"You Can't Be Too Strong" is a song by British rock musician

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

, recorded with his backing band

the Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''

Squeezing Out Sparks ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour. The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album ...

''. Written about abortion, the song originated as a country-style shuffle before Parker and producer

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

changed it to a slower acoustic ballad. Though not released as a single, the song has since become one of Parker's most famous songs. The song has seen critical acclaim and has appeared on compilation and live albums. It has since been covered by Joe Jackson and

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

Background

Parker wrote "You Can't Be Too Strong" in his parents' home, after coming home from a

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/ new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in ''Mo ...

concert that he made a guest appearance in. Parker characterized the song as "something that I just tossed off, and I thought, 'I don't know about this'." Lyrically, the song is about

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. The song was inspired by an event that happened to a close friend of Parker's. Parker later told Australian music magazine ''

Roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

'' that the song was based on an Australian experience and that the lyrical reference to

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

came from hearing that it had burned down. In 1979, Parker elaborated on the song's meaning: Of the song's political meaning, he said, "I get fairly rankled when people ask whether it's pro- or anti-abortion. I don't deal with such simplicities. It's about being involved in an event." In another interview, Parker said the song was "about ramming my fist so far down your throat you'll need to get a

vasectomy Vasectomy, or vasoligation, is an elective surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra and ...

to get it out." The song also contains the phrase that gave the ''

'' album its name. The song was originally written with a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

-style arrangement, but producer

convinced Parker to slow the song down to reflect the serious subject matter. Parker said, "

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

started as a fairly uptempo country song until producer Jack Nitzsche realized that the lyrics were pretty heavy and got me to slow it way down. A very good idea!" Parker attributed the song's "weight" to this new arrangement.

Release

"You Can't Be Too Strong" was first released on Parker's fourth studio album, ''

'', in March 1979. Though not released as a single, the song did appear as the B-side to the Scandinavian-only single release of "Nobody Hurts You." The song also appeared on the Parker 1993 compilation album ''Passion is No Ordinary Word: The Graham Parker Anthology''. Of the song's inclusion on the compilation, Parker said, "I don't know about 'You Can't Be Too Strong.' It's been sort of a bit overdone, I think. You know, they really wanted to take quintessential stuff and I think mostly they've done that." The song also appeared as the title track to the compilation ''You Can't Be Too Strong: An Introduction to Graham Parker & the Rumour''. A live version of the song recorded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1988 has appeared on the Parker live album ''Live! Alone in America''. Alongside the rest of ''Squeezing Out Sparks'', "You Can't Be Too Strong" has appeared in live form on ''Live Sparks''. Of performing the song live, Parker said of performing the song live in 1979, "Every night I got off singing that. It was great because the audience loved it. Girls cried and stuff which kind of gets you into it."

Reception and legacy

Steven Rosen of ''American Songwriter'' said that "You Can't Be Too Strong" was "maybe his greatest song, is the equal of Costello's ' Alison' or anything by Dylan."

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 ...

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 ...

describes the song as one of the two "centerpieces" of ''Squeezing Out Sparks'', alongside "

Passion Is No Ordinary Word "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Written about faking one's emotion, the song features a ...

". Erlewine writes that the two songs "indicate that arker'straditionalist musical tendencies are symptomatic of a larger

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

trend. But no one ever said conservatives made poor rock & rollers, and Parker's ruminations over a lost past give him the anger that fuels ''Squeezing Out Sparks'', one of the great rock records of the post-punk era." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' dubbed the song "a gripping retelling of an abortion," while ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' described the song as "a ballad full of disturbing imagery and emphatic phrasing which echoes the album title's judgmental metaphor." ''Blues Magazine'' called the track "fantastic" and "insanely beautiful." The song's take on abortion has resulted in its appearance on '' National Review's'' "Top 50 Conservative Songs" list. In the article, John J. Miller writes, "Although it's not explicitly

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

, this tune describes the horror of abortion with bracing honesty." Parker said of the song's appearance on the list, "I guess you can take what you want from it..."

Cover versions

The song has been covered by fellow new wave musician Joe Jackson. Parker said of this, "I heard Joe did 'Strong,' yes. I'm well chuffed with that." The song has also been covered by

References

{{Graham Parker & The Rumour 1979 songs Graham Parker songs Joe Jackson (musician) songs Songs about abortion Song recordings produced by Jack Nitzsche