Discography
Electric Rattlebone (1991, Mercury)
Just A Taste (1992, self-released)
Sympathy
Blackeyed Susan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back in summer '83
You been talkin' and a-laughin'
Always leanin' down hard on me
But then I hit the bright lights
And you became my best friend
When my dream got shattered
Don't waste my time on the matter
'Cause you don't care about me
If what you say is on the level
But behind my back you turned on me
Yeah, yeah
Sympathy
Ah, you don't care, ah, no
Don't need no sympathy, yeah, yeah
You weren't there, you weren't there
Sympathy
Don't come around, oh, no
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
You don't care, oh, no
Sympathy
There's a place where you had grown up
You give it all that you got
A taker comes along and
Takin' everything that you've got that you're savin'
Don't waste my time on the matter
'Cause you don't care about me
If what you say is on the level, yeah
But behind my back you turned on me
Yeah, yeah
Sympathy
Ah, you don't care, ah, no
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
you weren't there, you weren't there
Sympathy
I'm better off alone
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
You don't care, oh, no
Sympathy, whoo!
Ah, yeah, sympathy
You don't care, ah, no
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
I don't care, you don't care
Sympathy
Ah, you don't care, oh, no
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
I don't care, you don't care
Ooh yeah, sympathy
I'm better off alone
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ah, yeah!
Sympathy
Don't come around no more
Don't need no sympathy, yeah, yeah
Whoo!
Sympathy
Sympathy, yeah, yeah, yeah
The song "Sympathy" by Blackeyed Susan is a song about betrayal and disappointment in relationships. The song starts with the singer talking about how they used to hang out with someone back in 1983, but that person was always "leaning down hard" on them. The lyrics suggest that this person was not very supportive of the singer's dreams, but rather made fun of them. However, as the singer's career took off, the person became their best friend. But when the singer experienced failure, that friend turned on them behind their back. The chorus repeats the line "Sympathy, you don't care, ah no" indicating that the singer does not want or need the friend's fake sympathy.
The second verse describes a different scenario. Here, the singer talks about how they work hard to save up and build something that they care about, and someone comes along and takes it all away. The same chorus follows, with the repeated line "Sympathy".
Overall, "Sympathy" is a song about not wanting fake sympathy from people who don't care. The song's lyrics cite two different experiences where someone who seemed to be a friend turned out not to be supportive. The song's chorus is loud and anthemic, emphasizing the strength that comes in living an independent life.
Line by Line Meaning
Playin' uptown Northeast Philly
I started out hustling in Northeast Philadelphia
Back in summer '83
It was the summer of 1983
You been talkin' and a-laughin'
You were always talking and laughing
Always leanin' down hard on me
You were always putting a lot of pressure on me
But then I hit the bright lights
But then I found success
And you became my best friend
And you started acting like my best friend
When my dream got shattered
When my dreams were broken
Why should I take your imitation hand
Why should I accept your fake offer of help
Don't waste my time on the matter
Don't bother trying to argue about this
'Cause you don't care about me
Because you don't actually care about me
If what you say is on the level
If you are being truthful
But behind my back you turned on me
But you have been talking badly about me behind my back
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Sympathy
I don't want your sympathy
Ah, you don't care, ah, no
You don't actually care about me
Don't need no sympathy, yeah, yeah
I don't need your sympathy
You weren't there, you weren't there
You weren't there when I needed you
Sympathy
I don't want your sympathy
Don't come around, oh, no
Don't come around me anymore
Don't need your sympathy, yeah, yeah
I don't want your sympathy
You don't care, oh, no
You don't actually care about me
Sympathy
I don't want your sympathy
There's a place where you had grown up
There's a place where you grew up
You give it all that you got
You gave your all to that place
A taker comes along and
But someone came and took everything you had
Takin' everything that you've got that you're savin'
And took everything that you saved up
I'm better off alone
I'm better off without you in my life
Ah, yeah, sympathy
I don't want your sympathy
I don't care, you don't care
I don't care and you don't care either
Don't come around no more
Don't come around me anymore
Whoo!
Yeah, yeah!
Sympathy, yeah, yeah, yeah
I don't want your sympathy
Contributed by Leah P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Antonio Di Lucia
still sounds cool and never gets old
pscarc
Still have Electric Rattlebone on cassette and still rocks and brings me back to a time I was also starting to come up in the local Philly rock scene. Just lost an old dear friend from that time and wish I could have one more chance to perform with him again. I say forget the past and get back to rockin 1 more time with your old friends. I am 41 years old and I still play out whenever I can. I just walk right in, kick the drummer off his seat, get behind his kit and lay down a nasty beat!
CrimsonThorns
A little gem of a release from Dizzy that sadly went unoticed...saw them "live" on a double bill with Badlands.
григорий васильев
DEAN DAVIDSON is the best !