Category: 80’s Music

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Acquire/Collect/Gather/Secure.

The title song from his 1983 album. The song peaked at #9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on January 20, 1984.

From Songfacts

Billy Idol got the title for this song from the Rebel Yell brand of bourbon whiskey, which has been around since 1936. On an episode of VH1 Storytellers, Idol explained that he was at an event where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones were taking swigs of Rebel Yell straight from the bottle. This gave him the idea for the title, and he wrote the song around it.

Idol wrote this song with his guitarist, Steve Stevens, who came up with some unique sounds on the track. The ray-gun effect on the solo he created using a Lexicon PCM 41 digital delay processor, but he later figured out a way to get a more distinctive sound using an actual ray-gun. By tweaking a toy ray-gun, he was able to hold it to his pickups and generate these strange sounds. His “ray gun guitar” became one of the most popular spots of a Billy Idol concert.

The video was directed by Jeff Stein, whose previous work included The Who documentary The Kids Are Alright. It was shot at the Capitol Theater in New Jersey with the audience made up of kids they bussed in from New York City. In the book I Want My MTV, Stein said: “We had lots of beer and wine on the busses, which nowadays you could not do. Everyone was well soused. I put the hot looking girls with the big tits up front.”

Sounds of the crowd cheering and singing along were added to the video version of the song, which captured the live energy of this anthemic song. The clip was a huge hit on MTV, but it almost missed its premiere slot – Stein says MTV made them edit out a shot of a kid holding a beer, and the tape made it to the network just minutes before air.

Rebel Yell

Last night a little dancer came dancin’ to my door
Last night a little angel Came pumpin cross my floor
She said “Come on baby I got a license for love
And if it expires pray help from above”

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell more, more, more
More, more, more

She don’t like slavery, she won’t sit and beg
But when I’m tired and lonely she sees me to bed
What set you free and brought you to be me babe
What set you free I need you hear by me
Because

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell more, more, more

He lives in his own heaven
Collects it to go from the seven eleven
Well he’s out all night to collect a fare
Just so long, just so long it don’t mess up his hair

I walked the ward with you, babe
A thousand miles with you
I dried your tears of pain, babe
A million times for you

I’d sell my soul for you babe
For money to burn with you
I’d give you all, and have none, babe
Just, just, justa, justa to have you here by me
Because

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
More, more, more

Oh yeah little baby
She want more
More, more, more, more, more

Oh yeah little baby
She want more
More, more, more, moreWriter/s: Billy Idol, Steve Stevens

John Waite – Change

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Different/Same.

From his 1982 album, Ignition and from the 1985 movie soundtrack Vision Quest. The song reached #54 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on April 05, 1985.

From Songfacts

This song was originally recorded by the band Spider, which featured future David Letterman Show band member Anton Fig on drums and Holly Knight on keyboards. The song was written by Knight, who went on to co-write many hits, including “The Best,” (Tina Turner) “Rag Doll” (Aerosmith) and “Obsession” (Animotion).

The song first appeared on Spider’s second (and last) album, Between The Lines, which was released in 1981 on Mike Chapman’s Dreamland Records. Knight told us the story behind “Change”: “I was thinking how important it was to keep things real when success starting happening for us. I had seen several musicians let the fame and success go to their head and I thought that all those things shouldn’t really change a person because what’s inside of you should remain the same. I think I’ve lived my life by that notion.”

This song was pitched to John Waite, who released it as the first single from his 1982 debut solo album, Ignition. Waite recorded the song because he liked the message, it fit his sound, and he thought it had lots of hit potential. Waite was going through a huge transformation at the time: his band The Babys had broken up and he had gotten married. Work on his solo album took him to New York City, where he was away from his wife and his home as he navigated the record industry as a solo act. It was rough waters, as the album – and this single – underperformed (Ignition peaked at #68 in the US and didn’t chart at all in the UK). Waite blamed his record company, Chrysalis, for failing to promote the song, and extricated himself from his contract to sign with EMI for his next album. He was vindicated when that next album, No Brakes, produced the hit “Missing You,” while “Change” became a fan favorite and found a home on many radio stations’ playlists.
This didn’t chart when Waite first released the song, but when it was used in the movie Vision Quest, it was re-released and made #54 in America. The soundtrack also featured the #1 Madonna hit “Crazy For You.”
The Spider album where this song first appeared contains another song that would also become a hit for another artist: “Better Be Good To Me,” which was later a hit for Tina Turner. Holly Knight also wrote that one, this time with help from Spider’s producer Mike Chapman.
John Waite changed a few of the verse lyrics from the original version of the song and slowed down the tempo a bit. Holly Knight, who wrote the song, told Songfacts: “I have to say that I much prefer John’s version. It’s much more guitar driven and I love his vocals.
“Neil Giraldo, who is Pat Benatar’s guitarist, husband and producer, produced this track. Little did he know that the woman who wrote it would provide his wife’s most popular song: the next year, Benatar recorded “Love Is A Battlefield,” which was also written by Holly Knight.

