It's Different For Girls Lyrics
I can't seem to say or do the right thing
Wanted to be sure you're feeling right
Wanted to be sure we want the same thing
You can't possibly mean it
Don't we all want the same thing?
Don't we?
Well who said anything about love?
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
Don't give me love
No, not love, she said
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
You're all the same
Take a little time and find the right girl
Then again, don't end up on the shelf
Logical advice gets you in a whirl
You wanna hear some?
She said, just give me something
Anything
Well, give me all you got, but not love
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
Don't give me love
No, not love, she said
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
Who said anything about love?
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
Don't give me love
No, not love, she said
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
Don't give me love
No, no, no, no, not love, she said
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
Don't give me love
No, no, no, no, no, not love, she said
Don't you know that it's different for girls?
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
You're all the same
Yeah, I always took it as a bit of cleverness--reversing the stereotype--a scenario where the girl wants to get laid but nothing more than that, while the guy remembers how Mom always said to save himself for marriage. As if only partly overheard, which is an interesting storytelling technique. (It also throws in a bit of ambiguity, and I'm never certain whether I'm interpreting the song as Joe Jackson intended when he wrote it.)
Adding to the irony: if you see the cover of the 7-inch single, there's a photo of Joe, sitting at his piano (writing a song presumably)...but all of this comes through only if you look carefully. Give it a quick glance & you'd think the person in the shot is a teenage girl, not a grown man. Maybe just a weird pic; the shutter falls at a precise instant, and once in awhile you get a shot where the subject looks like somebody else. The style of the sleeve is very similar to the cover of the Look Sharp! LP (I'm guessing "It's Different For Girls" was written after that one but before I'm The Man).
i wasnt't familiar with the 7'' picture, thanks for pointing it out - now that you put it into perspective, it illustrates the song so beautifully. to whoever is interested in the picture: http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1182571
i wasnt't familiar with the 7'' picture, thanks for pointing it out - now that you put it into perspective, it illustrates the song so beautifully. to whoever is interested in the picture: http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1182571
Nope, it's about him falling for Gold-diggers!
Nope, it's about him falling for Gold-diggers!
I recently discovered this song and its so beautiful, yet kind of sad. I think it's about a girl who only want's sex and to have a good time. I think she's tried love and got hurt and she no longer wants anything to do with it. However, the guy in the song is actually a caring individual who does want love, not just sex. She finally met the right guy, but she can't see it and she's been burned too many times, hence the line "you're all the same". The irony though is that not all men or women are the same and this guy is not like the others.
@harlanlovestone no! non! nein! niet! negatory! It:s about Joe falling for gold-diggers
@harlanlovestone no! non! nein! niet! negatory! It:s about Joe falling for gold-diggers
the meaning is revealed here:
"I know a lot of things that you don't You wanna hear some? She said, just give me something Anything Well, give me all you got, but not love"
he cares about her and want to be in a loving relationship. she, in contrast, wants him to give her something - anything. that's not about sex, it's about gifts and/or money and/or vacations and/or higher social status... these are the things that make it different for girls in what they find attractive in a man (things he can give to her). he doesn't want these types things from her, he just wants to love her and be loved for who he is, not for the things he can physically give her.
jackson probably wrote the song after much frustration in similar situations, discovering that 'you're all the same.', meaning: all women are like that (with few exceptions).
@pentta You're another pathetic Male incapable of fostering a meaningful relationship because of the paranoid bullshit in your head...or the type women you choose to fall for. Either way, you're emotionally and intellectually stunted.
@pentta You're another pathetic Male incapable of fostering a meaningful relationship because of the paranoid bullshit in your head...or the type women you choose to fall for. Either way, you're emotionally and intellectually stunted.
@pentta .....'nail on the head' buddy, 'nail on the head' everyone else is 'wide of the mark' ...we... You, Me and JJ have had our share of Gold-diggers....... Young, cute, sexy and hhhhungry! We fall in love with them, they spy our watch, cloths, car, biz class travel and where we live. Fun and games but still single.
@pentta .....'nail on the head' buddy, 'nail on the head' everyone else is 'wide of the mark' ...we... You, Me and JJ have had our share of Gold-diggers....... Young, cute, sexy and hhhhungry! We fall in love with them, they spy our watch, cloths, car, biz class travel and where we live. Fun and games but still single.
