1. The Knack was an American new wave/power pop band from Detroit, Michigan, based in Los Angeles. They rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", which was an international hit in 1979. The power pop of "My Sharona", coupled with the band's retro 60s look, earned the band comparisons to The Beatles (though the band members themselves viewed the 'New Beatles' label as tongue-in-cheek). Many music critics hated disco, which dominated the music industry at the time, and were, at best, coolly receptive to other developing trends like punk, electronica, and heavy metal.
The Knack's hard rock influences earned them some critical credibility and massive commercial success with their debut album, 1979's 'Get The Knack'. The band had formed in May 1978, known at first as '20/20', and, after shopping their demo tape to various record labels without success, they began playing the local club circuit. Quickly gaining a following as musicians such as Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen praised them, they finally signed with Capitol Records in January 1979. Reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, 'Get The Knack' has earned praise for decades, with Kurt Cobain in particular claiming it as one of his top fifty albums of all time.
While fans praised their new wave and power pop fueled sound, many critics still found issues with the group's in-your-face image in their lyrics, with accusations of misogyny popping up. After subsequent releases, the social backlash against the Knack (similar to that of The Monkees a generation earlier) was strong. Dave Marsh of 'Rolling Stone' in particular wrote, "In Fieger's lyrics, women are literally commodities whose chief purpose is to be brutalized." A 'Knuke the Knack' campaign emerged based on that as well as the perceived corporate-based over-hype. With their second album, '...But the Little Girls Understand', getting less commercial success (doing well, but not up to expectations), the band broke up mid-tour on New Year’s Day 1982. Besides the turmoil around the group, they also faced near total burnout among themselves, particularly given Fieger's drugs-heavy lifestyle, and the band members reportedly hadn't the energy to do much of anything after their third album, 'Round Trip', came out.
They re-united sporadically several years later and released a new album on January 16, 1991, titled 'Serious Fun'. A comeback accompanied by a public reunion and tour, it failed to reach either commercial or critical success but resulted in the hit single "Rocket O' Love", which reached #9 in Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart. They continued playing through the 90s and into the new millennium, with 2003's 'Re-Zoom' (or 'Zoom') being their last studio album. Commercial airplay mostly eluded the group over the 90s, but a generation of new fans who loved 80s-era new wave music provided a devoted cult following. Lead singer and main songwriter Doug Fieger was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. Fieger battled the disease until his death on Valentine's Day 2010.
Fieger, a native of Detroit, Michigan, had previously played in a country rock band called Sky. Of the three other original members of the Knack (Berton Averre - Guitar, Prescott Niles - Bass, and Bruce Gary - Drums), Averre and Niles remained with the group as it ended. Gary died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2006. Several drummers had played for the group over the years, including Billy Ward (Serious Fun album), Terry Bozzio (Zoom album), and David Henderson as 'Holmes Jones' (Normal as the Next Guy and Live at the Rock N Roll Funhouse albums). Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) played the drums for the group right before they ended.
There are other artists with the same name:
2. The Knack was a short-lived 1960s American psych/garage band from Los Angeles, CA. They recorded for Capitol Records. Formed in 1965, the band comprising Mike Chain (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dink Kaplan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Larry Gould (bass, backing vocals) and Pug Baker (drums), formally débuted at The Ice House in October 1966 and released four singles in total, of which Time Waits For No One was the best-seller. They toured throughout the U.S. but worked most frequently in Hollywood.
3. The Knack was a mid-60's British band originally known as The Londoners, a moniker they adopted whilst paying their beat group dues in the clubs of Germany in the early 60s. Upon returning to the UK in 1965 and changing their name to the rather hipper The Knack (after the recently released Richard Lester film), they recorded half a dozen singles for Decca and Piccadilly including the mod R&B ravers "She Ain't No Good", "Time Time Time" and "Stop!". Their final single, "(Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau", featured a more mature acoustic sound, which nodded towards both The Kinks and the impending psychedelic explosion. They broke up in 1967 and leader Paul Gurvitz formed the band The Gun.
Good Girl Don't
The Knack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Schoolboy stuff, a sticky sweet romance.
And she makes you want to scream,
Wishing you could get inside her pants.
So, you fantasize away.
And while you're squeezing her, you thought you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
So, you call her on the phone
To talk about the teachers that you hate.
And she says she's all alone,
And her parents won't be coming home til late.
There's a ringing in your brain,
Cause you could've sworn you though you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
And it's a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste.
An in-between age madness
That you know you can't erase
Til she's sitting on your face.
You're alone with her at last,
And you're waiting til you think the time is right.
Cause you've heard she's pretty fast.
And you're hoping that she'll give you some tonight.
So, you start to make your play,
Cause you could've sworn you thought you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
And it's a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste.
An in-between age madness
That you know you can't erase
Til she's sitting on your face.
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do...
The Knack's song "Good Girls Don't" is a classic coming-of-age story set to new wave power chords. The song is about an adolescent boy's infatuation with a girl who is everything he desires but cannot have. Not only is the girl physically attractive to him, but she is also rebellious, going against the social norms of good behavior. The song plays out like a fantasy, a daydream about getting together with the girl and exploring the unknown territory of sexuality. However, the girl also reminds the boy that good girls don't behave in such a way, and this dissonance adds to the song's tension. Ultimately, the song is about teenage angst and the confusion that comes with navigating the world of adulthood, where things aren't as black and white as they once seemed.
