I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
'Cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind

It's not the perfume that you wear
It's not the ribbons in your hair
And I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time

I don't mind you hangin' out
And talkin' in your sleep
It doesn't matter where you've been
As long as it was deep, yeah

You always knew to wear it well and
You look so fancy I can tell
And I don't mind you hangin' out
And talkin' in your sleep

I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed

I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time, time
'Cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind, yeah

It's not the perfume that you wear
It's not the ribbons in your hair
And I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time

I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed

I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed (just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed (yeah, yeah)

So bleed me

You're just what I needed
You're just what I needed
You're just what I needed
Yeah, yeah-yeah


Lyrics submitted by Brock256

Just What I Needed Lyrics as written by Ric Ocasek

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Just What I Needed song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

49 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +5
    General Comment

    This is simply a cool song about being really attracted to a chick. The narrator is saying he's willing to take all the negative side effects of being with the girl because he wants to be with her. The bleeding and feeding part is classic cars. Dark, cynical, sarcastic lyrics. The bleeding and feeding is just realistic lyrics about relationships, people feed and bleed each other. Nothing sick. Classic Cars. Great song.

    bakismakion September 07, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    lol, pikespice

    i think it's a not so typical love song. he just likes this girl even with her faults and he doesn't care where she has been before. he can't explain why he likes her (ie. it's not her perfume or ribbons) she's simply, just what he needed

    Levitator89on February 06, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    So bleed me = so take advantage of me, It's okay, i'm willing to put up with it because I want to be with you

    I needed someone to feed = I needed someone to take care of, someone to depend on me

    Nothing sick in the lyrics. Just typical cynical Cars lyrics. A lot of their songs have lyrics like that.

    bakismakion September 07, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    It's about a FTF relationship. They don't love each other romantically, but it's great for the moment because he doesn't want a relationship -- he just wants somebody to talk to (feed) and have sex without strings attached (bleed), not to mention she's really hot (kinda lose my mind) and can have a decent conversation (as long as it was deep). She keeps showing up for a booty call (wasting all my time) but it's good for him right now. So, not really a love song, but a great song about a friends-with-benefits kinda situation.

    Rainbirdon February 27, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Doesn't anyone think this song is about nothing more than "friends with benefits?"

    I don't think it's a "love" song at all.

    jonnybon September 21, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song makes me want to shop at Circuit City.

    pikespiceon October 28, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "It's not the ribbons in your hair", I love they way they sing that, and I sort of agree (or want to agree) with bakismaki about the "feed" part, although it's most likely nasty sexual innuendo.

    ~1lb. of Obscure~on March 31, 2007   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    It seems to be about someone liking, almost loving, someone that may not feel the same way, or they do and they don't show it. There's negative ramifications to their relationship but the person's from whose point of view its from doesn't mind it because they need to feel that intimacy or just need to be relied on. Their relationship is probably not going to last, but as he said, "I guess you're just what I needed." Could be for that period of time in his life or the person's effect on him but yeah, Just What I Needed.

    nancymckon June 14, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    \'Cause when you\'re standin\' oh so near I kinda lose my mind\' This leads me to believe this is related to sex. \n\n"I needed someone to bleed" He is referencing someone else. Bleeding someone else, either sexually or bleeding them of something emotionally. \n\n"I needed someone to feed" Again, he is feeding someone, not himself. it could be a sexual reference. Feeding someone with his tool or possibly someone to be fed with things he needs to get off of his chest. \n\nThe song is not about give-and-take, it is based on his needs. "I needed" not what someone else needs. It leads me to believe there is some darkness to the song.

    michaelqrkon December 15, 2021   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about this guy liking this girl just for who she is, and he doesn't mind being aroud her and "wasting all his time" because he enjoys the time that he's wasting.

    0coolon January 06, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.