Search by Title

A	B	C	D	E	F	G
H	I	J	K	L	M	N
O	P	Q	R	S	T	U
V	W	X	Y	Z	#

Browse Categories Random Songfact Random Category Add to Songfacts Take the Quiz SongFAQ Get the Newsletter E-Mail Us Message Boards Full Interviews Lyrical Pursuit Song Fallacies

Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

This song is about being in love with an alcoholic. Concrete Blonde lead singer Johnette Napolitano wrote it about Marc Moreland of the band Wall Of Voodo. Moreland died of liver failure in 2003; Napolitano discussed Moreland and writing the song about him in a concert known as the "D.C. Sessions." (thanks, michael - Cleveland, OH)

The video featured Napolitano with the band playing in a small club while one lone patron drinks to excess.

This was their biggest radio hit and the video even got airtime on MTV. (thanks, Bob - Cherry Hill, NJ, for all above)

Napolitano said in an interview with MTV that she wrote the lyrics on an envelope in a cab on the way to the recording session. The song didn't have lyrics, and their manager had been pressuring her to write them, so she procrastinated until the last possible moment. (thanks, john - seattle, WA)

This was a #1 hit for 4 weeks on the US Modern Rock charts. It gained popularity as "alternative" music was coming into the mainstream and radio stations were looking for stuff like this to play.

Comments:

If there is one thing I understand well it is hurt people.She knows she was enabling him and tried to leave and do the right thing.No guesses "don't get crazy" he went crazy.She couldn't let go and,he was hurting her and himself.He was well once,she hoped it would happen again.The things we know are best,are not always the easiest things to do.My heart goes out to her,I know exactly how she felt.Letting go and holding on to someone you love,can be more excruciating than you ever thought possible.
- Amanda, Riverton, WY

People would get me out of the house and/or pool because my song would be on
- Diane, Gananoque, ON

do they still play the video. its been like 15 years since i've seen it!
- Mel!ssa, Pittsburgh, PA

Somebody said: "The video featured Napolitano with the band playing in a small club while one lone patron drinks to excess". However, the lone patron never touches the bottle in front of him.
- Timmy P, Cleveland, OH

A song about two people who should not be in love and perhaps aren't. Probably more Joey's fault than hers, but it's never one hundred percent
- Dan, Stockton, CA

Passionate as hell, one of the best vocals, ever.
- Eddie, Philadelphia, WA

Someone once dedicated this song to me after I explained and proved her wrong about what it actually meant. She thought it was about a couple who were scared to love one another. As if the lyrics are not clear enough..."hard headed women's been a thorn in the side of a man ever since the world began."
- The Last DJ, Hell.A., CA

Is it just me, or does Johnette Nopanitano have one of the most sensual, female singing voices EVER???
- BobPape, Austin, TX

The song was written about Marc Moreland, the former guitarist for Wall of Voodoo. I heard it straight from Johnette Napolitano's mouth during a concert.
- michael, Cleveland, OH

It's about being in love with someone that's not perfect. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Ever. You know very well that this person was not a fictional character. She was in love.
- Brian, Gregory, MI

This song was not written about a fictional character. Joey was, and still is, a washed up drug addict in Dallas, TX. He was a roadie for bands in the 80s and 90s, and had relations with Johnette Napolitano, the singer of Concrete Blonde.
- Bryan, Longview, TX

What a perfect rendition of the effects alcoholsim takes on a person involved from the outside... my heart goes out for this song in apprecitation for what she felt when writing it.
- Scott, Columbus, OH

To me the lyrics not only portray someone who is living with an alcoholic (or addict), but also a person who is an enabler who will do anything to allow the other to be happy. Specifically, the line "I've got the money..." tells me this enabler will beg, borrow or steal to provide for "Joey's" habit.
- Jeffrey, Dowagiac, MI

The live acoustic version of "Joey" on the 'Still In Hollywood' compilation is marvelous. At the end of the chorus, Johnette several times has to modulate her voice because she's out of breath. The effect, however accidental, makes her sound heartbreakingly vulnerable.
- Robert, Puyallup, WA

A really good song. It's my favourite by them. Yeah it was not written for Joey Ramone. Joey is just a fictional character made up to tell the story of being in love with an alcoholic.
- John, Stephenville Crossing, Canada

was NOT written about Joey Ramone of the Ramones
- kris, toronto, Canada

Was written about Joey Ramone of the Ramones.
- Michele, Warren, MI