"You're All I Need" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

by American heavy metal band

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...

. It was released as the third and final single from the band's 1987 album '' Girls, Girls, Girls''. The song peaked at 83 on the Hot 100, and 23 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Despite the controversy and its lack of chart success, the song is considered one of their best songs.

Song meaning

The song was praised by

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

as "the best ballad Mötley Crüe have ever written.” When informed of this, Nikki Sixx laughed because of the gruesome meaning behind the song. As Sixx would later relate in his ''Heroin Diaries'' memoir, "You're All I Need" was inspired by some real-life violent impulses. Convinced his girlfriend at the time had been cheating on him with actor Jack Wagner, who was then enjoying a taste of pop stardom with his hit single "All I Need," Sixx wrote his own song — then played it for his ex. "I took the cassette over to her apartment and I didn't say anything. I just had a little cassette player and I just played it for her, and she started crying, and I walked out the door," he later told ''Rolling Stone''. "I was like, 'Well now, that's that.'" However, the rest of the band praised the song and it was recorded for the ''Girls, Girls, Girls'' album. In Sixx's book, ''The Heroin Diaries'', a journal entry states that Tommy Lee was playing the song on the piano, and Sixx wrote the lyrics for the piano part.

Music video

Shot in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, the video shows a man getting into a heated argument with his girlfriend, which ends with him killing her with a

kitchen knife A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives – notably a large chef's knife, a toughness, tough cleaver, a small #Paring, paring knif ...

(off-screen). He then takes a picture of her off the wall, and throws it in the fireplace. After the murder, he begins having a breakdown, and destroys many objects in his house. Eventually, he is arrested by the police and is hauled away in front of many onlookers. Paramedics put the dead woman in a body bag and the man is hauled away in front of many onlookers. The band appears in the video through hallucinations. Even though the video was not particularly violent (except for the lyrics),

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

refused to air it, due to the realistic gruesome scenes. The video was directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the Universit ...

. The DVD version of the video begins with a statement warning about the video's content.

Charts

"You're All I Need" peaked at 83 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1987 and 23 on the

in 1988

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1980s ballads 1987 singles 1987 songs Elektra Records singles Glam metal ballads Mötley Crüe songs Murder ballads Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Songs written by Nikki Sixx Songs written by Tommy Lee Song recordings produced by Tom Werman Obscenity controversies in music