Tenderness

Album: All the Rage (1984)
Charted: 27
Play Video
  • Aah, ah, ah, oh
    Aah, aah, aah, oh

    I don't know where to start or where to stop
    My luck's like a button
    I can't stop pushing it
    My head feels light
    But I'm still in the dark
    Seems like without tenderness there's something missing

    Tenderness, where is the
    Tenderness, where is it
    I don't know where I am but I know I don't like it
    I open my mouth and out pops something spiteful
    Words are so cheap
    But they can turn out expensive
    Words like conviction can turn into a sentence

    I held your hands
    Rings but none on that finger
    We danced and danced
    But I was scared to go much further with it
    Just half a chance
    Make sure that one night you're here but
    Next night you're not
    It always leaves me searching for a little

    Tenderness, tenderness, tenderness, where is the tenderness

    Whistling in the graveyard
    Calling up your girlfriend
    Just trying to make her understand
    You're squeezing the telephone like it was her hand
    No question
    So many questions
    She's going to catch you out boy
    It all seems so underhand
    Now she's the only thing that ever made you feel like a man, man
    Madman madman

    Where is the tenderness, the tenderness
    Where is the tenderness, the tenderness, where is it

    I held your hands
    Rings but none on that finger
    We danced and danced
    But I was scared to go much further with it
    Just half a chance
    Make sure that one night you're here but
    Next night you're not
    It always leaves me searching for a little

    Tenderness, tenderness, tenderness, tenderness
    Tenderness, tenderness, tenderness, tenderness
    Tenderness, tenderness, tenderness, tenderness
    Tenderness, tenderness, tenderness, tenderness Writer/s: ROD ARGENT
    Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 12th, 1985, General Public performed "Tenderness" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    Two months earlier on November 11th, 1984 it entered Billboard' Top 100 chart at position #89; and on February 10th, 1985 it peaked at #27 (for 1 week) and spent 12 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #11 on the Canadian RPM Top singles chart...
    On the same Sullivan show they performed their release, "Never You Done That", it peaked at #13 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
  • Esskayess from Dallas, TxBrainy, quirky little song, always fun to hear.
  • Luke from Auckland, New ZealandProbably my favourite, from a band I followed for a short while in it's early days. I was a fan of The Beat (known as The English Beat in the States) which originated just prior to the Ska-influenced '2 Tone' musical explosion in Britain during 1979-1981.
    I remember it's featuring at the end of another 80's classic teen-flick, 'Clueless'.
  • Keith from Philadelphia, PaJust great!
  • Susan from Airdrie, -This is one of the GREAT, unappreciated songs of the 80s. Love it!
  • Scott from Baton Rouge, LaThis song is also featured in the 80's John Hughes' classic "Weird Science".
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.