This one was driving me nuts because it could mean different things. It was written in a cab and well, here is the best explanation I heave heard from Jim Beviglia from the link:
“Tempted was written in a cab on the way to Heathrow, I just wrote down what I saw and how I felt as we wormed our way through the traffic,” he said. “I also must have anticipated a good time on tour as the chorus suggests.”
“Tempted” tells of the narrator’s futile attempts to stay faithful to the woman he addresses in the song while dealing with temptations on the road. Squeeze had a secret weapon to help put the song across in keyboardist-vocalist Paul Carrack. Carrack joined the band for East Side Story, and his soulful vocals found some profound, buried emotions in Difford’s guilt-ridden to-do-list.
It’s a credit to Difford that he is willing to show his narrator’s struggles maintaining his fidelity, as opposed to writing another clichéd anthem about the rock star on the road pining for his girl at home. For his part, Tilbrook created a melody that’s both instantly catchy and sturdy enough to endure. And Carrack pulled it all together with a vocal that makes you feel every bit of this guy’s torment, which is crucial to making him relatable to the audience.
We leave this sad sack standing in front of a mirror asking his reflection for some kind of sign as to the path he should take. The song wouldn’t hit even the Top 40 in the US, but it would become ubiquitous in TV shows, movies, and commercials over the years while it simultaneously gained a foothold on 80’s-based radio stations. They may not have been Lennon and McCartney, but Difford and Tilbrook, with a big assist from Carrack, sure captured Beatlesque pop perfection with “Tempted.”
This one was driving me nuts because it could mean different things. It was written in a cab and well, here is the best explanation I heave heard from Jim Beviglia from the link:
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/06/squeeze-tempted/
“Tempted was written in a cab on the way to Heathrow, I just wrote down what I saw and how I felt as we wormed our way through the traffic,” he said. “I also must have anticipated a good time on tour as the chorus suggests.”
“Tempted” tells of the narrator’s futile attempts to stay faithful to the woman he addresses in the song while dealing with temptations on the road. Squeeze had a secret weapon to help put the song across in keyboardist-vocalist Paul Carrack. Carrack joined the band for East Side Story, and his soulful vocals found some profound, buried emotions in Difford’s guilt-ridden to-do-list.
It’s a credit to Difford that he is willing to show his narrator’s struggles maintaining his fidelity, as opposed to writing another clichéd anthem about the rock star on the road pining for his girl at home. For his part, Tilbrook created a melody that’s both instantly catchy and sturdy enough to endure. And Carrack pulled it all together with a vocal that makes you feel every bit of this guy’s torment, which is crucial to making him relatable to the audience.
We leave this sad sack standing in front of a mirror asking his reflection for some kind of sign as to the path he should take. The song wouldn’t hit even the Top 40 in the US, but it would become ubiquitous in TV shows, movies, and commercials over the years while it simultaneously gained a foothold on 80’s-based radio stations. They may not have been Lennon and McCartney, but Difford and Tilbrook, with a big assist from Carrack, sure captured Beatlesque pop perfection with “Tempted.”