He started off learning to play the violin but soon switched to piano. From the age of 16 he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. Jackson did not like the prospect of being a serious composer, and moved towards pop and rock.
His first band was Arms and Legs which collapsed after two unsuccessful singles. He then spent some time in the cabaret circuit to make money to record his own demos.
In 1978 a producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records. The album Look Sharp! was recorded straight away, and was released in 1979, quickly followed by I'm the Man and Beat Crazy in 1980. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.
The Joe Jackson Band was very successful and toured extensively. After the breakup of the band, Joe took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues tunes, Jumpin' Jive, featuring songs of Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and most prominently, Louis Jordan. He went on to record Night and Day, an album that paid tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter (and less directly, to New York City) and was his last album to hit the Top 10, peaking at #4.
He recorded another record that was heavily influenced by jazz, pop and jazz standards, and salsa, Body and Soul, which hit #20, containing the hit You Can't Get What You Want ('Til You Know What You Want).
Jackson followed with Big World, a three-sided double record (the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side"). The instrumental Will Power set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind he put out two more cerebral and celebratory albums, Blaze of Glory and Laughter and Lust. For some years he drifted away from the pop style, going on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997, which released his Symphony No. 1 in 1999 for which he received a Grammy award.
Night and Day II in 2000 lacked strong pop hooks though, as usual with Jackson, displayed fine lyrics and some elegant songwriting. Volume 4 in 2003 reunited the original band and was well received. A promotional CD, bundled with the initial release, of the 'live' band playing some of Jackson's strongest material was widely admired.
Jackson is also an author, having written A Cure for Gravity, published in 1999, which Jackson has described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his early musical life from childhood until his 24th birthday. Life as a pop star, he suggested, was hardly worth writing about.
In 2004 Jackson performed a cover of Common People with William Shatner for Shatner's album Has Been.
He has actively campaigned against smoking bans in both the USA and the UK, writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue and issuing a satirical song (In 20-0-3) on the subject.
In 2008 the album Rain was released by Joe Jackson. Like its predecessor Volume 4, it featured members of the 'Joe Jackson Band', this time minus guitarist Gary Sanford.
Currently he lives in Kreuzberg, Germany.
Discography:
1979 - Look Sharp!
1979 - I'm The Man
1980 - Beat Crazy
1981 - Jumpin' Jive
1982 - Night and Day
1983 - Mike’s Murder, (Soundtrack)
1984 - Body and Soul
1986 - Big World
1987 - Will Power
1988 - Live 1980/86
1988 - Tucker, (Soundtrack)
1989 - Blaze of Glory
1991 - Laughter & Lust
1994 - Night Music
1997 - Heaven and Hell
1999 - Symphony No. 1
2000 - Summer in the City: Live in New York
2000 - Night and Day II
2002 - Two Rainy Nights, (Live)
2004 - Volume 4
2004 - Afterlife, (Live)
2008 - Rain
2011 - Live Music, (Live)
2012 - The Duke
Is She Really Going Out With Him
Joe Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From my window I'm staring while my coffee goes cold
Look over there (where?)
There, there's a lady that I used to know
She's married now, or engaged, or something, so I am told
Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me
There's something going wrong around here
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties down my street
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there (where?)
There, here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend
They say that looks don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me
There's something going wrong around here
Around here
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's more down as dead
'Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, take your hands from her head
I get so mean around this scene
Hey, hey, hey
Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me
There's something going wrong around here
Around here
Something going wrong around here
Something going wrong around here
Something going wrong around here
Something going wrong around
In Joe Jackson's Is She Really Going Out With Him, the singer is looking out of his window and observing women walking down the street with rather unattractive men. He sees a lady whom he used to know and discovers that she is now engaged or married. The question that keeps ringing in his head is whether she is really going out with him, the man she is currently with. As the song progresses, we learn that our protagonist is getting ready to attend some parties and is hopeful that he looks good. He sees Jeanie with her new boyfriend and becomes angry, feeling that looks don't count for much in the relationship. Nonetheless, the climax of the song is when he sees a man with the girl he wants to be with, and he ultimately gets aggressive, telling the man to take his hands off her head.
The song talks about how love is not just about discerning pretty faces and looks, but the love people share. It is a song about jealousy, envy, and how one feels about someone they genuinely care about but cannot be with. The song carries a lot of emotions and expectations that can be exhibited in those who are in the same situation. The lyrics paint a picture of confusion about why the lady would be with an unattractive man. It conveys the singer's emotions, how he feels, and his angst at the world, which feels unusual and goes against his desire to be with the girl he truly loves.
Line by Line Meaning
Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street
I'm seeing attractive women walking with less attractive men down my street
From my window I'm staring while my coffee goes cold
I'm staring at them from my window, even though my coffee is getting cold
Look over there (where?)
I'm pointing out to someone to look at something
There, there's a lady that I used to know
The lady I'm looking at is someone I used to know
She's married now, or engaged, or something, so I am told
I've heard that the lady is now in a committed relationship
Is she really going out with him?
I'm wondering if the attractive woman is really going out with the less attractive man
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
I'm questioning if they will be going home together tonight
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me
There's something going wrong around here
If what I'm seeing is true, then there's something not quite right happening in my neighborhood
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties down my street
I usually go to parties on nights like this
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
I'm trying to look my best tonight, even if it's just in my own head
Here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend
I see my friend Jeanie coming with her new boyfriend
They say that looks don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
People say that looks aren't everything, but here's an example that proves otherwise
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's more down as dead
If looks could cause harm, the less attractive man would be dead
'Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, take your hands from her head
I've had enough of this situation, so I'm telling the man to stop touching the woman
I get so mean around this scene
Hey, hey, hey
I get angry and defensive in situations like this
Something going wrong around here
Something going wrong around here
There's definitely something not quite right happening in my neighborhood
Something going wrong around here
Something going wrong around
There's definitely something not quite right happening in my neighborhood
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David Jackson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind