Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.
Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.
After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.
The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.
It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.
After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.
Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.
The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.
Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.
Don't You Mess
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you mess with me girl
I got a feeling inside won't let go
Love is so strong this much I know
But you play a good game
Still in love you ain't got no shame
I hold you tight you talk in my ear
But I know I'm not the only one
You've got some other fools with you, have fun
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
What will you do easy woman
When I say I'm not coming back to you
I know now is the time
Now is the time to get you off my mind
I never said these things to you
It satisfies me through and through
Ain't gonna cry for you no more
I'm gonna shut the door shut the door
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
The lyrics of Wishbone Ash's song "Don't You Mess" are about a man who has been played by a woman he loves. He feels conflicted about the situation because he is aware that she is cheating on him, but she still has a hold on him with her words and actions. The man is torn between standing up for himself and letting her continue to play games with him.
The chorus, "Don't you mess with me girl oh no, don't you mess with how I feel inside" echoes his inner turmoil. He wants to protect himself and his emotions, but he's also struggling to let go of the love he feels for this woman.
The song ends with the man stepping away from the situation and shutting the door on the relationship for good. He's not going to cry for her anymore, and he's ready to move on from the pain.
Overall, the lyrics of "Don't You Mess" are a reflection on the complexities of love, and the way it can hold us back even when we know it's not good for us. It's a relatable theme that many people have experienced in their own lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you mess with me girl, oh no
I am warning you, woman, not to play games or deceive me.
Don't you mess with me girl
Repeatedly emphasizing that playing games or lying to me is not acceptable.
I got a feeling inside won't let go
I feel strongly about my love for you and cannot shake it off easily.
Love is so strong this much I know
I am certain that my love for you is intense and powerful.
But you play a good game
You are skilled at manipulating me and others.
Still in love you ain't got no shame
Despite your deception, you still claim to have love but lack any sense of guilt or remorse.
I hold you tight you talk in my ear
When I embrace you, you whisper sweet words to me.
You say the things that I like to hear
You know the right words to make me happy and fulfill my desires.
But I know I'm not the only one
I suspect that you are also involved with other men.
You've got some other fools with you, have fun
You are spending time and having fun with other men, who are foolish enough to believe your lies.
What will you do easy woman
What will you do, woman who is easy to deceive and manipulate?
When I say I'm not coming back to you
When I tell you that I do not wish to be with you anymore.
I know now is the time
I realize that it is time for me to move on from this relationship.
Now is the time to get you off my mind
It is necessary for me to forget about you and stop thinking of you.
I never said these things to you
I have been keeping my true feelings to myself and have not shared them with you before.
It satisfies me through and through
Expressing my true feelings and intentions gives me a sense of satisfaction and relief.
Ain't gonna cry for you no more
I will not shed tears over you anymore.
I'm gonna shut the door shut the door
I am ready to close the door on this relationship and move on.
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Repeating that I will not tolerate being lied to or manipulated.
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
My emotions are precious to me, and I will not allow anyone to toy with them.
Don't you mess with me girl oh no
Emphasizing that playing games or deceiving me will not be tolerated.
Don't you mess with how I feel inside
My emotions are strong and real, and I will not let anyone diminish or manipulate them.
Contributed by Reagan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fred bear
There it is the mid period Ash sound that started to work really well around Just Testing and I’m glad they retained it a bit into this phase of the band. There’s a commercial quality there that could have definitely put them on another map but to me it still has the unique vibes of heavier Ash
risingfr
My favorite song from the album.
aitech nasus
Don't You Mess Is A Great Killer Straight Up Rock Song By WISHBONE ASH And Totally Rocks It Needs To Be Fully Cranked Up All The Way To Full Maximum Volume.
amaya dorr
the exact explanation