The Mentals' music is characterised by poppy, accessible and well-crafted melodies and lyrics, and almost all their work showcases their ironic, satirical and self-deprecating sense of humour. They are arguably one of the most typically 'Australian' of rock groups, with their music and their satirical, good-time image deeply rooted in the milieu of Australian suburbia, despite the fact that two key members (the O'Doherty brothers) were in fact immigrants from New Zealand. The group's art school background and visual design skills also made them pioneers of the music video form in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and their videos rank as some of the funniest and most imaginative produced in Australia at that time.
The "classic" lineup of the group, which boasted four songwriters and lasted more than twenty years, was:
* Martin Plaza (né Martin Murphy) -- vocals, guitar
* Reg Mombassa (né Chris O'Doherty) -- lead guitar, vocals
* Andrew "Greedy" Smith -- vocals, keyboards, harmonica
* Peter O'Doherty -- bass, vocals
* Wayne "Bird" De Lisle (né David Twohill) -- drums
This article continues at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_As_Anything
If You Leave Me Can I Come Too?
Mental As Anything Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You could call it a fight
It's such a shame I never thought we would,
Wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't so good
I've had enough of that,
Other loves in days gone by.
It wasn't much I know,
Just enough, enough to make me cry
[Chorus]
If you leave me, can I come too?
We can always stay
But if you leave me, can I come too?
And if you go, can I come too?
Don't let it happen again
'Cause that I couldn't take, once was quite enough
It's easy to forgive, harder to forget
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Mental As Anything's song "If You Leave Me Can I Come Too" are about the complexities and nuances of relationships. The opening lines convey a sense of conflict and tension, where words were exchanged, and it resulted in what could be called a fight. However, it seems that both parties involved in the argument are regretful because the person singing the song expresses sadness because they never thought things would become so bad when they were so good.
They then sing about having had other loves in the past, but those relationships were not enough to bring them to tears. The chorus contains phrases that highlight the singer's codependency towards their partner. The lines "If you leave me can I come too?" and "And if you go, can I come too?" illustrate that the singer doesn't want to be separated from their partner under any circumstance.
Towards the end of the song, the singer warns their partner not to let what happened last night happen again and says that they will not be able to handle it a second time. The lyrics, "It's easy to forgive, harder to forget" conveys the difficulty of moving past a fight, even if one party forgives the other.
Overall, the lyrics of the song capture the complexities of relationships, highlighting the balance between love and independence, conflict and resolution, and the effects of hurt on our psyches.
Line by Line Meaning
Words were exchanged last night
We had an argument last night and spoke some harsh words to each other.
You could call it a fight
It was a heated exchange and could potentially be considered a fight.
It's such a shame I never thought we would,
It's sad that we reached the point where we're fighting, as I never expected it to happen.
Wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't so good
Our relationship is so great when it's good that it makes fighting even worse.
I've had enough of that,
I'm tired of experiencing fights and the emotional ups and downs of relationships.
Other loves in days gone by.
I've had other relationships in the past that have ended, so I'm not new to this.
It wasn't much I know,
The incident that caused the fight may not have been significant, but it still hurt me.
Just enough, enough to make me cry
The argument was enough to make me upset and cry.
If you leave me, can I come too?
If we're going to break up, can I still be with you and not lose you entirely?
We can always stay
We don't have to break up and can still work on our relationship.
And if you go, can I come too?
If you do decide to leave me, can I still be by your side and not be left alone?
Don't let it happen again
Please let's not argue again, it was too much for me to handle.
'Cause that I couldn't take, once was quite enough
I don't think I can handle another fight like the last one - it was too much for me.
It's easy to forgive, harder to forget
I can forgive you for the fight, but it's harder to forget the hurt that was caused.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MARTIN EDWARD MURPHY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff Raymond
As one of the writers of this song. Thanks for all the great comments, especially the one of the young girl who played it at her dad's funeral. Half way around the world, I sit and hold back my tears. May all your skies be sunny.
Based. Inc
Thanks for the song that filled many a BBQ and has such great memories for me.
C.Comeaux
Oh, I loved this song SOOOO much in my youth. I first heard it on a show called MV3. In fact, for a few decades, it was the only place I ever heard it. I searched for it here on youtube for years. Really. This is such a great little song.
Wolfgang Harrison
Love you Guys! Soundtrack to the Australian summer...Mental as anything...
SWAGGER BLONDE
I'm from the UK and am such a huge Mental as anything fan. Such a legendary band with well crafted songs and lyrics. I'm always singing Live it up or indeed this one. R. I. P Greedy.
DIMITRI {CARS&STUFF}
You and the band members live forever 👍
Gary Patterson
A classic Aussie song, one of the best. I don't know why people say it's a forgotten song - I never forgot it but I did mislay it for a bit. And the video looks like it was shot in Hobart.
We didn't realise how good we had it in the 80s in Australia. The music was the best in the world, and this song ranks up there. A great band, wish I'd seen them live.
tech9803
Saw them at a Blue Light Disco around 1984-85, great show! I'm far away from Oz but this song just popped into my head today, had to come back and it check it out.
Ja5on m
This song always takes me back to a more fun and free time in Australia, loads of good oz bands. how I miss those days
Ana_nz
Pls can you name some of your favourite classic oz bands i love music like this