Ben met Tracey when they were at Hull University and she was singing in pop girl-band Marine Girls. Ben contributed a photograph, for a forthcoming album cover, after which, the pair became partners (later getting married). They formed Everything But the Girl in 1982, the name inspired by a Turner's Furniture advertising slogan (a popular store near the university). For a period, Tracey was active in both bands and the album with Ben's photo materialised, Lazy Ways (Apr 1983), which was to be Marine Girls' last. EBTG soon achieved national success and singles from The Language of Life (1990), got VH-1 airtime - heralding USA notoriety.
Once internationally established, they successfully achieved one of the greatest stylistic changes in modern music; originally a 'folk-pop with jazz influences' band, their fortunes changed with Amplified Heart (Jul 1994) and Todd Terry's successful remix of its track "Missing" (Aug 1994). Since then, EBTG have become more widely known as an electronic act, with Walking Wounded (May 1996), being a well-received example of their metamorphosed sound.
As of 1999, EBTG as a duo are currently on hiatus, as the couple raise their children, out of the public eye. Watt is a very successful club DJ, Buzzin Fly label-manager and remixer, releasing several 'Lazy Dog' mix compilations (named after his London-based deep house night).
Thorn's 2006 collaboration with Tiefschwarz, on the underground hit song "Damage", seems to have re-awoken her artistic spirit and she released a second solo album, Out of the Woods (Mar 2007).
As of March 2023 evidence that the hiatus will end soon emerges in an interview with Alexis Petridis, in which the release date of the new album 'Fuse' is given as 21 April. This new music was first mentioned by Tracy Thorn on twitter in late 2022, and now it emerging, with 2 new singles already released
When All's Well
Everything But the Girl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are not pure
We are not right
O but still I'll steal to you at night
Too selfish by half
Too ugly by far
But when your songs have been sung, come to me
And winter blows cold
Reminds me of such wretched times
And yet all the same
I will never deign
To think ill of you
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
There are so many things you just wouldn't believe
But amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
In the song "When All's Well" by Everything But The Girl, the lyrics communicate a sense of imperfection, of not being morally upright or pure. The singer describes herself as selfish and ugly, yet she still yearns for the love of her partner. Despite rumors and the harshness of winter, the singer chooses to remain loyal and non-judgmental towards her significant other. She compares her love to cathedral bells - a symbol historically associated with purity, clarity, and tranquility.
The opening lines of the song suggest that the singer is not morally upright, but it is unclear whether this description is self-focused or directed at a loved one; regardless, she acknowledges that she and her partner are not "true" or "pure" or "right." Against this backdrop, the singer asserts her loyalty and devotion, declaring that she will "steal" to her partner at night, even if she considers herself "too ugly by far." Despite the challenges of winter and the spreading of rumors, the singer reaffirms her faith in her partner and pledges never to "think ill" of them.
Line by Line Meaning
We are not true
Though we may pretend, we are not genuine
We are not pure
There are flaws and imperfections in us, we are not perfect
We are not right
We are not entirely correct or accurate, we make mistakes
O but still I'll steal to you at night
Despite our imperfections, I will come to you secretly at night
Too selfish by half
I know I am a bit too self-centered
Too ugly by far
I believe I am not physically attractive enough
But when your songs have been sung, come to me
When you feel sad and lonely, come to me
Rumors are rife
There are many rumors about us
And winter blows cold
The cold winter makes me feel sad
Reminds me of such wretched times
It reminds me of the miserable moments we had
And yet all the same
Despite everything that has happened
I will never deign
I will not stoop so low as to think poorly of you
To think ill of you
To have negative thoughts about you
When all's well
In good times
My love is like cathedral bells
My love is grand and resonant like the bells of a cathedral
Amongst all the dross
While there are many bad things
The lies and the grief
The falsehoods and the sorrow
There are so many things you just wouldn't believe
There are many things that are hard to accept
When all's well
In good times
My love is like cathedral bells
My love is grand and resonant like the bells of a cathedral
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEN WATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ahmad Abandah
Lyrics
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
O but still I'll steal to you at night
Too selfish by half
Too ugly by far
But when your songs have been sung, come to me
Rumors are rife
And winter blows cold
Reminds me of such wretched times
And yet all the same
I will never deign
To think ill of you
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
There are so many things you just wouldn't believe
But amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
calico
little known, this came up when they were demo'ing their others before they seriously got together... it was bittersweet, too, most of their success was born out of spite. Truly. - - - I don't know how to describe to people these days that read far melodramatic narratives into it. But its like most of the criticism leveled against ebtg wasn't about their music at all.. it was all these other things and at the time, they were very, very art student, so full of it but at least aware of it..
