Released: April 21, 1987

Songwriter: Tom Petty

Producer: Tom Petty Mike W. Campbell

If he don't want to talk, leave him alone
If he don't want to talk, leave him alone
He's a self-made man, he did it on his own

Now some folks say there's a dangerous side
Some folks say he's got a dangerous side
He's a self-made man, he knows about pride

So help me, baby, look what love can do
It scares me, baby, does it scare you too?

So help me, baby, look what love can do
It scares me, baby, does it scare you too?

Some folks say it was a woman he knew
Some folks say it was a woman he knew
He's a self-made man, he knows how to lose

So help me, baby, look what love can do
It scares me, baby, does it scare you too?

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

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

Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)