MacColl began her career in the late 1970s UK punk rock scene, singing backing vocals for Drug Addix. Her UK hits included the 1981 single "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", a cover of Billy Bragg's "A New England" in 1985, a duet with Shane MacGowan of The Pogues on "Fairytale of New York" in 1987, and a cover of The Kinks' song "Days" in 1989. She was probably most recognizable in the United States as the writer of "They Don't Know" a hit in 1979.
After a break from the music industry for much of the 1990s, several trips to Cuba and Brazil restored MacColl's creative muse, and the world music-inspired (particularly Cuban and other Latin American forms) Tropical Brainstorm, often described as her finest work, was released in 2000.
On 18 December 2000, while swimming in a restricted diving area with her family on a holiday in Cozumel, she was killed in a collision with a powerboat while managing to drag her son out of its path. The boat was owned by Mexican supermarket millionaire Guillermo González Nova (owner of Comercial Mexicana), who was on board with several members of his family. A boathand, José Cen Yam, claimed to have been driving the boat and was found guilty of culpable homicide and, under Mexican law, allowed to pay a fine of 1034 pesos (about USD 90) in lieu of a prison sentence of that many days. However, eyewitnesses contradict Cen Yam's claim to have been driving and also González Nova's claim that the boat was travelling at a speed of only one knot. MacColl's family are campaigning for a judicial review into the events surrounding her death, including an application to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The BBC has featured on several of its channels a documentary by Olivia Lichtenstein, entitled Who Killed Kirsty MacColl?
In 2001, a bench was placed by the southern entrance to London's Soho Square as a memorial to her, after a lyric from one of her most poignant songs: "One day I'll be waiting there/ No empty bench inSoho Square.
He Thinks I Still Care
Kirsty MacColl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He thinks I still
He thinks I still care
Just because I asked a friend about him
Just because I spoke his name somewhere
Just because I called his number by mistake last night
He thinks I still
He thinks I still care
Just because I haunt the same old places
Where his memory seems to linger everywhere
Just because I'm not the happy girl I used to be
He thinks I still
He thinks I still
He thinks I still care
He used to treat me so unkind
Now he doesn't cross my mind
He thinks I still love him so
But why that is I just don't know
I've got friends all over town
And he can never bring me down
The things he did was so unfair
How could he think that I still care
Kirsty MacColl's song "He Thinks I Still Care" is a bittersweet meditation on the aftermath of a break-up. The singer of the song is trying to move on from a former lover, but can't seem to shake the ghost of the relationship. The refrain, "He thinks I still care," is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the singer's frustration with her ex's inability to understand that she has moved on.
The song opens with the singer explaining that she asked a friend about her ex, which seems to have set off a chain of events that makes him think she's still interested in him. The singer goes on to describe how she keeps running into reminders of their past relationship everywhere she goes, causing her to feel a sense of sadness and longing. However, the singer ultimately concludes that while her ex used to treat her poorly, she has moved on and found happiness elsewhere.
One of the song's most poignant moments comes near the end, when the singer wonders aloud why her ex assumes she still loves him. This line hints at the idea that sometimes when we break up with someone, we assume that they still care about us—even if that's not actually the case. In this way, "He Thinks I Still Care" is a song about the ways we hold onto past relationships, and how we sometimes struggle to move on even when we know it's the right thing to do.
Line by Line Meaning
He thinks I still
He believes that I am still emotionally attached to him
Just because I asked a friend about him
Merely inquiring about him through an acquaintance in no way suggests that I am still interested in him
Just because I spoke his name somewhere
Mentioning his name in passing does not imply that I am still fixated on him
Just because I called his number by mistake last night
Dialing his number inadvertently does not indicate that I still have feelings for him
Just because I haunt the same old places
Frequenting places where we used to go is not a sign of me wanting to rekindle our relationship
Where his memory seems to linger everywhere
I cannot escape reminders of him in the places we used to hang out
Just because I'm not the happy girl I used to be
My current emotional state is not a reflection of my feelings toward him
He used to treat me so unkind
He was not good to me when we were together
Now he doesn't cross my mind
I rarely think about him anymore
He thinks I still love him so
He believes that I have not moved on and still have deep affection for him
But why that is I just don't know
I cannot comprehend why he would think that after the way he treated me
I've got friends all over town
I have a support network in multiple locations
And he can never bring me down
His actions no longer have the power to affect my emotional wellbeing
The things he did was so unfair
He acted in a manner that was unjust and hurtful to me
How could he think that I still care
It is perplexing that he would believe I still have feelings for him after everything he put me through
Contributed by Kennedy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
blavery
I believe the solo guitar riff is from Blue Moon by The Marcels.
pelicanmouse
i've not heard this before - KIRSTY !!!!!!! The end part is great last half
Kirk Bolam
Wasn't George Jones the first to record this? But obviously with 'She thinks I still care' - same lyrics, just she not he ;) One of the best songs
blavery
Yes he did. In 1962. Good ear. I've had this since it came out and the arrangement is so different I only recognized that today.
pelicanmouse
i've not heard this before - KIRSTY !!!!!!!
evilhpesoj
Probably mine now haha xD
David
I think most of the views of this video are mine lol