those are the twangs and pangs of nostalgia, I feel. Like how we can grow up being simultaneously massive insecure and ego maniacs, so hurt by unconstructive criticism, a passing comment and yet also so energized, embracing of it. -- the same situation kind of all over in the early 80s.. the undercult of art students and other misfits. It's not exactly something people get unless you were in one of those pockets at the time. It was one part DIY but most also had the skills and education too. Just not really recognized in the subcults, pop scenes or the arts in all these 'creative' fields from fashion to music even to computers and tech. I dunno, I'm running on tangeants and too damaged having tried to explain it for years. It wasn't great but it wasn't awful. Most people didn't think anything would go anywhere but that kept the pressure off, so every small win was a big win. And I'm so damn old, none of us thought we'd live this long, hoped certainly, but really couldn't conceive of it...
I went out for the most recent album's pre-release, came back home and spent a month in the hospital for it. Don't blame them not for touring this time around. It's also these are kind of unspoken relationships you have with people. Were we ever close? No. We were in the same circles, we've been on the same stages, we've worked in the same room.., but we were just on the same road, heading the same direction. never exchanged cards at the holidays.
but all those yesterday critics, they ended up singing our songs, using our tech, buying our products... everyone from those days got a pay off in one sense or another. Still smug, ego maniacs despite the bitterness and insecurities. - EGBT sings about that perpetual teenage state (ego; the desire to challenge the world) and inner child (insecurity; and then retreat from it) frequently in their songs, really, from day one. . . along with the frustrations of dealing with people on the outside and their trouble minds... whereas we get trapped in past reflections, but this is just a stoned rant rather than hatfield 1980 or frost and fire. not famous enough to brag of my own stuff. neither here nor there, anyway.
none of us feel our age - we're all either thinking of ourselves as yesterday's snot nose brat or as somehow so much older than we actually are.. its a weird place to find yourself
Daniel Bettega
We are not true
Nós não somos verdadeiros
We are not pure
Nós não somos puros
We are not right
Nós não estamos certos
Oh but still I'll steal to you at night
Mas ainda assim vou chegar até você sem ser notado (...andar na ponta dos pés até você)
Too selfish by half
Muito egoístas pela metade
Too ugly by far
Muito feios de longe
Oh but when your songs have been sung
Mas quando suas canções tiverem sido cantadas
4x
Come to me
Venha para mim
Rumors are rife
Rumores são abundantes
And winter blows cold
E o inverno sopra frio
Reminds me of such wretched times
Me lembra de tempos tão miseráveis
And yet all the same
E ainda assim, do mesmo jeito
I will never deign
Nunca irei me dignar (Nunca me permitirei)
To think ill of you
A pensar mal de você (Pensar mal de você)
2x
When all's well
Quando tudo está bem
My love is like cathedral bells
Meu amor é como os sinos da catedral
We are not true
Nós não somos verdadeiros
We are not pure
Nós não somos puros
We are not right
Nós não estamos certos
Amongst all the dross
Em meio a toda sujeira
The lies and the grief
As mentiras e o sofrimento
There are so many things you just wouldn't believe
Há tantas coisas em que você simplesmente não acreditaria
Amongst all the dross
Em meio a toda sujeira
The lies and the grief
As mentiras e o sofrimento
5x
When all's well
Quando tudo está bem
My love is like cathedral bells
Meu amor é como os sinos da catedral
Henrique Ramos
"When All's Well"
Released: 1985
[Verse 1]
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
Oh but still I'll steal to you at night
Too selfish by half
Too ugly by far
Oh but when your songs have been sung
[Chorus]
Come to me
Come to me
Come to me
Come to me
[Verse 2]