There’s another Knight hit-recipient on “Change” as well: Patty Smyth did the backup vocals on the track. With her band Scandal, Smyth had a hit with Knight’s song “The Warrior” in 1984. Says Knight: “That’s six degrees of separation working it’s magic right there.”

Change

People talking
And they’re saying that you’re leaving
So unhappy
With the way that you’ve been living
Oh oh oh
We always wish for money
We always wish for fame
We think we have the answers
Some things ain’t ever gonna change (change)
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (change)
What’s in your heart will never change
Look in the mirror
And you see how you’ve been taken
You won’t surrender
But now your heart is breakin’
Oh oh oh
We always wish for money
We always wish for fame
We think we have the answers
Some things ain’t ever gonna change (change)
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (change)
What’s in your heart will never change
Do you remember
When you got your lucky break
You’re looking back now
And it seems like a mistake
Oh oh oh
We always wish for money
We always wish for fame
We think we have the answers
Some things ain’t ever gonna change (change)
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (change)
What’s in your heart will never change
It’s only change (change)
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (change)
What’s in your heart will never change
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (change)
What’s in your heart will stay the same
It doesn’t matter who you are
It’s all the same (what¹s in your heart)
It’s only
It’s only
It’s only change
Never (it doesn’t matter)
You ain’t gonna
You ain’t gonna change (what’s in your heart)
You ain’t gonna change
Doesn’t matter who you are

Tina Turner – Better Be Good To Me

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Best/Better/Good/Great.

From her 1984 album, Private Dancer.  The song reached #16 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on November 2, 1984.

From Songfacts.

This song was written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman. In our interview with Holly Knight, she told the story: “I was seeing a guy at the time who kind of had this adorable little crush on me, this German guy. He came to my house and left me some flowers and a note, and it said something like, ‘If you’re good to me.’ And I’m thinking, you know, if I can twist that around I can make it into a song.”
Chapman and Knight wrote this for Knight’s band Spider, who released the original version in 1981. Chapman and Knight wrote several hits together, including “Love Is A Battlefield” and “The Best, but this was the first song they ever wrote together. Chapman was an established songwriter, but this was new to Knight, who quickly learned she had a talent for composing songs. Says Knight: “I didn’t know I was a songwriter ’til Mike Chapman told me I was. I was playing keyboard since I was 4, but I only wrote because everybody else in my band Spider was doing it, and they kind of sucked.”
Rupert Hine produced this track and played all the instruments except guitar. He was working with the Fixx at the time recording their Phantoms album, and agreed to take a week off to work on Tina Turner’s Private Dancer, where he produced “Better Be Good To Me” and “I Might Have Been Queen,” which he also wrote. According to Hine, Turner’s manager Roger Davies sorted through hundreds of songs searching for the right ones to get her comeback rolling. The only song that was written specifically for Turner was Hine’s “I Might Have Been Queen.”
Since their producer was taking some time off to work on the Tina Turner album, the Fixx guitarist Jamie West-Oram got in on the action and played on this track. Fixx lead singer Cy Curnin added backing vocals along with Rupert Hine, who played the rest of the instruments. The male backing vocals were unusual and gave the song an edgier sound that helped set it apart from similar productions.
This won for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female at the 1985 Grammy Awards. Turner also won that year in the category of Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” >>
In the book Classic Albums, Turner said: “This song was very me. I could just see myself performing it. It was just right – the words and the delivery, the performance of it – and what I liked about what Rupert Hine did with it is his style of keyboard. It just blared through, and wherever you heard it, the first thing you got was that bass line that he added. That was what made that song a hit. It was my vocal and Rupert Hine’s keyboard. He’s got something, and it works.”

Better Be Good To Me

A prisoner of your love
Entangled in your web
Hot whispers in the night
I’m captured by your spell
Oh yes I’m touched by this show of emotion
Should I be fractured by your lack of devotion
Should I, should I?

