TheUglylucy4's video: Is She Really Going Out with Him

"Is She Really Going Out with Him" was written by Joe Jackson and is the third track off of his 1979 release...Look Sharp!. The ballad peaked at No. 13 in the UK and No. 21 in the US. The cover art on the LP, featuring a pair of white shoes, ranked No. 22 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Album Covers of All Time. According to Jackson, "Is She Really Going Out with Him" originated from when he heard the title. In other words, it's just one of those songs that started with the title. From there, he came up with the basis for the song lyrics of "pretty women" dating "gorillas". When he heard that phrase somewhere he thought that could be a kind of funny song about beautiful women going out with monsters. It started from there. However, to his surprise, Jackson was a bit confused when some people interpreted it as being an angry song. The songs backdrop is set from the view of a man's apartment watching women out his window..."Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street,From my window I'm staring while my coffee goes cold". From one woman that the author "used to know" to another that he knows by name (Jeanie), the result and misunderstanding is repeated..."Here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend,They say that looks don't count for much,And so there goes your proof". Regardless of Jackson's initial bid at humor, the ballad does hit an angered pitch with it's middle refrain..."But if looks could kill,There's a man there who's more down as dead,Cause I've had my fill,Listen you, Take your hands off her head,I get so mean around this scene". Misunderstanding turns into deception with the songs main chorus..."Is she really going out with him,Is she really gonna take him home tonight,Is she really going out with him,Because if my eyes don't deceive me,There's something going wrong around here". In closing, "Is She Really Going Out with Him" is really a ballad driven by jealousy. A song where our author cannot understand (apparently) why unattractive men (in his opinion) reel in beautiful women and why his "smooth" looks fall far shorter. The irony in the song is that Jackson, who is open about his homosexuality, is writing from the view of a heterosexual male. Either way, this is perhaps his best offering. Great stuff.