The original members of Y&T were Dave Meniketti (lead vocals and lead guitar), Leonard Haze (drums), Phil Kennemore (bass), and Joey Alves (rhythm guitar). Haze was replaced by Jimmy DeGrasso in 1986. Alves was replaced by Stef Burns in 1989. The band officially disbanded in 1991, although they continued to perform sporadically. They officially reunited in 2001 with a lineup of Meniketti, Kennemore, and Burns alongside Leonard Haze. Burns eventually went on to join the pop rock outfit Huey Lewis & The News and was replaced by John Nymann. Nymann was an old friend of the band who had sung backup for the group before. In 2006, Haze was asked to step down, and he was replaced by Mike Vanderhule.
The band's signature hits include "Summertime Girls", a Van Halen like piece of cheeky arena rock that reached #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985, and ""Mean Streak." That latter track hiked up to #25 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart due to its aggressive, heavy style. Y&T's 1984 album, 'In Rock We Trust', has been their highest selling release, reaching #46 on the Billboard Album Charts and selling over 450,000 copies; the spirited album came very close to Gold status.
Main Website: http://www.yandtrocks.com/
Mean Streak
Y&T Lyrics
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Still the house ain't big enough
Spend your money so fast that you never see the green
Big, better, best, tell me where does it end?
Keeping up with the totals is tough
Better open your eyes, boy
She just wanna buy, buy, buy
She's got a mean streak (mean streak)
But you love her so much, you don't want to see her mean streak
Everybody knows she's got you on a leash, mean streak (mean streak)
Well she'll laugh in your face (mean streak)
But you're kissing her feet
You're never good enough
In the eyes of a woman with a mean streak
Every time that I look at you, boy
I can see you're a nervous wreck
You try too hard to give her every little thing
Big car, big pool, big house, heart attack
But you better bend or you're gonna break
How far does it take you?
She just wanna buy, buy, buy
She's gonna break you, I'll tell you why
She's got a mean streak
But you love her so much, you don't want to see her mean streak (mean streak)
Everybody knows she's got you on a leash, mean streak (mean streak)
She'll laugh in your face (mean streak)
But you're kissing her feet
You're never good enough
In the eyes of a woman with a mean streak
It could be different now
If you'd thought you'd goodbye
But you're too weak to try
Things won't change till you open up your eyes
How could you be so blind?
She's got a mean streak
But you love her so much, you don't want to see her mean streak (mean streak)
Everybody knows she's got you on a leash, mean streak (mean streak)
Well she'll laugh in your face (mean streak)
But you're kissing her feet, mean streak
You're never good enough
In the eyes of a woman with a mean streak
Mean streak, mean streak, mean streak
The lyrics to Y&T's "Mean Streak" are about a man who is in a relationship with a woman who is materialistic and demanding. The man is working overtime every day of the week, but it seems that the house is never big enough for his partner. She spends money so fast that he cannot even see the green, and the pressure of trying to keep up with her never-ending need for bigger and better things is taking a toll on him.
Although everyone else recognizes that the woman has a “mean streak,” the man loves her so much that he does not want to see it. She has him on a leash, and he is never good enough in her eyes. Despite his efforts to give her everything she wants, she still finds something to criticize, and he is constantly trying to please her. The man is a nervous wreck, always worried about doing something wrong and getting on her wrong side. He is living in fear of her laughter in his face while he is kissing her feet.
The chorus of "Mean Streak" emphasizes the fact that the woman is difficult to love because of her materialistic desires and her cruel treatment of her partner. She has a mean streak, and although the man loves her, he is blind to the fact that things will not change until he opens his eyes and realizes that he needs to say goodbye. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers of being in a relationship with someone who is manipulative and abusive.
Line by Line Meaning
Overtime everyday of the week still the house ain't big enough,
Despite working overtime every day of the week, you cannot keep up with her endless expense demands.
Spend your money so fast that you never see the green,
You spend money too quickly that you don't even see its colour.
Big, better, best tell me where does it end,
You keep striving to be the biggest, the better, the best, but you don't know where the end is.
Keeping up with the totals is tough
Keeping up with her demands is challenging.
Better open your eyes boy, she just wanna buy buy buy,
Wake up and see that she only wants to buy, buy, buy.
Better wake up boy, I'll tell you why
You need to wake up because I'm about to tell you why.
She's got a mean streak,
She has a cruel and abusive nature.
But you love her so much you don't want to see her mean streak,
You love her so much that you're avoiding acknowledging her cruel nature.
Everybody knows she's got you on a leash, mean streak,
Everyone knows that she has control over you, and that she is cruel.
Well she'll laugh in your face, but your kissing her feet,
She mocks you to your face, but you still submit to her demands.
Your never good enough in the eyes of a woman with a mean streak
No matter what you do, you're never good enough in her eyes because of her cruel nature.
Every time that I look at you boy, I can see you're a nervous wreck,
Every time I see you, you look like a nervous wreck due to her demands.
You try too hard to give her every little thing,
You work too hard to give her everything she wants.
Big car, big pool, big house heart attack,
Having everything she wants may not bring happiness and could cause a heart attack.
You better bend, or you're gonna break
You need to submit to her demands or risk breaking under the pressure.
How far does it take you,
How far are you willing to go to satisfy her demands?
She just wanna buy buy buy,
She only cares about buying things.
She's gonna break you, I'll tell you why
She will break you down under her demands, and I'll tell you why.
It could be different now, if you'd only say goodbye,
Things could change if you would just say goodbye to her.
But you're too weak to try,
You're not strong enough to take the necessary actions to change things.
Things won't change, till you open up your eyes,
Nothing will change until you acknowledge the nature of the problem.
How could you be so blind
How could you not see the reality of the situation?
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Dave Meniketti, Joseph L Alves, Leonard E Haze, Philip M Kennemore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind