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Tell Her About It
An Innocent Man (1983) |
When you love someone, you're always
insecure And there's only one good way to reassure "Tell Her About It" is an upbeat Motown-style tune reminiscent of The Supremes. Billy has stated that he was looking to write a Supremes-like song (such as "You Can't Hurry Love," see video below). In their songs, the Supremes were often advising a girl on how to handle love or a relationship, so Billy did something similar, advising a young man on his relationship. In "Tell Her About It" Billy urges a young man to tell the subject of his affection that he cares for her, before it is too late. Billy implores the young man to tell this woman about his feelings as "there's only one good way to reassure." It is good advice "from a man who's made mistakes." There are some catchy lines in this song which was a huge hit back in 1983, reaching #1 on the US charts.
"Just a word or two that she gets from you could be the difference that it makes." Still from the music video.
But Billy does not perform"Tell Her About It" in concert today. It may because the vocals are tough or that the song works well within the album, but not stand-alone. He said that because he wrote it thinking about The Supremes, he "felt it was dangerous to take that song out of the context of the album, 'It sounds a little too bubblegum from the video, where they simulated an Ed Sullivan Show appearance by 'B.J. and the Affordables' -- a Motown, Jackie Wilson-style throwback." (From Fred Schruers biography, Billy Joel).
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
Listen boy I don't want to see you Let a good thing slip away You know I don't like watching anybody Make the same mistakes I made She's a real nice girl and she's always there for you But a nice girl wouldn't tell you what you should do Listen boy I'm sure that you think You got it all under control You don't want somebody telling you The way to stay in someone's soul You're a big boy now and you'll never let her go But that's just the kind of thing she ought to know Tell her about it, tell her everything you feel Give her every reason to accept that you're for real Tell her about it, tell her all your crazy dreams Let her know you need her, let her know how much she means Listen boy, it's not automatically a certain guarantee To insure yourself, you've got to provide Communication constantly When you love someone, you're always insecure And there's only one good way to reassure Tell her about it, let her know how much you care When she can't be with you, tell her you wish you were there Tell her about it, everyday before you leave Pay her some attention, give her something to believe Cause now and then, she'll get to worrying Just because you haven't spoken for so long Though you may not have done anything Will that be a consolation when she's gone Listen boy, it's good information From a man who's made mistakes Just a word or two that she gets from you Could be the difference that it makes She's a trusting soul, she's put her trust in you But a girl like that won't tell you what you should do Tell her about it, tell her everything you feel Give her every reason to accept that you're for real Tell her about it, tell her all your crazy dreams Let her know you need her, let her know how much she means Tell her about it Tell her how you feel right now Just tell her about it The girl don't want to wait too long You got to tell her about it Tell her now and you won't go wrong You got to tell her about it Before it gets too late You got to tell her about it You know the girl don't want to wait You got to tell her about it You got to tell, tell, tell her about it Tell her about it Billy on "Tell Her About It" from SiriusXM. Subscribe to SiriusXM.
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"Tell Her About" it was the first single released from An Innocent Man, and reached number one on the charts the week of September 24, 1983. It was Billy' second number-one single, after "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" from 1980's Glass Houses.
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The music video to the song (directed by Russell Mulcahy) was very popular and featured Billy performing the song as if he were appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show from the 1960s. He is introduced by "Sullivan" as "BJ and The Affordables." As he sings, the video cuts away to various people watching the program on television. Then Billy suddenly appears with these people and they do a double-take. After he completes the song, he walks off the stage and comedian Rodney Dangerfield thanks him for warming up the audience, but Sullivan introduces Petrushka the Dancing Bear instead of Dangerfield. No respect. Read an article about the making of the "Tell Her About It" music video, and see the short video below too. Also, the music video for Billy's cover of "All Shook Up" (1982) by Elvis Presley does a good job of interspersing scenes of Billy from the "Tell Her About It" video. |
Click on photo to read an article about the making of the "Tell Her About It" video.
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An extended remix of "Tell Her About It" by John "Jellybean" Ramirez was released in 1983 too, you can listen to it here and in the video (below, audio only). I am not that fond of the remix, but the B-Side featured an excellent cover of Sam & Dave's "You've Got Me Hummin." Billy had also previously recorded that song while with The Hassles. The 1983 cover of "You've Got Me Hummin'" can be heard here, and you can see and listen to Billy discuss the song as he inducts Sam & Dave into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Here is a clip of a "missing" verse from "Tell Her About It." The lyrics are:
Listen boy, don't take love for granted, cause it all might fall apart.
You know that love can change, it won't be the same, infatuation likely starts.
Cause you're gonna have to like each other too.
For that to work, she's gotta hear from you.
Posted by The Billy Joel/Elton John Archive on YouTube, formerly Wario Joel.