Line by Line Meaning
She's your adolescent dream,
She is your ideal teenage crush
Schoolboy stuff, a sticky sweet romance.
A clichéd and sweet romance that is often seen in teenage years.
And she makes you want to scream,
You feel an intense desire and frustration towards her.
Wishing you could get inside her pants.
You want to have sexual intercourse with her.
So, you fantasize away.
You indulge in a vivid daydream of getting intimate with her.
And while you're squeezing her, you thought you heard her saying...
While being physically close to her, you think you heard her saying something which suggested ambiguity.
"Good girls don't,
A group of girls who follow good and ethical practices
Good girls don't,
Another statement that emphasizes their virtuous behavior
Good girls don't, but I do."
Despite claiming to be virtuous, she does indulge in sexual activity.
So, you call her on the phone
You try and call her to talk about things you both dislike to strike a conversation.
To talk about the teachers that you hate.
You both end up discussing things that you both do not like much.
And she says she's all alone,
She tells you that she is alone at home.
And her parents won't be coming home til late.
Her parents will arrive home only late in the evening.
There's a ringing in your brain,
Your mind is perplexed and confused.
Cause you could've sworn you though you heard her saying...
You are unsure if you heard something suggestive from her again.
"Good girls don't,
A group of girls claiming to uphold certain ethical principles.
Good girls don't,
Another statement reinforcing their virtuous behavior.
Good girls don't, but I do."
Despite supposedly being virtuous, she still indulges in sexual activity.
And it's a teenage sadness,
Teenage years are known to be a time of melancholy.
Everyone has got to taste.
All teenagers experience some degree of anguish during this stage.
An in-between age madness
The period between childhood and adulthood can be quite chaotic.
That you know you can't erase
You cannot undo the experiences of adolescence.
Til she's sitting on your face.
Until you receive sexual pleasure from her.
You're alone with her at last,
You are finally alone with her.
And you're waiting til you think the time is right.
You wait for a suitable time before making a move.
Cause you've heard she's pretty fast.
You've heard that she engages in sexual activity frequently.
And you're hoping that she'll give you some tonight.
You are hoping that you will engage in sexual activity with her tonight.
So, you start to make your play,
You take the necessary steps to initiate sexual activity with her.
Cause you could've sworn you thought you heard her saying...
Once again, you are unsure if she said something suggestive.
"Good girls don't,
The group of girls that are supposed to be virtuous.
Good girls don't,
The statement you remember, regarding virtuous behavior.
Good girls don't, but I do."
Once again, she reiterates that she does indulge in sexual activity despite claiming to be virtuous.
Good girls don't,
The same statement that represented virtuous behavior before.
Good girls don't,
The same statement that represented virtuous behavior before.
Good girls don't, but I do...
The same statement that indicates that she does engage in sexual activity despite claiming to be virtuous.
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: DOUGLAS LARS FIEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SThompsonRAMM_1203
88 Elliott , album lyrics -
She's your adolescent dream,
Schoolboy stuff, a sticky sweet romance.
And she makes you want to scream,
Wishing you could get inside her pants.
So, you fantasize away.
And while you're squeezing her, you thought you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
So, you call her on the phone
To talk about the teachers that you hate.
And she says she's all alone,
And her parents won't be coming home til late.
There's a ringing in your brain,
Cause you could've sworn you though you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
And it's a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste.
An in-between age madness
That you know you can't erase
Til she's sitting on your face.
You're alone with her at last,
And you're waiting til you think the time is right.
Cause you've heard she's pretty fast.
And you're hoping that she'll give you some tonight.
So, you start to make your play,
Cause you could've sworn you thought you heard her saying...
"Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do."
And it's a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste.
An in-between age madness
That you know you can't erase
Til she's sitting on your face.
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't,
Good girls don't, but I do...
@allrise3056
I’m 55 and I never knew there was a “clean version”.
@avenueb
lol 57 same here
@gc4644
12 years ago today (valentines day) we lost Doug Feiger, one of the best musicians and song writers.
RIP Mr. Feiger, thank you for all the great music and concerts..
@lemurianchick
How does this not have millions of hits in 10 years? It was a hit!
@TWTexasA1
One of my favorite all time bands …great songs , Berton Averre such an underrated guitar players. And Bruce Gary the drummer who didn’t like touring left and became a great studio drummer but unfortunately died pretty young from medical condition, I was lucky to see them the first time back in 1979 when they came to Texas…👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
@djm2459
Don’t worry, this song will never die. I‘m 16 years old and I‘m a big fan of their music, so! Mark my words.
@rogerwoodfill5917
I totally agree with you. Saw them in concert in the 70's and they sure are great.
@dougmedina4619
You were born too late. You would've fit in with us back then.
@hellothere.9357
i’m 17 and i listen to them too! i seem to like the older artists rather than the ones around today.
@zandithshloper2005
They were sellout one hit wonder freaks. But what do I know?