Pat DiNizio from "Best Of The Smithereens (Guitar Recorded Versions)":
“Yesterday Girl” was perhaps the first song I’d written where I made a deliberate decision to be open or upfront regarding the way I felt about things in general, where I am the obvious character within the lyric of the song, expressing myself. Lyrically, the song was about the down side of success. The lines “Now I’m not the same guy that you used to know, I used to be the guy that had some place to go” reflect the notion that no success in life (and specifically pop music) comes without a price. Musically, the song owes a tremendous debt to “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen!"
Pat DiNizio from "Best Of The Smithereens (Guitar Recorded Versions)": “Yesterday Girl” was perhaps the first song I’d written where I made a deliberate decision to be open or upfront regarding the way I felt about things in general, where I am the obvious character within the lyric of the song, expressing myself. Lyrically, the song was about the down side of success. The lines “Now I’m not the same guy that you used to know, I used to be the guy that had some place to go” reflect the notion that no success in life (and specifically pop music) comes without a price. Musically, the song owes a tremendous debt to “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen!"