"Debra" is a song by the American musician Beck. It was released on his album ''

Midnite Vultures ''Midnite Vultures'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Beck, released on November 23, 1999 by DGC Records. While similar to most of Beck's previous albums in its exploration of widely varying styles, it did not achieve the same blo ...

''.

Background

Beck had originally attempted to record and release "Debra" with the

Dust Brothers The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on ...

for ''

Odelay ''Odelay'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Beck, released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records. The album featured several successful singles, including " Where It's At", " Devils Haircut", and " The New Pollution", and peaked at numbe ...

'', but he thought that it was too tongue-in-cheek. It was debuted mainstream in 1996, and, as Beck noted, "it became the centerpiece of the whole set. It was the song that people would react to more than the songs that they'd heard on the radio. So we kept playing it and playing it". The song finally made it on to ''Midnite Vultures'' in 1999.

Composition

The song's lyrics are about meeting a girl named Jenny who works at the retail store

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

and wanting to "get with" her and her sister, Debra. The lyrics include a reference to the Los Angeles-based restaurant chain Zankou Chicken, as well as a mention of car manufacturer

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...

and a reference to another song on Midnite Vultures, "Sexx Laws." ''Debra'' contains samples of two songs; " Win" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and "My Love for You" by

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

In popular culture

Many music critics consider "Debra" to be one of Beck's greatest songs, with Ty Kulik claiming that "Midnite Vultures is a tremendous record, and "Debra" is the highlight of the whole record." The song was used in the 2017

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...

film '' Baby Driver'' and as inspiration for music in

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

Cover versions

The song was covered by German industrial artist Kompressor. Kompressor's version is called "Kompressor Want to Get with You". Additionally, the song has been covered in live shows by the US band

I Dont Know How But They Found Me I Dont Know How But They Found Me (stylized in all caps), often shortened to IDKHow (stylized as iDKHOW), is an American musical duo based in Salt Lake City, Utah and formed in 2016. The band consists of lead vocalist and bassist Dallon Weekes a ...

. This version was released digitally on 26 February 2021. The jam band Umphrey’s McGee also covers Debra in live shows, most notably at Sweetwater 420 Fest in Atlanta.

References

1999 songs Beck songs Songs written by Beck Song recordings produced by Dust Brothers Songs written by John King (record producer) Songs written by Michael Simpson (producer) {{1990s-song-stub