You better be good to me
That’s how it’s gotta be now
‘Cause I don’t have no use
For what you loosely call the truth
And you better be good to me

C’mon c’mon be good to me

I think it’s all so right
That we don’t need to fight
We stand face to face
And you present your case
Yes I know you keep telling me that you love me
And I really do want to believe
But did you think I’d just accept you in blind faith
Oh sure babe, anything to please you

But you better be good to me
That’s how it’s gotta be now
‘Cause I don’t have the time
For your over loaded lines
And you better be good to me

Be good to me

And I really don’t see why it’s so hard to be good to me
And you know, I don’t understand what’s your plan, that you can’t be good to me
Why can’t you be, good to me
Be good, be good to me

‘Cause I don’t have no use
For what you loosely call the truth
And I don’t have the time
For your over loaded lines
But you better be good to me
Be good to me, be good
Be good to me

‘Cause I don’t have no use
For what you loosely call the truth
And I don’t have the time
For your over loaded lines
You better be good to me
Good to me, better be, good to me
Be good, be good to me, good to me
Why can’t you be good to me
Why can’t you be good to me
C’mon c’mon c’mon

Writer/s: HOLLY KNIGHT, MICHAEL DONALD CHAPMAN, NICHOLAS BARRY CHINN

Loverboy – When It’s Over

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…End/Finish/Over/Stop.

From their 1981 album, Get Lucky. The song reached #26 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in June of 1982.

Note, Billboard’s chart history page for Loverboy is down so I had no exact date that the song peaked.

When It’s Over

When you look into his eyes
Comes to you as no surprise
It’s always the same
Every time he’s out with you
He tries to tell you what to do
You don’t need it that way
Sometimes you think you’re playing the fool
He’s running around breaking all the rules
Somehow that don’t seem fair
There’s got to be a better way
You know what I’m trying to say
‘Cause deep, deep down inside
You’re living in a life in total lies
What did he ever do for you
What’s he trying to put you through
I just don’t understand
You showed him love and tenderness
Touched him with your sweet caress
Now he’s leaving you
So what’s the point in working it out
Tell me what it’s all about
That’s why I’m saying
I hope you’re with me
I hope you’re with me when it’s over
I hope you’re with me
I hope you’re with me when it’s over
You won’t be lonely
You won’t be lonely when it’s over
You won’t be lonely (you)
When it’s over
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
And in the morning when he’s gone
Please don’t sing that sad, sad song
I don’t want to hear it
Forget about him
Let him go
It won’t hurt what he don’t know
What’s he trying to say to you
What’s he trying to tell you
He don’t really care
Face the truth and realize
You don’t need his alibi’s
No more
I hope you’re with me
I hope you’re with me when it’s over
I hope you’re with me
I hope you’re with me when it’s over
You won’t be lonely
You won’t be lonely when it’s over
You won’t be lonely (you)
When it’s over
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Mike Reno / Paul Warren Dean

Grover Washington, Jr. With Bill Withers – Just The Two Of Us

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Couple/Together/Us.

From his 1980 Album, Winelight. The song peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on May 1, 1981.

From Songfacts

This smooth, soulful favorite expresses a deep connection between a couple: whatever happens, they can get through it together. It was a huge hit when it was released in 1980, but has endured as a timeless classic, played at many weddings and other events to indicate a lasting bond.
This song is a collaboration between the renowned jazz saxophone player Grover Washington, Jr. and the mighty soul singer Bill Withers. Washington crossed over in the ’70s with a cover of “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” and an original song called “Mister Magic,” both instrumentals. For “Just The Two Of Us,” he brought in Withers to sing and to add lyrics – Withers was known for his hits “Lean On Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” In a Songfacts interview with Withers, he explained:

“I’m a little snobbish about words, so they sent me this song and said, ‘We want to do this with Grover, would you consider singing it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if you’ll let me go in and try to dress these words up a little bit.’ Everybody that knows me is kind of used to me that way. I probably threw in the stuff like the crystal raindrops. The ‘Just The Two Of Us’ thing was already written. It was trying to put a tuxedo on it. I didn’t like what was said leading up to ‘Just The Two Of Us.'”

Grover Washington, Jr. wrote this with his musical partner Bill Salter before Withers added lyrics. It was produced by Ralph MacDonald, a percussionist who played on many of Washington’s tracks. MacDonald was friends with Withers and made the connection.

