‘Til Tuesday – Voices Carry

80's Music 3 Minutes

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Listen/Hear/Talk/Speak

The title song from their 1985 album. The song peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on July 12, 1985.

From Songfacts

“Voices Carry” was the debut single, from the debut album of the same name, and greatest claim to fame for the group ‘Til Tuesday. The lyrics were written by lead singer Aimee Mann, with music credited to the whole band.

The haunting, captivating tone of this song hit like a sledgehammer in 1985, when all else seemed to be twang and bubblegum. Notice the intense bass playing under the husky vocal declaring each line like an entry in a diary. There are very dark undertones in the song, hinting at an abusive relationship – “I try so hard not to get upset, because I know all the trouble I’ll get.” And while at first the guy is simply telling her to hush, later in the song this is elevated to “shut up!”

‘Til Tuesday came out of Boston, Massachusetts after winning a radio contest, Boston’s WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble, in 1983, with the song “Love in a Vacuum,” which was re-recorded for Voices Carry. They established themselves as one of the new wave bands of the mid-’80s, staggering out into American culture to mix with the Minneapolis sound, the tail end of punk, and the blooming of the first yuppies – they’re often compared to The Cars.

‘Til Tuesday only charted in the Top-40 once more, with “What About Love” (not to be confused with the Heart song that the Swiffer mop company ruined forever with their sappy commercials). After faithfully hanging in there for four more albums, they broke up in 1988. Kind of like The Velvet Underground, they are now seen as a band ahead of their time, adored by critics but not selling well enough to stay together.

“Voices Carry” got a massive boost in popularity from their video rotating on MTV. This song also garnered ‘Til Tuesday an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. The video shows Aimee Mann in her distinctive haircut looking like a starched Pomeranian with a rat-tail. And at the break, there’s a little playlet with her oaf of a boyfriend sporting a wifebeater berates her for having a music career instead of being his hausfrau.

Voices Carry

I’m in the dark, I’d like to read his mind
But I’m frightened of the things I might find
Oh, there must be something he’s thinking of
To tear him away-a-ay
When I tell him that I’m falling in love
Why does he say-a-ay

Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Uh-ah

I try so hard not to get upset
Because I know all the trouble I’ll get
Oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
And something to fear-eh-eh
And I try so hard to keep it inside
So no one can hear

Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Uh-ah

Oh!
He wants me, but only part of the time
He wants me, if he can keep me in line

Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, shut up now, voices carry
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry
Hush hush, darling, she might overhear
Hush, hush – voices carry

He said shut up – he said shut up
Oh God can’t you keep it down
Voices carry
Hush hush, voices carry

I wish he would let me talk

Writer/s: Aimee Mann, Robert Holmes, Michael Hausman, Joey Pesce

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Published by freefallin14

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14 thoughts on “‘Til Tuesday – Voices Carry”

  3. Good background info, Ricky. I remember this song from back then and liking it and remember seeing the video but didn’t pay a lot of attention to the lyrics. Reading the lyrics now and watching the video again it resonates for me. Those kinds of relationships cause a lot of pain and rarely end well.

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  7. Nice take on the prompt. As an 80s baby I remember this song well. Only lately did I fully realize what the song was about. It’s why I think lyric challenges like this one. Hearing an old song with new ears. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. There is so much emotion in that shut up line that it will always be my favorite part of that song since hearing it as a dorky 15 year old in ’85. Sadly there are radio stations today that edit that song and fade out before she gets to that part..I hate that. ❤ this song

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  10. I have loved Voices Carry since I was little, it is a really nice song. I didn’t know the background of the group nor other songs!

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