From a first single in 1979, the group successfully combined a pop rock and power pop (and sometimes, a blues rock) influenced backing with harmony side-vocals and Lewis' strident voice, and the band had numerous hit songs during the 1980s and early 1990s. These include "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" (both of which were featured in the film "Back to the Future"), "I Want a New Drug", "Doin' It All (For My Baby)", "Do You Believe in Love?" "Hip to Be Square", "Stuck With You", and "Jacob's Ladder". Huey Lewis shared three Grammy awards, an American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award along with several artists for his role singing the 1985 charity song "We Are the World" as well.
=Albums=
Huey Lewis & the News (1980)
Picture This (1982) [#13 U.S. Gold]
Sports (1983) [#1 U.S. 7x Platinum]
Back to the Future Soundtrack (1985) [Gold]
Fore! (1986) [#1 U.S. 3x Platinum]
Small World (1988) [#11 U.S. Platinum]
Hard at Play (1991) [#27 U.S. Gold]
The Heart of Rock & Roll - The Best of Huey Lewis and The News (1992)
Four Chords & Several Years Ago (1994) [#55 U.S.]
Time Flies: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News (1996) [#185 U.S.]
Plan B (2001) [#165 U.S.]
Live at 25 (2005)
Greatest Hits & Videos (2006) [#70 U.S.]
www.hueylewisandthenews.com
It Hit Me Like a Hammer
Huey Lewis & The News Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About no one else
I like to be, you know alone and free
I'm happy by myself yeah
But here comes this girl whoa, yeah
I've seen em all around the world
She looks into me
Looks right through me
[Chorus:]
Don't you know it hit me like a hammer
Hit me like a ton of lead
You know it hit me like a hammer
You know it hit me, baby
I told myself to take it easy
'cause this won't last long
A day or two I'll be back in love
And she'll be long gone, yeah
But then she caught my eye whoa yeah
I knew that it was all a lie
I started shakin'
My heart was breakin
[Chorus]
And now I can't stop this feelin' I got, I want to know
'Cause there's no time to make up my mind
You shocked me, now you've got me, if you really want me
But here comes this girl whoa yeah
I've seen em all around the world
She looks into me
Looks right through me
[Chorus]
Shocked me, now you've got me
You know it hit me like a hammer
Hit me like a five pound sledge.
You know it hit me, baby.
The lyrics of Huey Lewis & The News's song 'It Hit Me Like a Hammer' describe the singer's state of mind when he meets a girl who completely shakes him up. He prefers being alone and doesn't worry about anyone else but when this girl enters his life, she looks into him and hits him hard like a hammer. Despite knowing that this won't last long and he will be back in love in a day or two, he is unable to control his emotions and gets shaken and broken-hearted. The chorus of the song repeats the lines "Don't you know it hit me like a hammer, Hit me like a ton of lead" emphasizing how this girl shook him to the core and how he was unable to control his emotions.
The song can be interpreted in different ways. One could say that it talks about the singer realizing that he is in love, while others could argue that it describes the aftermath of a breakup when the singer meets someone new who starts to mend his broken heart. The song captures the intensity and complexity of emotions that come with such experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't like to worry
I prefer being carefree
About no one else
I don't like to burden myself with other people's troubles
I like to be, you know alone and free
I enjoy solitude and independence
I'm happy by myself yeah
Being alone brings me contentment
But here comes this girl whoa, yeah
A girl has appeared in my life
I've seen em all around the world
I've met many girls before
She looks into me
She sees the real me
Looks right through me
She sees me for who I am
Don't you know it hit me like a hammer
Her impact on me was sudden and strong
Hit me like a ton of lead
Her effect on me was heavy and overwhelming
You know it hit me like a hammer
Her influence on me was significant
You know it hit me, baby
I was deeply affected by her presence
I told myself to take it easy
I tried to remain calm
'cause this won't last long
Because I thought it would be temporary
A day or two I'll be back in love
I thought my feelings would be fleeting
And she'll be long gone, yeah
I assumed she would leave
But then she caught my eye whoa yeah
But then she grabbed my attention
I knew that it was all a lie
I realized my previous thoughts were false
I started shakin'
I was overcome by my emotions
My heart was breakin
My heart was deeply affected
And now I can't stop this feelin' I got, I want to know
I can't shake the strong feelings I have and I'm curious about where this will go
'Cause there's no time to make up my mind
I need to make a decision quickly
You shocked me, now you've got me, if you really want me
Your sudden impact on me has made me yours if you want me
Shocked me, now you've got me
You've captured my attention and heart
Hit me like a five pound sledge.
Her impact on me was significant and forceful
You know it hit me, baby.
I was deeply affected by her presence
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HUEY LEWIS, ROBERT JOHN "MUTT" LANGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
WineSippingCowboy
Written by Huey Lewis and Mutt Lange.
The song itself has Mutt trademarks: harmonies, power chords, 'missing' bass coordination with bass drums. You will hear them again with AC/DC, Foreigner, Cars, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams + Shania Twain to name a few musicians.
🐕
Nearly 10 years after Mutt Lange's Do You Believe in Love was a hit! Lange + Huey Lewis wrote this. Should have been higher in the Billboard charts. Underrated!
October 25, 1991, 20 years ago Bill Graham saw them in concert in the SFBA. Then he took a helicopter ride to see another musician. But the copter crashed and Graham died. Big Bay Area musicians performed in a benefit concert shortly afterwards. Eddie Money dedicated I'll Get By to Him.
RIP Bill Graham.
In 1991, in addition to HL, Mutt Lange wrote for Eddie Money. Most of the year Mutt Lange cowrote with, coproduced with + sang backing vocals with Bryan Adams. Everything I Do I Do It for You was the biggest hit that year! 🤯
30 years in 2021 😎 😎
Jaded Emotions
For me, that album would look like
1. Small World Part 1
2. Build Me Up
3. It Hit Me Like A Hammer
4. Perfect World
5. Couple Days Off
6. That's Not Me
7. Better Be True
8. Small World Part 2
9. He Don't Know
10. Give Me The Keys
11. Slammin'
12. Time Ain't Money
I'm not a big fan of either albums to be honest. Small World I can appreciate for a few aspects but it has a lot of duds and Hard At Play has a few highlights but it's a very unremarkable and mostly forgettable album that loosely resembles the band that they were on Sports
Tomcat321
Fantastic song by a truly underrated band. I never get tired of listening to it.
platecrumb
This man brought back "Bee-Bop" style to the 80's when it died in the 60's. Pure genius! Love HUEY!!!!
Lamborghini 125
this is a 90s song good song but
Tone Grumbt
All 6 of them were heavily influenced by 60's R and B as well as stuff like The Beach Boys!
jay godfrey
who is the girl in the video
Doobie1975
great song, I remember this song got a decent amount of airplay back in the Summer of '91 but quickly fell under the radar soon after it fell off the charts, very underrated song by Huey Lewis & The News
Doobie1975
always liked this song a lot and personally thought it should have been a bigger hit.
daniel marshall
@b40 b40 I have to agree with you. I myself never liked Nirvana but Soundgarden AIC and PearlJam were much better. The best thing that emerged from Nirvana was the Foo Fighters and like more of their songs than Nirvana.
PeteJordanBass
@Colemann76 exactly. Small World is a good album with some good songs but it was a bit too experimental for that time.
Colemann76
@PeteJordanBass Yes. This album in 88 because it still sounded like them and Small World after it as that one was a little different