Just The Two Of Us

I see the crystal raindrops fall
And the beauty of it all
Is when the sun comes shining through
To make those rainbows in my mind
When I think of you sometime
And I wanna spend some time with you
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
We look for love, no time for tears
Wasted water’s all that is
And it don’t make no flowers grow
Good things might come to those who wait
Not for those who wait too late
We gotta go for all we know
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building them castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
I hear the crystal raindrops fall
On the window down the hall
And it becomes the morning dew
And darling when the morning comes
And I see the morning sun
I wanna be the one with you
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us, just
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building big castles way up high
Just the two of us
You and I
(Just the two of us)
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ralph Macdonald / William Salter / William Harrison Jr Withers

Cheap Trick – I Can’t Take It

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Alone/Confined/Depressed/Isolated/Restless/Solo

From their 1983 album, Next Position Please. The song did not chart but the video was in pretty heavy rotation on MTV.

I Can’t Take It

Well I saw you today and realized
How I missed my peace of mind
I feel your breath in my ear
But late at night it’s you I always think about
That little girl inside of you I once knew
I should have known better
Still the smell of you was on my face
But you were too busy
To notice me last night
Now I can’t take it alone
I can’t make it alone
I can’t take it
I can’t make it alone
Oh no, ooh, oh no
Then I tell myself I’ll put you down
Don’t want to see your face around
Don’t call me up anymore
When I hear your voice it’s in my ear
You’re kissing on the phone
It makes it all come clear
Now I can’t take it alone
I can’t make it alone
I can’t take it
I can’t make it alone
Oh no, ooh, oh no
I try to tell myself
Don’t need you anymore
Don’t want you hanging around my door, oh no
Now I can’t take it alone
I can’t make it alone
I can’t take it alone
I can’t make it alone
I can’t take it alone
I can’t make it alone
If it’s wrong or right
I can’t take it, I can’t make it alone
You know how I tried
I can’t take it, I can’t make it alone
I try tell myself don’t need you anymore
I can’t take it alone, I can’t make it alone
Oh baby, my pretty baby
I can’t take it alone, I can’t make it alone
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Robin Zander / Robin W Zander

Rossington Collins Band – Tashauna

From their 1981 album, This is The Way. The song was a tribute to Ronnie Van Zant and John Lennon. The song did not chart but was played on AOR stations all across the U.S.

Tashauna

He called himself a free bird, they pulled him from the sky
He called himself a sharpshooter, by the gun he died
Well, he called himself a lonely man, then he took his life
But everyone of them, was one of a kind
Tashauna, Tashauna, where are you now
Tashauna, Tashauna, one of a kind
She called herself his woman, she called herself his wife
She gave him love and children, she gave the man her life
Well, he called himself a strong man as he left them all behind
I’ve yet to see him shed a tear, he is one of a kind
One of a kind, yeah, one of a kind
You know he is, he is one of a kind, yeah
Tashauna, Tashauna, where are you now
Tashauna, Tashauna, one of a kind
Now I believe that every man can choose his destiny
If you believe that you are weak, then weak you’ll surely be
Oh, but if you live for love and truth, and live for peace of mind
Just hold fast to your dreams friend, that’s just what you’ll find
One of a kind, yeah, one of a kind
All of us, everyone of us is one of kind, yeah
Tashauna, Tashauna, where are you now
Tashauna, Tashauna, one of a kind
Tashauna, Tashauna, where are you now
Dear Sir Lennon, where are you now?
He was one of a kind
You are one of a kind
All of us, one of a kind
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Gary Rossington / Dale Krantz

Paul Simon – Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Diamond/Emerald/Jade/Pearl/Ruby/Sapphire.

From his 1986 album, Graceland. The song peaked at #2 on Canada’s Adult Contemporary chart and #77 on UK’s singles chart. It did not chart in the U.S.

From Songfacts

Paul Simon traveled to South Africa in 1985 and recorded with various local musicians, gathering tracks that would be used on the Graceland album. While he was there, he met with the leader of a vocal group called Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and he flew them to London to record the song “Homeless.” Simon and the group bonded at these sessions, and when Paul was finishing the album in New York, he brought them in to back him on his Saturday Night Live appearance on May 10, 1986. Also in town for the show were some of the musicians he recorded with in South Africa, including guitarist Ray Phiri, bass player Bakithi Kumalo and drummer Isaac Mtshali. This was quite an experience for these musicians, who lived under the racist Apartheid rule in their home country. Getting picked up in limos driven by white men was a culture shock. When they asked about visiting Central Park, Simon had to explain that they didn’t need a permit – they could just walk in.

