From an album with mixed tracks and problematic production comes Leave Me Alone which is one of those young love ballads that Ian writes consistently. But, there is a twist with this one as the guy desires the girl who teases him because she already has a boyfriend. She's a flirt so the guy pleads with her to leave him alone. It might have been written for fun.
The song had been around since Overnight Angels and written for airplay but Ian wishes he had never written it. He tried the same with To Love A Woman didn't get either of these two songs right. They both seemed like singles but neither came off well. This is the problem Ian has expressed elsewhere; if you try to write in an artificial manner the songs don't come off but strong songs and singles are similar to gifts. They just come direct.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
Leave Me Alone
(Ian Hunter)
I love your sulky eyes,
I love your raven hair.
I often fantasize
a beautiful affair,
a broken paradise
'cause you don't even care.
I love your sultry smile,
I love to see you dance.
Sometimes it drives me wild
to know I've got no chance.
Your boyfriend doesn't see
you're flirting, teasing me.
Why don't you leave me alone,
leave me alone?
Won't you leave me alone,
leave me alone.
Sometimes I'll act OK,
sometimes I'll try and hide.
But when you look at me,
I fall apart inside.
Across a broken sea
you took me for a ride.
Why don't you leave me alone,
leave me alone?
Won't you leave me alone,
leave me alone.
Other lovers go home
and I'm left here alone
with my heart in my hand.
I just can't understand
why you treat me this way.
I just got to say.
Why don't you leave me alone,
leave me alone?
Won't you leave me alone,
leave me alone.
Why don't you leave me alone,
leave me alone?
Won't you leave me alone,
leave me alone.
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
why don't you leave me,
leave me alone, oh)
Ian Hunter LP/CD: "Short Back 'n' Sides"
Sleeve and track listing
Chrysalis CDCHR 6074.
Review
At the end of 1980 Ian returned to the studio to record the follow-up to Schizophrenic and Welcome To The Club. Mick had effectively stopped playing live earlier in the year, and Ian himself was unsure which (musical) direction to take. He got Mick Jones as producer, and on paper the fusion of Mott The Hoople with The Clash should have produced a phenomenal album.
I'll make no bones about it - I hate this album. The material is mixed, and the production (and all the sound effects Mick Jones added) IMO ruined the good songs on it. At the time Ian liked the album, with Mick using different production techniques in the studio. But today he hardly ever plays material from it, a sure sign that it ain't up there with the best.
The 2-CD set offers excellent packaging and excellent sound quality. The original album is on one CD, and a second CD ("Long Odds and Out-takes") containing alternate mixes and unreleased material from the Chrysalis era.
| Leave Me Alone | 3:29 | Originally issued on Short Back and Sides and on the compilation From The Knees Of My Heart. |
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