Rumours are rife
And winter blows cold
Reminds me of such wretched times
And yet all the same
Will never deign
To think ill of you
[Chorus]
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
[Bridge]
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
[Verse 3]
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
There are so many things
You just wouldn't believe
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
[Chorus]
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Produced By Robin Millar
Written By Ben Watt
From the album LOVE NOT MONEY (1985)
Included on the greatest hits compilation THE BEST OF EBTG (1996)
André Neves
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
O but still I'll steal to you at night
Too selfish by half
Too ugly by far
But when your songs have been sung, come to me
Rumours are rife
And winter blows cold
Reminds me of such wretched times
And yet all the same
I will never deign
To think ill of you
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
There are so many things you just wouldn't believe
But amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Henrique Ramos
"When All's Well"
Released: 1985
[Verse 1]
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
Oh but still I'll steal to you at night
Too selfish by half
Too ugly by far
Oh but when your songs have been sung
[Chorus]
Come to me
Come to me
Come to me
Come to me
[Verse 2]
Rumours are rife
And winter blows cold
Reminds me of such wretched times
And yet all the same
Will never deign
To think ill of you
[Chorus]
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
[Bridge]
We are not true
We are not pure
We are not right
[Verse 3]
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
There are so many things
You just wouldn't believe
Amongst all the dross
The lies and the grief
[Chorus]
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells (When all's well)
When all's well
My love is like cathedral bells
Produced By Robin Millar
Written By Ben Watt
From the album LOVE NOT MONEY (1985)
Included on the greatest hits compilation THE BEST OF EBTG (1996)
Vlad Rio
Isso é um brinde à nossa audição! Gratidão pelas bandas inglesas dos anos 80: mudaram meu gosto musical pra sempre! 🤩💯🎼
Samir Torres
Meu Deus! Finalmente achei essa música! Anos procurando. Já havia perdido as esperanças. Hoje estou feliz!
Pablo Ferrer Solo
I Love this Song! Sou brasileiro e amo essa canção de verdade, fala muito ao meu coração!
Paulo Tavares
Bons tempos. Música com qualidade. Uma das minhas preferidas. Não me canso de ouvir
Lodelio Legaspi
itong nagpakilala sa akin Ng EBTG at simula noon ,nagustuhan ko na and mga musika nila...
Samir Torres
Procurei essa música por anos. Finalmente achei!
Jose Ricardo Goncalves
Ouvi muito este álbum, na república de estudantes, durante o curso de engenharia na fria Ouro Preto! Som refinadíssimo.
Ana Paula Cunha
Eu amo essa dupla por "missing" ...agora coincidência eu descubro que eles cantam essa música que me faz lembrar dos anos 80 da minha juventude...porra! Maior viagem...ameiiiiii😊😊😊😊😊😊
Amanda Trayes
True story. In the spring of 1985, when I was 15, I spent a weekend in NYC with a friend, visiting her aunt. The only thing I really remember about that trip -- aside from staying in a tiny studio apartment overlooking Gramercy Park -- was buying a cassette tape by a band I'd never heard of, but whose name I liked: Everything but the Girl. "When All's Well" was the first track on that album and I actually remember my first time listening to it; it was that magical. I practically wore that tape out (at one point my stereo ate it and I had to perform emergency surgery and splice the two ends together). Fast forward 35 years and I am still listening to Ben and Tracey's music, albeit not on cassette tapes ('tho I miss those a bit). The music of EBTG, of Tracey's collaborations (especially with The Style Council and Massive Attack), and of of Ben's Lazy Dog compilation series, has been a major part of the soundtrack of my life. Thanks guys.
Emily Church
SAME. Best memories ♥️