The album was originally scheduled for release that spring, but was pushed back to August. Simon figured, “Well, we’re all here, we might as well do another track.” Simon worked up the song with Ladysmith leader Joseph Shabalala, and they recorded it at the Hit Factory in New York.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing in Zulu on this track. Their refrain roughly translates to: “It’s not usual but in our days we see those things happen. They are women, they can take care of themselves.”
Youssou N’dour, who is a popular singer from Senegal, also performed on this track.
If you’re looking for a social statement or deeper meaning in the lyrics, you might be disappointed. Paul Simon considered writing political songs for Graceland, but decided against it, since he wasn’t very good at it and the point of the project was to bring the sound of South Africa to the world, not the politics. He worked very hard to lace the lyrics around the tracks, which was tricky since there was so much going on in the rhythms. The result on this song was a lot of clever wordplay and an abstract story about a rich girl in New York City and her suitors. A clue that there might not be too deep a meaning here is in the line, “and I could say ‘ooo ooo ooo’ as if everybody knows what I’m talking about.”

 

Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

o kodwa you zo-nge li-sa namhlange
(A-wa a-wa) si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(A-wa a-wa) amanto mbazane ayeza
She’s a rich girl
She don’t try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
He’s a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
People say she’s crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that’s one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She was physically forgotten
Then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said you’ve taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody knows
What I’m talking about
As if everybody would know
Exactly what I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And puts on after-shave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes
And she said honey take me dancing
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds
People say I’m crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that’s one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of our shoes
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Paul Simon / Joseph Shabalala / Dp

AC/DC – Touch Too Much

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Touch/Feel.

From their 1979 album, Highway To Hell. The song reached #29 on the UK’s singles chart in 1980. It did not chart in America.

From Songfacts

This is about the dangers of excess, which the band was quite familiar with. They were notorious for their wild parties, girls, and drinking. Lead singer Bon Scott drank himself to death six months after this was released.
Released as a single, this became just the second AC/DC song to chart in the UK, following “Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation,” which made #24.
Bon Scott’s last performance was when he lip-synched this song when the band performed it on Top of the Pops, a popular British music show. The show aired February 7, 1980; Scott died 12 days later.
Considering how many of their songs are about drinking, it is surprising that AC/DC guitarist Angus Young didn’t touch the stuff. When he was young, a bad encounter with Bond 7 Australian whiskey turned him off from alcohol.

 

Touch Too Much

It was one of those nights
When you turned out the lights
And everything comes into view
She was taking her time
I was losing my mind
There was nothing that she wouldn’t do
It wasn’t the first
It wasn’t the last
She knew we was making love
I was so satisfied
Deep down inside
Like a hand in a velvet glove

Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Too much for my body, too much for my brain
This kind of woman’s gonna drive me insane
She’s got a touch, a touch too much

She had the face of an angel
Smiling with sin
A body of Venus with arms
Dealing with danger
Stroking my skin
Let the thunder and lightening start
It wasn’t the first
It wasn’t the last
It wasn’t that she didn’t care
She wanted it hard
And wanted it fast
She liked it done medium rare

Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Too much for my body, too much for my brain
This kind of woman’s gonna drive me insane
She’s got a touch, a touch too much

Seems like a touch, touch too much
You know it’s much too much, much too much
I really want to feel your touch too much
Girl you know you’re getting me much too much
Seems like a touch
Just a dirty little touch
I really need your touch
‘Cause you’re much too much too much

Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Too much for my body, too much for my brain
This kind of woman’s gonna drive me insane
She’s got a touch, a touch too much Writer/s: RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG

Sammy Hagar – Give To Live

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Give/Get/Take/Receive/Send

From his 1987 album, I Never Said Goodbye. The song reached #23 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on August 28, 1987.

Give To Live

Ooo I can see that you’ve got fire in your eyes
And pain inside your heart
So many things have come
And torn your world apart
Oh baby, baby, baby
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
If you want love
If you want love
You’ve got to give a little
If you want love
If you want faith
You just believe a little
If you want love
If you want peace
Turn your cheek a little
Oh you’ve got to give
You’ve got to give
You’ve got to give to live
An empty hand reaching out for someone
An empty heart takes so little to fill
It’s so much easier to push instead of pull
Oh baby, baby, baby
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
If you want love
If you want love
You’ve got to give a little
If you want love
If you want faith
You just believe a little
If you want love
If you want peace
Turn your cheek a little
Oh you’ve got to give
You’ve got to give
You’ve got to give to live
Each man’s a country in his own right
Oh everybody needs a friend
One friend one God one country
No man can defend
Yeah
I believe in faith and destination
But so much of that ties in our own hands
But if you know what you want
Just go on out and get it
Oh baby, baby just don’t give up no, no
Ah don’t give up, yeah, yeah
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Sammy Hagar