In their early years, Whitesnake played in a hard-edged blues rock and heavy metal influenced style. By the mid-80s, the band had moved towards a more commercially friendly arena rock and pop metal ethos, garnering them major hits such as "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Now You're Gone", "Slide It In", "Still of the Night", and the iconic tune "Here I Go Again" (arguably their 'signature song'). They were named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.
Whitesnake were active primarily in the 80s, but they still tour, albeit with an entirely new line-up (bar Coverdale), to this day. Some of the most famous musicians who have joined the band for a time include Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody, Rudy Sarzo, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Tommy Aldridge, and Steve Vai.
The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple. This is not only because three past members of the band were once in Deep Purple but also because of their sound and influences. Later, the band took on a sound more in line with the hair metal style popular in the mid to late 80s, but they never truly left their heavy, blues rock roots behind
Formed in 1978 by David Coverdale after leaving Deep Purple, Whitesnake were originally a straightforwards heavy rock group with Jon Lord and Ian Paice from Deep Purple in the band. Despite a few album releases and constant touring, Whitesnake was unable to attain any significant commercial success in America, though becoming popular in the U.K., Europe, and Japan. Their critical reviews as well for their albums were somewhat mixed.
After acquaintance with Chris Cuttler, Fred Frith and most importantly, young guitarist John Sykes, David Coverdale decided to turn to a slicker, more commercially viable sound. Whitesnake made their first major splash in the States in 1984 with the album 'Slide It In', featuring the self-titled single as well as rock tracks "Slow An' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger". All three of them gained major airplay and were eaten up by fans. Sykes was not involved in any of the song writing for 'Slide It In', though re-did some of Micky Moody's guitar work in the American remastering of the U.K. version of the album.
Three years later, thanks to radio-friendly, Zeppelin-ish songwriting and MTV friendly Tawny Kitaen's automobile acrobatics, Whitesnake became superstars with the album 'Whitesnake' (titled '1987' in Europe, and 'Serpens Albus' in Japan). Containing the U.S. smash hits "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love", "Still of the Night" and others, the album eventually sold over 10 million copies. Coverdale replaced the entire band for the subsequent tour, ditching Sykes for guitarists Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell. Also joining the band at this point were bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Campbell left shortly after the tour (going on to replace Steve Clark in Def Leppard. Vandenberg, despite penning most of the material on the follow-up album, was unable to record due to a freak wrist injury. Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was brought in to record all of the guitar parts for Slip of the Tongue, which was released in the spring of 1989. Despite going platinum, the album did not reach the stratospheric heights of Whitesnake (entitled 1987 in Europe, and Serpens Albus in Japan). With a divorce looming, and the alternative 'grunge' movement threatening to destroy the melodic rock movement, Coverdale dissolved Whitesnake.
In the late 90s, David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg finally recorded together again. Initially intended to be a Coverdale solo effort, the Whitesnake name was eventually attached (much like the Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath projects of the late 80s). The resulting products were a new studio album entitled Restless Heart, and the live acoustic set, Starkers In Tokyo.
In the early 2000's Coverdale relaunched Whitesnake fully with an entirely new lineup centred around guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich (previously of Winger and Lion/Dio). This Whitesnake embarked on tours across the globe, releasing the "Live In the Still of the Night" DVD and "Live... In the Shadow of the Blues" on CD in 2006. A new studio album, "Good to be Bad", was released in 2008 reaching the top 10 in the UK album charts.
Over the last few years Coverdale has been involved in a remastering project which has seen all albums from 1978's Trouble, to 1989's Slip of the Tongue reissued with bonus material.
Whitesnake released Forevermore, on March 25, 2011 in Europe, and on the 29th in North America. They have released a number of scheduled 2011 tour dates on their website, with six scheduled UK tour dates and other European dates. In February 2011, Whitesnake was announced as one of the headliners to play the annual Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, on Memorial Day weekend. A digital single for the song 'Love Will Set You Free' was released, along with a video for the song, on February 21.
The album Forevermore was released as a special edition 'Snakepack' through Classic Rock magazine on 25 March, a full 3 weeks before its commercial release. The fan pack includes the full, official new album Forevermore, a 132-page magazine, poster and pin badge. On 20 March 2011, Whitesnake announced that Brian Ruedy would play keyboards on the Forevermore World Tour.
The album did not chart highly upon its official release in the UK (number 33, possibly due to the copies released as part of the aforementioned Classic Rock Snakepack, which are not eligible for the charts). It did, however, show signs of Whitesnake's slow rebuild of support in the US with the album charting at number 49 - the band's highest charting album since the 80s.
Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach are Whitesnake longest standing guitar players, both being in the band 10 years by 2012.
Whitesnake are set to embark on their farewell tour in May 2022, beginning in the UK and Ireland with Foreigner and Europe. In July 2021, the group announced the addition of multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick to their ranks, turning Whitesnake into a septet for the first time. Later that November, Michael Devin parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Tanya O'Callaghan, marking the first female musician to join the band.
Website: http://www.whitesnake.com/
Would I Lie to You
Whitesnake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come an' get me
Don't hang around
Or we could spend the night sleeping alone
If you could change your style, for a while,
An' look in my direction,
Tell me do I look the kind of guy
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to you
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
Baby, I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to, would I lie to, would I lie to you
Hey girl, if you need
Some love an' affection,
I'll whisper all the sweet, sweet nothings
I know you little girls like to hear
If you would change your mind
We could find a night of satin sheet action,
I promise I won't do anything
Baby, unless you wanted me to
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to you
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to, would I lie to, should I lie to you
I don't want to sleep alone tonight,
After all you put me through.
I've spent the whole night searching
For a woman just like you.
Look in my eyes, tell you lies
Then, baby, it's just because I want you to stay
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to you.
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
Baby, I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to, would I lie to, would I lie to you
The lyrics to Whitesnake's song "Would I Lie to You" tell the story of a man who is trying to convince a woman to be with him. He assures her that he would do anything for her, but wonders if she believes he's the kind of guy who takes advantage of women. He promises to be a gentleman and only do what she wants him to do.
The chorus, "Would I lie to you," is a repeated question that emphasizes the man's honesty and sincere desire to be with this woman. He repeats his willingness to do anything she wants, but he also questions whether or not he should lie to her in order to keep her.
The verses are full of romantic promises and suggestive language. He tells her that he'll give her all the love and affection she could want, and whispers sweet nothings in her ear. He suggests that they could spend the night together under satin sheets, but insists that he won't do anything unless she gives him permission.
Overall, the song is a seductive plea for a woman's affection. The man is offering her everything he has to give, but he also wants her to know that he's not the kind of guy who would deceive her just to get what he wants.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey girl, if you want me,
Come an' get me
Don't hang around
Or we could spend the night sleeping alone
I'm interested in you, but if you're not interested as well, there's no point in continuing this. Let's either be together or move on.
If you could change your style, for a while,
An' look in my direction,
Tell me do I look the kind of guy
Who takes advantage of a women like you
I'm interested in you, but I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to take advantage of you. Please trust me that I'm sincere in my intentions.
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to you
Would I lie to you, would I lie to you
Baby, I would do anything that you want me too,
But, would I lie to, would I lie to, would I lie to you
I'm willing to do anything you want, but I want you to know that I'm not lying about my feelings or intentions. I'm being honest with you.
Hey girl, if you need
Some love an' affection,
I'll whisper all the sweet, sweet nothings
I know you little girls like to hear
If you would change your mind
We could find a night of satin sheet action,
I promise I won't do anything
Baby, unless you wanted me to
If you're interested in some romance and intimacy, I'm willing to provide that. But I respect your boundaries and won't do anything that you're not comfortable with.
I don't want to sleep alone tonight,
After all you put me through.
I've spent the whole night searching
For a woman just like you.
Look in my eyes, tell you lies
Then, baby, it's just because I want you to stay
I don't want to be alone and I think we could have something special together. If I tell you little white lies, it's only because I'm trying to make you feel more comfortable and stay with me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID COVERDALE, BERNIE MARSDEN, MICK MOODY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mats Blom
This is the Whitesnake I fell in love with back in the days.
KissU2345
Yep, the real Whitesnake, this one does rock!
steeler63
Awesome song from the Come And Get it Album from 1981 by Whitesnake. The Classic lineup of Coverdale ,Marsden, Moody ,Murray, Lord, and Paice. I have the vinyl LP and the CD of this album of Real Bluesy Rock. They don't make real music like this anymore.
Eva Ikwoma
Soooo coool!!!I love Whitesnake!!!
Elimar Silvani Kock
classic snake
Swim Oarfish
+Eva Ikwoma
thats right rock n roll
mario jose cardoso lemos
grande banda , grande musica, grande voz. graças a deus tivemos anos 80 , é só procurar....
jacquedrummer
Sem palavras!!!! Uma das melhores bandas do estilo!!!
Garrett Bonneville
Tbh I like this kind of Whitesnake and the glammish one just the same. They're just a great band. Keep rockin' boys.
Tony Mate '66
🤝🏻🥁🤘🏻✌️🏻