Kiss On My List Lyrics

Lyric discussion by MrAwwesome 

Cover art for Kiss On My List lyrics by Hall and Oates

I always thought this song was kind of tongue-in-cheek. The speaker says he only smiles when he lies and then he tells his friends all this sweet nonsense about how it's her kiss that he's likes. He slips in "I only smile when I lie" with the utmost subtlety. It's easy for an inattentive audience to miss it and just hear the sweet chorus.

In the second section he's referring to one of those relationship "talks" where she is worriedly trying to assess what he really thinks of her. Does he regret being with her, she wonders Of course not, he assures her. I couldn't go on! He tells her a few silly lies to shut her up, because she's kind of dumb, or at least gullible.

What is it he really wants? He wants to get some tail! That's it! He doesn't tell his buddies that or his girlfriend that because it's more fun for him to be kind of a cad and keep up this game that he's a really sweet guy. (He doesn't feel the need to give such secrets away.)

I always thought this song was kind of an inside joke because the chorus is repeated so much that most people just assume it's a straight forward sweet little love song.

My Interpretation

@MrAwwesome | I agree.

Also, if he's telling the truth about lying (more on that in a bit), there's the cheekiness that her kiss being on his list sounds like she's just another notch in his belt. He might actually mean that she's just another notch or he wants to pretend to himself that she's just another notch, because he doesn't want to like her as much as he does.

Because he's 'smiling' through most of the song with the sweet chorus, he might actually be lying about lying- if that makes any sense. He talked about listening to friends' advice....