It's Different For Girls
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"It’s Different for Girls" is a song by Joe Jackson appearing on his 1979 album, '' I'm the Man''. The song has since become one of his most successful singles, notably being the highest charting Joe Jackson single in the UK. Covers have been recorded and released by several artists.


Background

"It's Different for Girls" contained lyrics that feature Jackson "deliberately turn ngclichés on their head" in that, while originally sounding as if the song would suggest that the male protagonist was looking for sex and his female partner was looking for love, the opposite is revealed to be the case. Jackson later said on the song's lyrics: Taken from the
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
-certified 1979 album '' I'm the Man'', "It's Different for Girls" was Joe Jackson's biggest UK
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
single, peaking at #5 in the UK Singles Chart and #101 in ''
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 advertis ...
''. The song was backed with another track from ''I'm the Man'', "Friday," in Britain, but in America, a live cover of the
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
song "
Come On Come On may refer to: Music * ''Come On'' (EP), by Elf Power, 1999 * "Come On" (Billy Lawrence song), 1997 * "Come On" (Christine Anu song), 1995 * "Come On" (Chuck Berry song), 1961; covered by the Rolling Stones, 1963 * "Come On" (CNBLUE so ...
" was used instead.


Other appearances

Apart from appearing as a single and on the album ''I'm the Man'', "It's Different for Girls" has also appeared on other Joe Jackson albums. A live version appeared on '' Live 1980/86'' in 1987, having been recorded on Jackson's ''Big World'' tour in 1986. A different live version appeared on the 2000 album '' Summer in the City: Live in New York''. A new studio recording of the song by Jackson, slightly retitled "Different For Girls" and recorded as a duet with Joy Askew, was included on the 12-inch vinyl and CD formats of Jackson's 1991 single " Stranger than Fiction". On the '' Laughter and Lust'' tour in 1991, it was performed as a duet with
Mindy Jostyn Mindy Jostyn (June 5, 1956 – March 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist. Jostyn was born in Long Island City and grew up in San Jose, California and Wellesley, Massachusetts. When she was eleven years old she founded her ...
, and their performance of the song at Sydney was included on the 1992 release ''
Laughter & Lust Live ''Laughter & Lust Live'' is a live concert video by the British singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, which was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Warner Music Vision in 1992. ''Laughter & Lust Live'' was filmed on 20 September 1991 at the S ...
''. The original version of the song was also included on Jackson's 1990 compilation '' Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson'' and again on the 1997 compilation ''
This Is It! (The A&M Years 1979–1989) ''This Is It! (The A&M Years 1979–1989)'', released in February 1997, is a Joe Jackson compilation double album covering his period with A&M Records between the years 1979 and 1989. Allmusic journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine laments that ...
''. "Come On" was released as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of ''I'm the Man'' - prior to this it had only been available on ''Propaganda'', a 1979 A&M records sampler notable for live tracks from Joe Jackson and
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
. In 1999, it was featured on the soundtrack of the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
film ''
200 Cigarettes ''200 Cigarettes'' is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers ...
''.


Composition

The song opens with a simple repeated two-note pattern on guitar which is quickly joined by a pulse on bass and drums. The first section of the verse remains quiet, with these instruments and the singer's voice being the main components. In the second section of the verse the dynamics change, with two strident beats on the lyrics "She said", and then drop back down to a quieter chorus driven by a slow
arpeggiated An arpeggio () is a type of chord in which the notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpeggios may include all notes ...
guitar pattern, over which the vocal floats in a more complex melody, before returning to the original two-note guitar and bass pulse of the introduction.


Critical reception

Upon its release,
David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer, television presenter, and publishing industry analyst. He was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the j ...
of ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' described "It's Different for Girls" as "a very good song but a mite too sprawling and unfocused to be much of a hit". James Belsey of the ''
Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...
'' picked it as the newspaper's "single of the week" and noted the "attractive sound" and "nicely observed lyrics". He concluded it was "by far the best single release so far from the talented Joe Jackson". In the US, ''
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 advertis ...
'' wrote, "Though the lyrics may be scathing, the instrumentation is laidback and backup singers provide nice harmonies." ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' called it "a power pop ballad with echoing vocals and keyboards that carry Jackson's thoughtfully poignant message about male/female roles." In 2007, ''
Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...
'' ranked the song at number 52 in its list of "The Top 100 Songs of All Time". ''Glide Magazine'' ranked it as Jackson's 5th best song.


Personnel

*Joe Jackson – vocals *Gary Sanford – guitar *
Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952) is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. Maby was born and raised in the central south coast town ...
– bass, vocals *David Houghton – drums, vocals


Charts


Cover versions


Siskin version

"It's Different for Girls" was covered by English duo
Siskin The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words ''sisschen'', ''zeischen'', which are diminutive forms of Middle High German (''zîsec'') and Middle Low German (''ziseke'', ''sisek'') words, wit ...
, as their debut single in 2008. It is the group's only
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
to date.


Personnel

*Galen Ayers - guitar, vocals *Kirsty Newton - keyboards, bass, vocals


Other versions

*In 2008,
The Feeling The Feeling are an English rock/ pop band from Horsham, Sussex. Following a limited release of their first single " Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release " Sewn" in Fe ...
released a cover of the song as a B side to their single Without You, the second single from their second studio album Join with us. *In 2019,
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...
performed an orchestral arrangement of the song on his album '' Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties'', featuring
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
s
Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...
on lead vocals. *In January 2022, the Smile, comprising
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
members
Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...
and
Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...
and drummer Tom Skinner, performed the song at two of their debut shows in London.


References

{{authority control Joe Jackson (musician) songs A&M Records singles 1979 singles 2008 debut singles Songs written by Joe Jackson (musician) Song recordings produced by David Kershenbaum 1979 songs