty

Producer: Mike W. Campbell Tom Petty

Well I met him in the navy
He was the head of the class
She was a cute little thing
He liked the way she shook her glass
And they went off to texas
And they bought some land yeah
And they settled in a hobo
Home by a taco stand
He was doin' things he didn't understand
There was no way to exlain it
She was god's gift to man

Well he got a promotion
And he bought himself a color tv
Had the cable put in
And they watched a round of jeopardy
And they sat out in the evening
And they watched the sun go down
And everything they did
They were livin' on the outside of town
Well the time went by
That he didn't understand
She was god's gift to man

Yeah baby tell me, tell me real good
Don't you know that we're livin' just like a young boy should?

Well she went off to houston
Where she was livin' in sin
Well he built an office building
But nobody moved in
She wound up in el paso
On the streets again
It was hard to take it
But sometimes you just can't win
It was after a little way
That he didn't understand
And couldn't understand that
She was god's gift to man

Well I seen her on tv just a couple of nights ago
She was a doin' a commercial
Smilin' with some ivory soap
Well I knew inside her heart was black as coal
There ain't no way to replace the amount of lovin' that little girl stole
Yeah one day she got it comin'
And she won't understand her niche
She's god's gift to man

Yeah I've been doin' things that I don't understand
Yeah she's god's gift to man
Yeah, yeah ,yeah
Alright, alright, alright

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – an L.A.-based gang of sharp-dressed garage-rock refugees from Gainsville, Florida – released their debut LP in November 1976, featuring two tracks which are now part of their long list of hits, “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

Since that first LP in ‘76, the band’s style has epitomized and largely defined the American “heartland rock” movement – a vintage-guitar twang, hard lyric truth, and searing vocal attitude.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been nominated for 17 Grammy awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all-time.

more tracks from the album

Nobody’s Children

From the albums

Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (1995)
Nobody’s Children (2015)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers popular songs

God’s Gift To ManTom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Nobody’s Children