Remarks:
A song of jealousy by soap opera pretty boy Rick Springfield. The song is now 30 years old but has held up remarkably well for some reason. Even the video, as cheap as it looks. But then again how can you top this: “I’m lookin’ in the mirror all the time, wondering what she don’t see in me. I’ve been funny, I’ve been cool with the lines. Ain’t that the way love supposed to be?” Only Rick Springfield could sing that with such sincerity.
The song went to #1 on the American pop charts in the summer of 1981 for two weeks – at the very time that MTV first came on the air. In Britain it only got to #43.
Lyrics:
Jessie is a friend,
Yeah, I know he’s been
A good friend of mine
But lately something’s changed
That ain’t hard to define
Jessie’s got himself a girl
And I want to make her mine
And she’s watching him with those eyes
And she’s lovin’ him with that body,
I just know it
Yeah ‘n’ he’s holding her in his arms late,
Late at night
You know, I wish that I had Jessie’s girl,
I wish that I had Jessie’s girl
Where can I find a woman like that
I play along with the charade,
there doesn’t seem to be a reason to change
You know, I feel so dirty
When they start talking cute
I wanna tell her that I love her,
But the point is probably moot
‘Cos she’s watching him with those eyes
And she’s lovin’ him with that body,
I just know it
And he’s holding her in his arms late, late at night
Like Jessie’s girl,
I wish that I had Jessie’s girl
Where can I find a woman,
Where can I find a woman like that
And I’m lookin’ in the mirror all the time,
Wondering what she don’t see in me
I’ve been funny,
I’ve been cool with the lines
Ain’t that the way
Love supposed to be
Tell me, where can I find a woman like that
[Guitar Solo]
You know, I wish that I had Jessie’s girl,
I wish that I had Jessie’s girl
I want Jessie’s girl,
Where can I find a woman like that, like
Jessie’s girl,
I wish that I had Jessie’s girl,
I want,
I want Jessie’s girl
I always liked this song – the guitar licks are some of the best out there, even though I don’t consider Rick Springfield on the level of Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Frank Zappa…still, he has (had?) his chops!
‘Affair of the Heart’ is another great Springfield song, as is ‘Tiger By The Tail’.
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The song is now 30 years old but has held up remarkably well for some reason.
*nods* Riddle of the Sphinx.
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Springfield is still touring and making records. He comes to the Pacific Northwest quite a bit. A lady I worked with went to see him perform, and she says he’s quite the showman. He is still handsome too.
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Lol, did anyone else notice the dog wearing a shirt and tie at the end of the video?
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It’s actually a song of envy; wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is when you’re afraid someone will take what you already possess.
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I used to hear this song and it aptly describes envy and jealousy.
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I used to think Springfield was cute and sexy back in the day.
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@ Poetess
What the Oxford dictionary says:
Envy and jealousy overlap.
I called it jealousy because I saw it as a sexual rivalry – two men wanting the same woman. But given that he calls her “Jessie’s girl”, and says. “Where can I find a woman like that,” it does sound more like envy than standard sexual jealousy.
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Rick Springfield has lots of speaking minutes in the excellent film “Sound City” by Dave Grohl. A major part of what he talks about is his bad decision making at the zenith of his pop career, driven by equal parts of hubris, drugs, and immaturity. He comes off as a man who has lived a carefully examined life in the ensuing years, thoughtful and sentient. The song is a classic. How many of us shared that feeling when we were teenage young men, longing for the arms of a woman around us, seeing our good friend with one and feeling jealous about it. Such a universal sentiment.
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