ZZ Top formed after Gibbons' previous band, Moving Sidewalks, disbanded in 1969. Within a year, they signed with London Records and released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971. Subsequent releases, such as Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975), and the singles "La Grange" and "Tush", gained extensive radio airplay. By the mid-1970s, ZZ Top had become renowned in North America for their live act, including the Worldwide Texas Tour (1976–1977), which was a critical and commercial success.
After a hiatus, ZZ Top returned in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, with Gibbons and Hill wearing sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. With the album El Loco (1981), they began to experiment with synthesizers and drum machines. They established a more mainstream sound and rose to international stardom with Eliminator (1983) and Afterburner (1985), which integrated influences from new wave, punk, and dance-rock. The popularity of these albums' music videos, including those for "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man", and "Legs", gave them mass exposure on television channel MTV and made them prominent artists in 1980s pop culture. The Afterburner tour set records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour of 1986.
After gaining additional acclaim with the release of their tenth album Recycler (1990), and its accompanying tour, the group's experimentation continued with mixed success on the albums Antenna (1994), Rhythmeen (1996), XXX (1999), and Mescalero (2003). They most recently released La Futura (2012) and Goin' 50 (2019), a compilation album commemorating the band's 50th anniversary. By the time of Hill's death in 2021, ZZ Top had become the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music. Per Hill's wishes, he was replaced by their longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis on bass.
ZZ Top has released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 50 million records worldwide. They have won three MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2004, the members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Gibbons the 32nd greatest guitarist of all time. The band members have supported campaigns and charities including Childline, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and a fundraiser for the Delta Blues Museum.
Studio albums
ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
Rio Grande Mud (1972)
Tres Hombres (1973)
Fandango! (1975)
Tejas (1976)
Degüello (1979)
El Loco (1981)
Eliminator (1983)
Afterburner (1985)
Recycler (1990)
Antenna (1994)
Rhythmeen (1996)
XXX (1999)
Mescalero (2003)
La Futura (2012)
Over You
ZZ Top Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm all covered up
With despair and desperation
And it just won't let me up
It's come in time to face the truth
And somehow I got to find the strength to move
I gotta get up and get over you
And the people pass me by
And they don't know how hard I'm making
And there ain't no place to hide
I've got to find some resistance, forgetting your existence
I've got to get up and get over you
If I could have one more chance
With you by my side
You know I would take back that moment
When we said goodbye ooh yeah
A chili wind is still blowing
And the sun it going down
And the streets are all in tears
And there not a soul around
It's coming time to face the truth
And it's so hard to say I I gotta to do
Somehow I got to get up and get over you
Ooh man ooh hey get over you hey get over you
I gotta get over you I gotta get over you oh
The lyrics to ZZ Top's "Over You" describe a person who is struggling to move on from a past relationship. The first verse portrays the singer as being covered in despair and desperation because the realization has set in that they need to face the truth and move on. The second verse describes how the people around the singer are oblivious to their pain and that there is no place to hide from it. The chorus repeats the phrase "gotta get up and get over you" emphasizing the need to move on from the heartbreak.
In the final verse, the singer mentions how the sun is going down and the streets are quiet, but they know they need to face the truth and find the strength to move on. There is a sense of determination and motivation to overcome the pain and find closure. The bridge of the song expresses that the singer wishes for one more chance with their former partner, but they are aware that it is unlikely.
Overall, "Over You" is an emotional song that beautifully captures the pain of heartbreak and the healing process of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
A chili wind is blowing
A cold and bitter wind is blowing, perhaps symbolizing the emotional coldness of the singer's heartache
And I'm all covered up
The singer is bundled up and protected from the harsh weather, but still feels vulnerable and exposed emotionally
With despair and desperation
The singer is consumed with feelings of hopelessness and urgent need to move on from their heartbreak
And it just won't let me up
Despite the artist's efforts to rise above their heartache, they feel weighed down and unable to move forward
It's come in time to face the truth
The artist has reached a point where they must confront the reality of their situation and find a way to move on
And somehow I got to find the strength to move
The singer acknowledges the difficulty of their situation and knows they must summon inner strength to overcome it
I gotta get up and get over you
The singer is determined to move on from their heartbreak and leave their past relationship behind them
Another dawn it breaking
A new day has begun, symbolizing the possibility of a fresh start for the artist
And the people pass me by
The artist is surrounded by others who are going about their lives, perhaps making the artist feel isolated in their grief
And they don't know how hard I'm making
The people around the artist are unaware of the emotional turmoil they are experiencing
And there ain't no place to hide
The singer feels exposed and vulnerable, with no way to escape their feelings
I've got to find some resistance, forgetting your existence
The artist realizes that they must actively resist thinking about their past relationship in order to move on
If I could have one more chance
The singer still longs for a chance to reconcile with their past partner
With you by my side
The singer misses the companionship and support of their former partner
You know I would take back that moment
The singer regrets the decision to end their relationship and wishes they could go back in time to change it
When we said goodbye ooh yeah
The artist is dwelling on the final moments of the relationship and the pain caused by the breakup
A chili wind is still blowing
The bitter and cold wind that opened the song is still present, emphasizing the persistence of the artist's heartbreak
And the sun it going down
The end of the day is approaching, perhaps symbolizing the end of the singer's mourning period
And the streets are all in tears
The singer sees their surroundings as reflecting their emotional state, with the world seeming to cry alongside them
And there not a soul around
Despite being surrounded by others, the artist feels alone in their heartache
It's coming time to face the truth
The artist is still struggling to come to terms with their situation and knows they have more work to do to move on
And it's so hard to say I I gotta to do
The artist is finding it difficult to confront their emotions and take the necessary steps to heal
Somehow I got to get up and get over you
The singer continues to be determined to move past their heartbreak and start anew
Ooh man ooh hey get over you hey get over you
The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the artist's resolve to overcome their heartache and move on
I gotta get over you I gotta get over you oh
The song ends with the singer reiterating their determination to move on from their past relationship and find happiness again
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Billy Gibbons, Thomas Jay Hambridge
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@brettwhittorn9903
Dusty's bass lick at the start makes this song even more special.
Rest Easy Dusty ❤❤
@piggypie9652
ranks up there with their classic songs. 40 plus years later!! Remarkable!!
@876mpr
The little lick Billy hits at around 1:10 is perfection.
@123TauruZ321
Such a damn good track. Thank you good people in ZZ Top. You help me with this.
@garynutbrown9211
Takes me back to when I was a teen always loved their music!!
@gerardlaurent5038
que c'est beau, c'est tendre, c'est juste
@beanyrich2764
THIS MAKES ME THINK OF SOME ONE I LOVED AND LOST .HES IN A BETTER PLACE NOW.
@tommiesmith3191
Right up there with, "Rough Boy".
@juanmendoza2993
This song made me cry
Beautiful
@themikentimcomedyshow3343
Amazing ...
The Top at their best!