Released: April 8, 1996

Songwriter: Ashley Wales John Coxon Ben Watt

Producer: Spring Heel Jack

[Verse]
Out amongst the walking wounded
Every face on every bus
Is you and me and him and her
And nothing can replace the us I knew
Nothing can replace the us I knew

[Pre-Chorus]
And no, I'm never gonna let you go
No I'm never gonna let you go
And now I know I had a choice
Though you never made it clear to me
I thought you never felt it deeply
Now I'm never gonna let you go
No I'm never gonna let you go
'Cause I could have loved you forever
I could have loved you forever

[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
You trying to punish me?
Punish me for loving you
Punish me for giving to you
Punish me for nothing I do
Punish me for nothing
Punish me for nothing, for nothing

[Verse]
Out amongst the walking wounded
Every face on every bus
Is you and me and him and her
And nothing can replace the us I knew
Nothing can replace the us I knew

[Pre-Chorus]
You know I'm never gonna let you go
Now I'm never gonna let you go
And now I know I had a choice
Though you never made it clear to me
I thought you never felt it deeply

[Solo]

[Bridge]
Now I'm never gonna let you go
No I'm never gonna let you go
'Cause I could have loved you forever
I could have loved you forever
Or I could have left you forever
I could have left you forever

[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
Are you trying to punish me?
Punish me for loving you
Punish me for giving to you
Punish me for nothing I do
Punish me for nothing
Punish me for nothing, nothing

[Verse]
Out amongst the walking wounded
Every face on every bus
Is you and me and him and her
And nothing can replace the us I knew
Nothing can replace the us I knew
Nothing can replace the us I knew

[Outro]
Out amongst the walking wounded
Every face on every train
Is you and me and him and her
Some days I think I could go insane
Some days I think I could go insane

Everything But The Girl

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.