What a great song. I think it's reversing the normal roles in sex - in this song the bloke is the one that wants to take it slow and get to know each other and the girl just wants to do it. I'm not sure who is saying the line 'Don't you know that it's different for girls?' though. It could be the bloke, being shocked that this girl sees things that way, and telling her what his mum told him, which is that it's different for girls.
i think he's questioning the boy-girl or man-woman divide. 'you're all the same.' well, obviously women are not all the same, and neither are men. i think he reverses the gender orthodoxy in order to illustrate this point. but then again...i could be wrong. song is great though!
It's definitely the girl saying to the guy 'its different for girls'. I think its about a girl who just wants sex, and a guy who wants more. lol. talk about role reversal. You;ve gotta love Joe, though
100% agree with rikku. And honestly, in my experience, in real life, there are just as many girls who are looking for short-term hookups as guys, even though the stereotype says that girls are needy and looking to bag husbands. Let's remember, this is New Wave music -- Joe was turning stereotypes on their heads. (And the other lyrics on this album bear out the songs' personae as a sensitive, new age man.)
100% agree with rikku. And honestly, in my experience, in real life, there are just as many girls who are looking for short-term hookups as guys, even though the stereotype says that girls are needy and looking to bag husbands. Let's remember, this is New Wave music -- Joe was turning stereotypes on their heads. (And the other lyrics on this album bear out the songs' personae as a sensitive, new age man.)
@snarkycharming yes, as you said, the stereotype is that guys want “freedom” and girls want “security”, and it makes me wonder if all the supposed passing on of “knowlEdge” to the new generations isn’t ALL bullshit, in this joke of Patriarchy. The “truth” and seeing sexual politics through the lens of your own gender, are very, very different things.
@snarkycharming yes, as you said, the stereotype is that guys want “freedom” and girls want “security”, and it makes me wonder if all the supposed passing on of “knowlEdge” to the new generations isn’t ALL bullshit, in this joke of Patriarchy. The “truth” and seeing sexual politics through the lens of your own gender, are very, very different things.
The idea is that people are always saying that it's different for girls (we care about love not just sex, want it to be special, etc.) But in reality it is not different for girls. Guys care about love and relationships too.
I'd agree that the girl just want to sleep with him while the guy is saying he loves her. But I think the thing that's different for girls is that they don't use 'I love you' to get guys into bed, they say it when they really mean it. Hence: 'Well who said anything about love? No, not love, she said, Don't you know that it's different for girls?' - just because she want to sleep with him doesn't mean it's love, and she doesn't want him to cheapen it by saying it for that reason.
@kittykat55 if you cross-reference this with REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling, guys generally build on top of previous emotional bases - they "level up".
@kittykat55 if you cross-reference this with REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling, guys generally build on top of previous emotional bases - they "level up".
Friend escalating to "girlfriend" - then on to "marry my best friend".
Friend escalating to "girlfriend" - then on to "marry my best friend".
Also CF with Billy Joel's Just The Way You Are.
Also CF with Billy Joel's Just The Way You Are.
I think there are several ways to interpret this one, and it's almost impossible to say which meaning Jackson intended...that's the sign of a great song. I lean toward the meaning that was stated above, that the girl is saying 'it's just sex, not love', and I agree that it is a sort of role reversal of the commonly believed tropes. But I certainly may be wrong.
I love the structure of this song -- it reminds me of XTC, and Jackson even sings this one like Andy Partridge from XTC probably would. Just a fantastic song.
Though he won't admit it. It's about JJ's experiences with gold-diggers. And yes they are pretty much all the same!! I know cos I go for them, it's just a game. Young and fun, we fall in love, but we have to flash some cash! Give-em some dash to get gash!
@a103759484 I concur. Hard to know for sure, but I think that's the best interpretation. It's a grievance voiced about women who seem only interested in what Joe can offer them that's either experiential (the party life, vacations) or material (gifts, security). And I think it is Joe who is desperately seeking a genuine partnership in a relationship and exclaiming in desperation: "You're all the same!"
@a103759484 I concur. Hard to know for sure, but I think that's the best interpretation. It's a grievance voiced about women who seem only interested in what Joe can offer them that's either experiential (the party life, vacations) or material (gifts, security). And I think it is Joe who is desperately seeking a genuine partnership in a relationship and exclaiming in desperation: "You're all the same!"