Tesla's music fit well with the blasting sounds of their 80s hair metal and glam rock contemporaries. Yet it was more bluesy and lyrics dealt with other themes than just the usual, girls, alcohol and violence. But what set them even more apart from their contemporaries was their t-shirt and jeans image, a 'street' look reminiscent of the Ramones (and other 70s punk groups) that was in strong contrast of the leather, spandex, and flashy-make type look of the time.
The band's early lifespan as City Kidd brought them considerable frustration, with them failing to break into the musical mainstream while also competing with another band with the same name. Their mutation into Tesla provided a clear shot at success. 'Mechanical Resonance', their debut that the boys released in 1986, became a commercial smash while also receiving significant critical praise. That album was certified platinum by the RIAA on October 5, 1989.
In total, the group has released six studio albums with original music, the latest of them being 2008's 'Forever More'. They have also created a a double-disc covers album, titled 'Real To Reel', as well as a number of compilations and live albums. Their sound has focused on a particularly melodic and accessible kind of hard rock with strong shades of classic heavy metal as well.
Tesla's popular 1990 remake of Signs, originally recorded by the Five Man Electrical Band (who also inspired the album which the remake came from, Five Man Acoustical Jam), is probably the most mainstream of Tesla's hits. However, many fans remember fondly Tesla's other hits such as Gettin' Better, Modern Day Cowboy, Little Suzi, Edison's Medicine and Love Song.
The band derived their name, certain album and song names (e.g. The Great Radio Controversy, Mechanical Resonance, etc), and some song content from events relating to Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer born in the 19th century in Smiljan, Austria-Hungary, modern day Croatia.
We're No Good Together
Tesla Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every day, yeah yeah, I wait till the morning light
Ooh with a feeling, yeah yeah, something here ain't right
When I think about it now, oh baby, ooh
When I think about all the good times we had
I knew there was something wrong, there was no chance for me and you
'cause I'm no good for you, oh no baby, you're no good for me
Now it's been so long, so long, since the last time I've seen your face
I tell ya, there ain't nobody baby, in this whole wide world
Who could ever take your place, no way, oh no
Now I try to tell you baby, there ain't nothing we can do
'cause I'm no good for you, no baby, you're no good for me
Oh, what I'm tryin' to say is, we're no good together
You know we can't go on, we can't go on together, no, oh baby
Honey we can't go on, we can't go on this way, baby, oh yeah
Listen to me, oh listen to me, I got something to say, I got something to say
I say that we're no good together, we're no good together
Now what's going round, you're all over town, and you're bringin' me down
[Solo]
Oh baby, we're no good together, we're no good together
We're no good together
Oh baby baby baby babe you know it's just no good
Oh it's no good together, oh oh, no good together
The lyrics of Tesla's song "We're No Good Together" seem to express the singer's realization that the relationship he's in is not working out despite the good times they have shared. As he waits for the morning light, he can sense that something is just not right. He acknowledges that they have had some great moments, but something is fundamentally flawed in their union. He recognizes that there is no chance of making things work between them. He tries to convey this to his partner, insisting that there is nothing they can do to save the relationship. He is aware that they are terrible for each other.
Despite the longing for the good times they shared, the singer finally admits that they must go their separate ways. He acknowledges that no one can replace his partner, but recognizes they are better off without each other. The final lyrics suggest that his partner is going through a tough time and he doesn't want to be dragged down with her. He tells her that they're no good together, implying that she needs to move on and not hold on to something that is doomed to fail.
Overall, the song seems to be a difficult admission of the fact that some relationships are just not meant to work. While there may be moments of joy and fond memories, sometimes people are just not compatible.
Line by Line Meaning
Every day, yeah yeah, I wait till the morning light
Every day, I wait for the morning light with a feeling that something here is not right.
Ooh with a feeling, yeah yeah, something here ain't right
There's something wrong with our relationship that I can feel, and it's not just in my head.
When I think about it now, oh baby, ooh
In hindsight, I can see that our relationship was not meant to be, despite how it may have felt at the time.
When I think about all the good times we had
Although we had some good times, they weren't enough to sustain a lasting, healthy relationship.
I knew there was something wrong, there was no chance for me and you
Deep down, I knew that our relationship was doomed from the start and there was no chance for us to work things out.
Oh now, now I try to tell you baby, there ain't nothing we can do
I'm trying to tell you that our relationship is beyond repair, and there's nothing we can do to fix it.
'cause I'm no good for you, oh no baby, you're no good for me
We're not good for each other and being together only causes harm to both of us.
Now it's been so long, so long, since the last time I've seen your face
It's been a long time since we saw each other, but the memory of our unhealthy relationship still lingers.
I tell ya, there ain't nobody baby, in this whole wide world
There's no one in the world who could replace you, but that still doesn't mean we should be together.
Who could ever take your place, no way, oh no
Despite this, I know that we can never be together again and should move on with our lives.
Oh what I'm tryin' to say is, we're no good together
Simply put, our relationship was not meant to be.
You know we can't go on, we can't go on together, no, oh baby
It's clear that our relationship cannot continue as it is and must come to an end.
Honey we can't go on, we can't go on this way, baby, oh yeah
We can't continue to harm each other by being together, and need to move on separately.
Listen to me, oh listen to me, I got something to say, I got something to say
I need you to listen to me when I say that we are no longer good for each other.
Now what's going round, you're all over town, and you're bringin' me down
Even though we are no longer together, your presence in my life is still causing me pain.
Oh baby, we're no good together, we're no good together
We are simply not meant to be together, no matter how much we might want it to work.
Oh baby baby baby babe you know it's just no good
We both know deep down that we cannot continue the way things have been going and must end our relationship.
Oh it's no good together, oh oh, no good together
It's clear that our relationship is not building us up, but only tearing us down, and we must move on separately.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRANK HANNON, JEFF KEITH, TROY LUCCKETTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Terrisue Bowyer
Tesla is awesome , their songs are from experience and totally relate and feel each song!
David Troppens
I bought this album for the first time only about five years ago. It's still on my heavy rotation of most played CDs. This is one outstanding album.
Martin Lowe
I bought it the day it was released…. Never stopped playing it
Liz Higgins
Tesla brings back the best memories I've had in my life. I love them and always will!
Amy Todack
Will always be THE BEST memories WE, our generation, will have!!!!!! Life was SSSOOOOOOOO GOOD back in those days!!!!
brett sellers
Me too! They rock
fritshits65
AMEN!!
Panos Karliotis
@John Kobre I liked the first 2-3 Pearl Jam albums, in fact, their very first one is my favorite album of this band...but I didn't like the rest of their work so much...as for Tesla, all their albums are gems
John Kobre
Liz Higgins yes sir long before pearl jam and alot of the other bad ads bands I like.tesla was one of the best though.brings lots of very good memories back
Jen Roberts
I LOVE this song............Man that voice :)