Leader of the Pack Lyrics
Is she really going out with him?
Well there she is, let's ask her.
Betty, is that Jimmy's ring you're wearing?
Mmhmm.
Gee, it must be great riding with him.
Is he picking you up after school today?
Unh-uh.
By the way, where'd you meet him?
He turned around and smiled at me, you get the picture?
Yes, we see
That's when I fell for
The leader of the pack
They said he came from the wrong side of town
They told me he was bad
But I knew he was sad
That's why I fell for
The leader of the pack
I had to tell my Jimmy we're through
He stood there and asked me why
But all I could do was cry
I'm sorry, I hurt you
The leader of the pack
The tears were beginning to show
As he drove away on that rainy night
I begged him to go slow
Whether he heard, I'll never know
Remembering all the things we'd been through
In school they all stop and stare
I can't hide my tears, but I don't care
I'll never forget him
The leader of the pack
The leader of the pack, but now he's gone
The words are self explanitory. A girl falls in love with her "backstreet" guy. Her parents don't approve of him and she has to breakup with him. After she tells him he leaves and before he could watch out like she says he crashes. At school everyone looks at her and she cries because he's gone. That's it. It's pretty sweet when you think about it
I love this song. Yes it is a very straight forward song. No hidden meanings here.
It was incredibly contoversial when it was first released. The BBC refused to play it on Top of the Pops even when it was number one. They did not want anyone imitating the leader of the pack and killing themselves. Another Song "Terry" also dwelt on the same theme. The opening of the song is very clever and the presentation is very effective and as PoeticStarr says it is a straightforward narrative.
This song depressed me when I first heard it... the mental image it planted in my head was without a doubt dejecting. I'm actually not sure why I like it, but I do. I always laugh to myself when I think of how much my mother hates this song. I couldn't stand Twisted Sister's cover of this song though...The way they altered the lyrics so that it was the boy telling the story and the girl kills herself...Ugh...
depressing, but definately worth listening to (if you like that sort of thing...)
Jimmy doesn't kill himself in this song, it's a rainy night and he has a motorcycle accident.
I love Mary's voice when she sings the first line.
What are the back-up lyrics when she sings "they said he came from the wrong side of town" and "I had to tell my jimmy we're through"? It sounds something like "what do you mean when you say he comes from the wrong side of town?"
I feel like maybe it's not as straight-forward as it seems at first glance. The question in my mind is this--did he crash deliberately, or did he crash by accident? She says, "The tears were beginning to show. On this rainy night, I begged him to go slow, but if he heard me, I'll never know..." That makes me think maybe it wasn't an accident in the conventional sense of the word. He was upset, driving, she'd just rejected him because he was a back street boy...from the wrong side of town... maybe I'm reading too much into this, but that's always been my curiosity.
don't ride your bike fast in the rain just after your girl dumps you
The way the chorus behave just like teenagers trying to get info out of their friend is brilliant. Then, the times merge and blur: Jimmy won't be picking her up after school any more, but she can't get the words out. And as she explains about the end of her love affair, and of Jimmy, the chorus are so involved, they become like spectators. And for that reason I would change the spelling: As he drove away on that rainy night I begged him to go slow, whether he heard I'll never know (know, know, know, know, know, know, know) Look out, look out, look out
Surely that should be: whether he hears I'l never know - and then the sound of a crash and the chorus surely are screaming No, no, no, no, no, no, no, rather than repeating her know, know ...?