Released: May 5, 1981

Songwriter: Mike W. Campbell Tom Petty

Producer: Jimmy Iovine Tom Petty

[Verse 1]
It didn't feel like Sunday, didn't feel like June
When he met his silent partner in that lonely corner room
That over looked the marquee of the plaza all-adult
And he was not looking for romance, just someone he could trust

[Chorus]
And it wasn't no way to carry on
It wasn't no way to live
But he could put up with it for a little while
He was working on something big

[Verse 2]
Speedball rang the night clerk, said "Send me up a drink"
The night clerk said "It's Sunday man, wait a minute, let me think
There's a little place outside of town might still have some wine"
Speedball said, "Forget it, can I have an outside line?

[Chorus]
And it wasn't no way to carry on
It wasn't no way to live
But he could put up with it for a little while
He was working on something big

[Verse 3]
It was Monday when the day maids found the still-made bed
All except the pillows that lay stacked up at the head
And one said, "I know I've seen his face, I wonder who he is"
The other said, "It's probably just another clown working on something big"

[Chorus]
And it wasn't no way to carry on
It wasn't no way to live
But he could put up with it for a little while
He was working on something big

[Chorus]
Yeah, and it wasn't no way to carry on
It wasn't no way to live
But he could put up with it for a little while
He was working on something big

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)