The band's greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Their first album, 1980's On Through the Night, reached the Top 15 in the UK but received little notice elsewhere. Their second album, 1981's High 'n' Dry, was produced by Mutt Lange, who helped them begin to define their melodic hard rock style, and the album's most popular track "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" became one of the first rock videos played on MTV in 1982, but the album only reached the Top 30 and 40 in the UK and US. Def Leppard's next studio album, Pyromania, was released in January 1983, with "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" both topping the US Rock Tracks chart and reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. Reaching No. 2 on the US album chart, Pyromania was certified Diamond in the US and 7× platinum in Canada and reached the top 20 in the UK but did not sell much elsewhere.
Def Leppard's fourth album, the more pop-oriented Hysteria (1987), topped the UK, US, New Zealand, Canadian, Australian and Norway charts. It also went to No. 2 in Sweden and No. 10 in Germany without any Top 50 singles in those countries. It has been certified 12× platinum for sales in the US and 13× platinum in Canada, selling over 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album spawned six Top 20 US singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "Love Bites" (went Top 10 in several other countries including No. 2 in NZ), alongside "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (US No. 2), "Hysteria", "Armageddon It" (No. 2 in NZ), "Animal" (at No. 6, the biggest UK hit), and "Rocket" (a Top 15 hit in many countries). Hysteria had four Top 10 hits in New Zealand.
Their next studio album, Adrenalize (their first following the death of guitarist Steve Clark), reached No. 1 on the UK, US, NZ, Canadian and Australian charts in 1992, while going Top 10 in Sweden and Germany. It contained several hits, including the US Rock Tracks chart-topper, "Let's Get Rocked", which became their biggest hit in several countries, including No. 2 in the UK, No. 3 in Canada and Switzerland, and the Top 20 in Sweden and Germany. The third single, "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", was a Top 15 song in the US, UK and Canada. Adrenalize went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide. Their 1993 album, Retro Active, contained the acoustic Top 5 North American hit "Two Steps Behind". Their greatest hits album Vault, released in 1995, featured the UK No. 2 hit "When Love & Hate Collide" and reached the Top 10 in several countries, going 5× platinum in the US. Beginning with Slang, Def Leppard released five albums between 1996 and 2008, with most usually reaching the Top 15 in several countries, including the UK, US and Canada. Their self-titled album was released in 2015 and reached the Top 10 in several countries. The band's newest studio album, Diamond Star Halos was released in May 2022 and reached the Top 10 in the US, the UK and Australia.
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Def Leppard have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and have two albums with RIAA diamond certification: Pyromania and Hysteria, making them one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling more than 10 million copies in the US. The band were ranked No. 31 in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and ranked No. 70 in "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
Studio albums
On Through the Night (1980)
High 'n' Dry (1981)
Pyromania (1983)
Hysteria (1987)
Adrenalize (1992)
Slang (1996)
Euphoria (1999)
X (2002)
Yeah! (2006)
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
Def Leppard (2015)
Diamond Star Halos (2022)
It's Only Love
Def Leppard Lyrics
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Na na na na na na na na na
If you could feel what I feel
If I could make you see
If you could need like I need
I'd be the air that you breathe
I just can't win
I can't help the state I'm in
It's only love so why is falling in it
The one thing that you can't do
It's only love then why am I hurting from it
It's only love if you're hurting too
Na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na
If you could share my wildest thoughts
Meet me in my mind
If you could want the way that I want
You'd want me all the time
You go straight to my head when I lie in my bed
I just can't win
I can't stop the state I'm in
It's only love so why is falling in it
The one thing that you can't do
It's only love then why am I hurting from it
It's only love if you're hurting too
Every dream I dream has got you in
And every minute with you means everything
I wanna take you there where you've never been
In my dreams
You go straight to my head as I lie in my bed
I just can't win
I can't help the state I'm in
It's only love so why is falling in it
The one thing that you can't do
It's only love so why am I hurting from it
It's only love if you're hurting too
Na na na na na na na na na
It's only love if you're hurting too
Na na na na na na na na na
It's only love if you're hurting too
"It's Only Love" by Def Leppard is a love song that describes how the singer's feelings for someone have taken over their life. The song is about how love can be both intoxicating and painful at the same time. In the first verse, the singer wishes that the other person could feel what they feel and see what they see, as if they were the air that the other person breathes. The second verse continues this theme, with the singer wanting the other person to share their thoughts and desires.
The chorus of the song asks a question: if love is only love, why does it hurt? The singer acknowledges that falling in love is something that "you can't do," meaning it's not a choice. Yet, the pain of not being loved back feels real. The song acknowledges the paradox of love: the intense highs and lows that often come with it.
The bridge of the song adds a dreamy element, with the singer imagining a future with the other person. Yet, the focus on the word "dream" implies that these fantasies might not become reality.
Overall, "It's Only Love" is a song that captures the complexity of emotions involved in falling in love. It's both exhilarating and painful, and the song acknowledges both of those realities.
Line by Line Meaning
Na na na na na na na na na
Repetition of a nonsensical phrase, probably added for the sake of the melody.
If you could feel what I feel
If you were capable of understanding my emotions.
If I could make you see
If I could help you comprehend my perspective.
If you could need like I need
If you could crave my presence as much as I crave yours.
I'd be the air that you breathe
I would be an essential part of your life, like the very air you breathe.
You go straight to my head as I lie in my bed
You occupy my thoughts, especially when I'm trying to sleep.
I just can't win
I'm unable to control my thoughts and feelings.
I can't help the state I'm in
I'm unable to change or improve my emotional state.
It's only love so why is falling in it
Love is a common experience, so why is it so difficult to fall into?
The one thing that you can't do
It seems that falling in love is one of the few things you cannot control.
It's only love then why am I hurting from it
Love should be a positive thing, but it's causing me pain.
It's only love if you're hurting too
Love is only true if both parties are experiencing joy and pain together.
If you could share my wildest thoughts
If you could understand my deepest, most intense desires.
Meet me in my mind
Connect with me on a mental and emotional level.
If you could want the way that I want
If you could crave me as much as I crave you.
You'd want me all the time
You would desire my presence constantly.
Every dream I dream has got you in
You are a recurring presence in my dreams and fantasies.
And every minute with you means everything
Every moment spent together is incredibly significant to me.
I wanna take you there where you've never been
I want to show you experiences and emotions beyond what you've known before.
It's only love if you're hurting too
Again, emphasizing that true love involves both joy and pain.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, CTM Publishing, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CAMPBELL, ELLIOTT, LANGE, SAVAGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind