"Lucy Doesn't Love You" is a song by American band

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

for their third studio album, '' Long Distance'' (2000). Lead singer Dominique Durand wrote the song with band members

Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was a key songwriting contribu ...

and

Andy Chase Andy Chase is record producer and label owner. He formed the band Ivy with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Dominique Durand, now his wife. Chase owns Unfiltered Records and co-owned Stratosphere Sound studio with Schlesinger and James ...

, who both produced it. In 2000, it was chosen as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in Japan and distributed via Chase's Unfiltered Records label. Musically, the song was described as a melodic,

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

-led

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

track. Its lyrics find a woman confronting a lovestruck man who desires a different woman, named Lucy, who is not in love with him. American musician Eric Matthews performs trumpet on "Lucy Doesn't Love You", alongside

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fath ...

member

Michael Hampton Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a ...

, who contributes to the song's instrumentation. "Lucy Doesn't Love You" has received mostly favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who commonly discussed the song's production. An accompanying music video for the song was released in 2000 and features side-by-side

split screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split-Screen Level, a bug in the vid ...

graphics of Durand singing alongside Schlesinger, Chase, and other background dancers and singers. The song also appeared in the 2002 American film '' I'm with Lucy'', alongside ''Long Distance'' track "One More Last Kiss".

Background and release

After the release of Ivy's second studio album, ''

Apartment Life ''Apartment Life'' is the second studio album by American band Ivy, released by Atlantic Records on October 6, 1997. After being dropped from Seed Records following the release of '' Realistic'' in 1995, the group signed to Atlantic due to conne ...

'', in 1997, they were dropped from

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, and signed onto

550 Music 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building, ...

. During this transition phase, the band's

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based The Place recording studio burned down and was replaced with a new one Stratosphere Sound, founded by members

and

. After reissuing ''Apartment Life'', Schlesinger worked with his band

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. They released five albums from 1996 to 2011 before effec ...

to release their second studio album, ''

Utopia Parkway ''Utopia Parkway'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Fountains of Wayne. It was released by Atlantic Records in April 1999. Background The album was written by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger with the intention of em ...

'', in 1999. The album commercially underperformed according to label expectations, resulting in their own drop from Atlantic. Because of the termination, Schlesinger resumed working with Ivy on their third album, ''Long Distance''. Outside of its single release, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" appears on ''Long Distance'' as the album's sixth track, which was initially released in Japan on November 8, 2000. The song was written by Schlesinger, Chase, and Durand, while the production was handled by the latter two artists. Ivy recorded the song at Stratosphere Sound in New York City while mastering occurred at nearby

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...

and was handled by Vlado Meller. Schlesinger and Chase both are credited as mixers on the song, receiving assistance from John Holbrook, and Chase

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...

the track with assistance from Geoff Sanoff. In Japan, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" was chosen as the

in support of ''Long Distance''. It was first released as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

in that country, paired with ''Long Distance'' song "Blame It on Yourself" as a bonus track; the release occurred in 2000, prior to the Japanese release of the album, and was handled by East West Japan. Additionally, a promotional CD single for "Lucy Doesn't Love You" featuring an alternative cover artwork and bonus cover of

the Blow Monkeys The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave/sophisti-pop band that formed in 1981. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow," was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums across the 1 ...

' 1986 single "

Digging Your Scene "Digging Your Scene" is a song recorded by English band The Blow Monkeys for their second studio album, '' Animal Magic'' (1986). The single was released in February 1986 as the second one from the parent record. It was written by lead singer D ...

". Outside of Japan, in regions like the United States, " Edge of the Ocean" was chosen as the parent album's lead single instead.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" is a

-led

and

song. Tom Topkoff from ''Hybrid'' magazine noted the presence of horn instruments on the song, and compared it to the style of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

in the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

. Additionally, he considered "Lucy Doesn't Love You" to be similar in sound to older Ivy songs, such as "

Don't Believe a Word "Don't Believe a Word" is a song by American indie rock band Ivy. It was released in 1995 as the second single from the band's debut studio album, '' Realistic''. The track was released in several different packages, including as a CD single tha ...

" (1995) and "Get Out of the City" (1997). American musician Eric Matthews is credited with playing trumpet on the song. Rob O'Connor from ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' reasoned that Matthew's performance helped form a "comfortable bounce" to the production. Michael Padletta, writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', called the song more rhythmic than the rest of Ivy's discography, due to its addition of a guitar. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Heather Phares, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" adds a "sassy brass and lifting melody" to a

and slick

backdrop. The ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'' called the song ultra mellow and compared Durand's vocal style to that of

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

, lead singer of the American band Blondie. According to its sheet music, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" is set in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time, and has an average moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 119 beats per minute. The song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

and it follows the typical setup of two verses, each succeeded by a chorus, and ending with a final chorus. The first verse begins using the chord progressions of A–G–D–Bm, which are replicated during the other verses; during the chorus, the song's progressions transition to a different structure of G-C-D-A. Fellow

member

and American musician Jeremy Freeman are credited with providing additional loops and sounds to the song. The lyrics to "Lucy Doesn't Love You" describe a woman confronting a distraught, lovestruck man who is in love with a different woman who does not love him back. For the chorus, Durand exclaims: "Lucy doesn't love you / Not like you want her to / Some dreams don't come true".

Reception and promotion

"Lucy Doesn't Love You" was met with mostly favorable reviews from

. A reviewer from ''

E! Online E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversa ...

'' wrote that ''Long Distance'' was "armed" with "Lucy Doesn't Love You" and considered it a strong enough single to create a surge in Ivy's popularity. Padletta thought the track's production sounded effortless and praised it for being effervescent. Topkoff also enjoyed the song and wrote that it is "definitely the jumpiest tune on the album".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

, the

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

for

, provided a more mixed review of the song, writing that its production "suggest a more satisfying song than it delivers". The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

to "Lucy Doesn't Love You" was filmed and released in 2000. It was the first of two videos released to promote ''Long Distance''. The video for "Lucy Doesn't Love You" is presented mostly in a side-by-side

format. Filmed inside a nightclub space, it begins with Durand entering on-stage alongside clips of the band performing their instruments. Various shots of an audience, background dancers and singers, and trumpet performers are also shown. Outside of its usage in the video, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" also appears in the similarly-titled 2002 American comedy film '' I'm with Lucy'', to which Ivy had already contributed "One More Last Kiss", a different song from ''Long Distance''.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Long Distance''. *

writer, producer, mixer *

writer, producer, mixer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Dominique Durandwriter * Geoff Sanoffassistant engineer * Vlado Meller mastering * John Holbrookadditional mixing * Jeremy Freemanadditional loops, additional sounds *

additional loops, additional sounds * Eric Matthewstrumpet

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ivy (band) songs 2000 singles 2000 songs American synth-pop songs Songs written by Adam Schlesinger Songs written by Dominique Durand Songs written by Andy Chase Trip hop songs