Cash released her first single in 1979, a duet with Bobby Bare called "We Don't Need No Memories Hangin' 'Round". Two years later, she had her first country No. 1 (and the biggest commercial hit of her career), "Seven Year Ache". Although Cash was a prominent country star throughout the '80s, alongside fellow decade-defining artists Emmylou Harris, Juice Newton, and Dolly Parton, her music was anything but traditional: She topped the charts with songs written not only by herself, but by her father ("Tennessee Flat Top Box"), John Hiatt ("The Way We Make a Broken Heart"), Tom Petty ("Never Be You") and the Beatles ("I Don't Want to Spoil the Party"), "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me", which won her a Grammy in 1985, and "It's Such a Small World", a 1987 duet with Rodney Crowell on his album Diamonds & Dirt, provided further hits. A sampling of these songs and more are included on the compilation Hits 1979-1989. In 1979, she married Rodney Crowell, who was to produce most of her hit records. Their stormy marriage lasted until 1992; its break-up is chronicled in Cash's Interiors and in Crowell's album Life Is Messy. Cash later married John Leventhal, who produced her albums The Wheel, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel, and Black Cadillac.
To date, Cash has had more than twenty top 40 country singles, including eleven chart-toppers, but none since 1990, and she has left Nashville in both spirit and body to pursue her artistic vision. Although she had recorded all of her hits for Columbia Records' Nashville division, she released 10 Song Demo for the pop division of Capitol. Cash resurfaced in 2003 with Rules of Travel. The album features guest appearances by Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle, as well as a tune penned by Joe Henry and the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan. Cash's latest album, entitled Black Cadillac, was released by Capitol Records in January 2006 to critical acclaim. Many of the songs were written by Cash and address the losses (within a 24-month span) of her step-mother, her father, her step-sister (Rosey Nix Adams) and then finally her mother on Cash's fiftieth birthday.
I Want To Know
Rosanne Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's the right place I've got my new face tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
I'm in the right mood I've got my new shoes tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
I've got a new dress I couldn't care less tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
[Chorus]
Somebody told you I was so cold and mean (who was that talking)
Somebody wants you and don't want me in between (she better start walkin')
Let's find a new name for such a old game tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
I'll show you how long that I can go on tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
I don't know why you don't want me
Just when I think that I can make it without you
You come round and say you want me now
You tell me don't leave and I want to believe you
Why can't you see just how much I need you
[Chorus]
It's the last chance for a romance tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
There'll be no next time if you won't be mine tonight (I don't why you don't want me)
I don't know why you don't want me?
The song "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me" by Rosanne Cash is a painful plea by a woman asking her lover why he doesn't want her, despite all her efforts to please him. The song's verses describe the various ways in which the singer has tried to present herself as more attractive to her lover, from her new dress and shoes to her positive attitude. However, despite all her efforts, she is still unable to win him over, and the chorus suggests that someone else has been whispering negative things about her to her lover.
The singer's indignation and hurt come through in the way she emphasizes "I don't know" in the chorus, almost as if she cannot understand why her lover doesn't want her. The repetition of "I don't know why" underscores her frustration and confusion, as she tries to figure out what she has done wrong and why her efforts to please her lover have failed.
The last verse is particularly poignant, as the singer acknowledges her vulnerability and admits that she still wants her lover, despite the pain he has caused her. The song ends on a note of desperation, as the singer pleads with her lover to give her one more chance.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the right time you know I feel fine tonight
I feel good and ready for a relationship tonight.
It's the right place I've got my new face tonight
I'm confident and wearing my best face tonight.
I'm in the right mood I've got my new shoes tonight
I'm in a good mood and wearing my new shoes tonight.
I've got a new dress I couldn't care less tonight
I have a new dress and I'm not worried about impressing anyone tonight.
Somebody told you I was so cold and mean
Someone spread rumors about me being unfriendly.
Somebody wants you and don't want me in between
There's someone else who wants you and is coming between us.
Somebody hurt you but baby she wasn't me
I didn't hurt you, someone else did.
Let's find a new name for such a old game tonight
Let's try to reinvent our relationship tonight.
I'll show you how long that I can go on tonight
I'll show you how dedicated I am to making this work tonight.
I don't know why you don't want me
I'm confused about why you don't want to be with me.
Just when I think that I can make it without you
I think I can move on from you, but then you come back.
You come round and say you want me now
You come back and say you want to be with me.
You tell me don't leave and I want to believe you
You ask me to stay and I want to believe that you're genuine.
Why can't you see just how much I need you
I need you and wish you could understand that.
It's the last chance for a romance tonight
This is our last chance to make things romantic tonight.
There'll be no next time if you won't be mine tonight
If you won't commit to being with me tonight, there won't be another chance.
I don't know why you don't want me?
I'm still confused and unsure why you don't want to be with me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RODNEY J. CROWELL, ROSANNE CASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind